Environment
In Oceans, Finding a Drop to Drink
By
May 10, 2008, 08:14

(NewsUSA) - With concerns about climate change heating up, Americans know to recycle, buy reusable grocery bags and conserve gas. But many people might not realize exactly how much they rely on fossil fuels.

Petroleum doesn't just transport crops, it also, in many cases, grows them.

The plants that produce clean, water for irrigation and drinking from salt water run on energy provided by fossil fuels. However, a new technique, desalination, could make the process much cleaner.

Although 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water, only 1 percent of that water goes towards drinking, bathing and irrigation.

Why?

Most of the world's water is ocean water -; too salty for everyday use. Ocean water must be desalinated, or have its salt removed for drinking purposes. Current techniques use heat, pressure or membranes to separate salt from water.

Most ocean-desalination devices work on a small scale, providing fresh water in boats and submarines. Some governments use water-desalination plants to supply fresh water.

The Jebel Ali Desalination Plant, the world's largest, supplies 300 million cubic meters of water to the United Arab Emirates each year.

But according to the National Research Council, current desalination technologies cause more harm than good. Ocean-desalination plants consume energy, contributing to global warming, which might increase drought and flood risks.

Today, desalination plants often need to be combined with readier water supplies to fill community needs. As populations grow and fresh water becomes more scarce, businesses and governments need to find sustainable water sources.

New technologies might make ocean water -; an almost untouched resource -; available for human use.

Power of the Dream Ventures, Inc. (powerofthedream.com), a Hungarian-based technology company, is building a desalination prototype that could revolutionize how the world gets water.

When completed, the desalination device will be completely portable.

The technology can be built to scale, so the desalination device could supply water to entire communities.

The prototype will use solar or wind power, so it will produce drinkable water at a lower monetary -; and environmental -; cost than current technologies.


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