Climate Basics Podcast Episode 20 notes

Water scarcity & Desalination: First, let’s talk about why desalinisation is necessary. Essentially water - fresh water drinkable water - has always been a key factor in survival, that's for anyone, humans especially. Traditionally, when you look back on history where there's water, that's where people have put their settlements. That's why so many of the greatest cities in the world are coastal or on huge rivers. The default regular supply of fresh water is what allowed those big populations to flourish and go centers of industry to take hold. You might not realize it but machines actually use a lot of water too, especially in construction and materials fabrication as well as in the production of various chemicals. You can only grow so large until you get to a point where you're utilizing all of the fresh water that's available to you nearby that's when Society started building aqueducts in rome, qanats in arabia and persia, canals in china and southeast asia - Essentially these were hydrological kingdoms places where they used engineering to increase the amount of fresh water flow which was used for sanitation and cooking and everything so this is an inherent squeeze on the whole rest of the human system. Unfortunately one of the things we're seeing from climate change is disruption to the normal water cycles that have fed all of these rivers this whole time. why is that well essentially it's about heat. Heat is what makes all the winds flow and the currents of the oceans. A delicate equilibrium of the distribution of heat through the system that's what's created all those awesome regular currents and monsoon rains and spring rains and depending on where you are maybe lake effect snow but that is the most important system for keeping the rest of everything alive. And unfortunately as we change the ambient amount of heat in the system that changes, that disrupts the feedback patterns of currents winds and heat exchange that used to be the norm. That’s why fewer, stronger rains, shifts in previously predictable patterns like el nino, monsoons, and spring and summer rains upon which rural agriculture often depends And so global Freshwater insecurity. We are seeing conflicts over freshwater and water rights. We are seeing degradation of agricultural Lands and coastal lands and people being displaced because previously fertile lands are no longer productive without further infrastructure development. It's the beginning of a long rolling crisis that is inherently linked with the rest of climate change. But here at climate basics, we are about solutions, so let's talk about the many ways that we can actually provide enough fresh water for people, plants, animals that make up the ecosystems that we live in. We can provide enough for everyone moving into the future, thanks to modern engineering and honestly a lot of very old but effective technologies. Probably our best bet in dealing with the ongoing freshwater crisis is to make our existing systems more efficient - to use Les water in industrial processes and to make sure irrigation restores instead of depletes local aquifers - and for big cities, to improve treatment and recycling, which also has the knock-on effect of reducing pollution from plastics and other forever chemicals and their devastating impacts on marine life. Brine Toxic, for everything Found naturally Full of REMs and other useful compounds Expensive to process Filtration Can be difficult, especially in larger-capacity setups. It’s a balancing act between efficient intake and minimal ecological impacts Energy Uses either a LOT of heat energy or a LOT of kinetic (pressure) energy to separate Crazy crazy solutions Reverse osmosis - the industry standard Evaporation/condensation structures - domes and towers- solar powered! MIT new tech https://news.mit.edu/2023/desalination-system-could-produce-freshwater-cheaper-0927 Thermodiffusive Wave-energy-pump platform from Oneka water Ocean floor contraption https://www.oceanwellwater.com/ How about instead, we focus on doing more with the water we have? Home use Industrial use But 70% is just agriculture Better recycling Algae and bio-processing for wastewater systems Greywater recycling for homesteads Scaled examples - koh pipi, emirates Traditional water management techs Agroforestry - slows evaporation, reduces surface temps, refills aquifers Aquaculture - chinampas, raised garden beds, wetland-bioculture Infrastructure and aquifers Notes: https://e360.yale.edu/features/desalination-saltwater-brine-mining https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47313-5 https://www.onekawater.com/ https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/news/warns-rising-levels-toxic-brine-desalination-plants-meet-growing-water-needs https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718349167 https://www.sustainability-times.com/energy/this-miracle-device-will-save-millions-mit-scientists-unleash-high-flow-solar-desalinator-flooding-communities-with-gallons-of-pure-freshwater-every-hour/ https://www.poseidonwater.com/ https://www.solarwaterplc.com/our-solution/the-technology/ https://pubs.aip.org/aip/acp/article/2445/1/140012/2824327/Design-of-a-novel-CSP-MED-desalination-system https://www.soldesal.com/