Getting Fresh Water From The Ocean - My Idea

[hitmanblood 0]

I agree that water is one of the alarming problems in this century but we are improving our green movements are getting more and more enrolment. And we are starting to think about out survival and about our offsprings. We have problem with pollution of water we have problem with lack of water in certain parts of world too.I really don't have good suggestion for how to solve this problem but extracting water from the sea is not good even if we used ice it wouldn't proved much better as the fact is when we start using sea water we will shift the delicate balance of the sea its saltiness will increase and we would see major changes in sea currents which could then affect climate changes around the world especially Europe climate. Which would change rapidly and we could see new Ice Age comming. Safara would become rainforest instead. And so on however this rapid changes would extinct all those species who adpoted over centuries to the climate and affect human race also which would lose mush of the historical heritage millions of people who survive frost and cold would become refuges in regions not ready to accept them or not wanting to accept them and so on. This would bring chaos it would mean less food less drinking water available over long term. And those who are lucky to survive this climate changes would have to start from beginnig like we were before 2000 years or even more. DARK AGE FOR HUMAN KIND.

[zachwyler 0]

Actually, that idea is great for getting the salt but not water. In fact that is how people around the world obtain salt. Then take water from the ocean and leave it in the sun, the water evaporates leaving the salt. In order to get water you wud need to condense water vapor, which is pretty uneconomical.

[salamangkero 0]

I do agree with the post above mine in that the original proposed solution extracts salt and vaporizes fresh water. For it to work, I think one would need a condenser? In any case, the idea of a solar-powered distiller is pretty nice, don't you think.

 

Now, I know a lot of "factual" people insist that the world is not running out of water. However, I do believe that the problem being adressed is the shortage of fresh water in certain areas of the world. For example, I heard that in the outskirts of New Delhi, capital of India, water has become an increasingly scarce commodity. People trek to wells in the outskirts of the city just to fetch water for their daily use.

 

In some villages in Africa, potable water is also a scarce resource. True, they have an abundance of rivers and streams but most of these bodies of water are infested with microbes and/or toxins. (Recently, however, a device called Lifestraw has been introduced to filter out these harmful substances)

 

The way I see it, the problem is not the existence of water, per se, but the availability and transport of fresh water to inland areas. It is not true that we can always just rely on rainwater or springs because, oftentimes in heavily populated areas, people draw it out faster than the weather can replenish it.

 

In any case, I can see different ways to solve this

1. Use less water. Really, anyone with common sense can see that you can recycle water for your daily chores. Instead of flushing down freshwater down the toilet, we just use the suds and wastewater used in laundry.

2. Recycle water. I meant recycling sewer water, not just laundry suds. I do believe there is a forum thread about this somewhere.

3. Draw more fresh water from other areas. By this, I meant the import of freshwater from other cities, or even neighboring countries.

4. Draw freshwater from the sea. Only, for this to work in a country, we'd need desalinisation plants, long-distance conduits and water tanks.

5. Import freshwater ice from the polar caps.

 

But, really, won't it be much easier to conserve water, like #1 and #2? Or build purifier plants like #3? In other words, I do believe it is much easier to clean water that's on our doorstep than to clean water from a coast several miles away. Don't you guys think so too?

[jlhaslip 4]

Plant more tress. They use water, yes, but they also filter it and cause the water to stay in the ground by avoiding runoff ( the root systems ) and promote a healthy eco-system for providing cleaner water , lumber, and if they are allowed to decompose, a natural fertilizer for better soils and a micro-biotic environment. Every part of the Planet would benefit if we weren't chopping down all the trees...

[salamangkero 0]

Plant more tress. They use water, yes, but they also filter it and cause the water to stay in the ground by avoiding runoff ( the root systems ) and promote a healthy eco-system for providing cleaner water , lumber, and if they are allowed to decompose, a natural fertilizer for better soils and a micro-biotic environment. Every part of the Planet would benefit if we weren't chopping down all the trees...

I beg to differ. Not every part of the planet will benefit from trees.

I once read a book that has some theories on why the Sahara Desert grew to such a size. It said that the rise of the Himalayan ranges, pushed up by India driving inland, caused the redirection of the cooling rain-bearing winds from the East. It was a slow process that took a very long time but, as you can see, a daily dose of searing sunlight has taken its toll on what was once lush greenery. No amount of tree planting could save that area from turning into a desert.

Similarly, some heavily populated rural areas (or even the outskirts of urban areas like New Delhi) have no connection to water services. The easiest approach woukd probably be to draw water from the ground. However, if everyone also drew water from the ground, then groundwater will be used up faster than it is returned by natural processes (rain or snow). As you can see, planting trees will only cause more problems.

Like I said in my previous post, the problem is not that we are running out of water; we don't have our oceans drifting away into space. The real problem is the tramsport/delivery of water to certain populated areas. However, if you wish to look at it differently, the problem could also be that people are living in areas where water is hard to come by

[scan06disk 0]

if we run out of lakes etc we can get water from the ocean!"

Well well well nice to see someone thinking about our most important resource ! as for the Future when water is really gone what are we gonna do? forget oceans as the earthmoves closer to the sun and all sorts of changes occur, the only thing left to do is to join the 2 molecules H + O2 is some kind of ration that they form wate and thats the only was for mankind to survive. as for us we wont even be Alive then, hope so Think about it people ! the fastest and neares we can travel to safety is mars which in after a few years would also plunge into the sun thenwhat remains Nothing but Years of travel and finally the LOSS of mankind !



hehehe spooked you all eh hahahahahah
but still think about it !
Enjoy,
Scan

[dwayne12 0]

well then Iraq would want some other reason to charge us money neways
i do not think that we will ever run out of fresh water because of the water cycle.... which is the movement and transition of water through things like condensation, precipitation, transpiration, and evaporation.

basicly; Water evaporates from the earth goes in air up to clouds rains (or snows) back down to earth into lakes etc.......

so i dont think that we will ever run out of water...

You can't say that we won't ever run out of water perhaps not in america but I'm from Australia and I live in a city called Brisbane and my local damn is like at 20% capacity see through the stereotypes no I don't live in the country I live in a heavily populated city in Australia and i don't live on a farm.

We've been having a nation wide drought for a while now and you say that the cycle continues. our drought is caused by the Il Nino effect they think but it's coming to an end apparently. Look up more on the subject if you are interested because I'm afraid you've got it all wrong.

[possible123 0]

First of all, we aren't running out of water. We are running out of drinkable water. Second of all,

our population is increasing at a rate too fast to give them water or a bunch of other natural resources.

Third of all, global warming floods some areas and dries our some areas. It relocates the rain.

 

______

Here's how to solve the problem:

 

## Conserve water ( duh )

 

## Recycle water ( mentioned before )

 

## Import water

 

## Recycle pee ( it's gross, but they recycle the pee on the International Space Station,

and it's some of the cleanest water on Earth [ well technically not on Earth ] )

 

## Try to lower the rate our population is growing at so we won't have as many people

consuming natural resources, including water.

 

## Educate people about water

 

## Take water from the ocean and remove the salt. It has a lot of disadvantages like price and

everything, but it's a good natural resource.

 

______

 

I don't believe that humans have the capability to cause a significant drop in salt water.

Even though we can ravage the environment six ways from Sunday, the vast expanse of salt

water is simply too much for us to significantly lower.

 

I doubt that humans can survive long enough to significantly lower it anyway. If so much water

is needed, then how much of other natural resources are being used? Those other natural

resources like electricity, metals, land, etc. would have a tremendously negative impact on

civilization and may cause it's end even before we get to the point where we can literally

suck our planet dry.

[scan06disk 0]

## Try to lower the rate our population is growing at so we won't have as many peopleconsuming natural resources, including water.

well, that means we would have to get rid of at least 1/2 of the worlds population, to last till the earth is engulfed by the SUN !
it might be funny now but during those days u will be .........well yea think abt tht. hehe for now chill but then !

scan

[possible123 0]

well, that means we would have to get rid of at least 1/2 of the worlds population, to last till the earth is engulfed by the SUN ! :unsure:it might be funny now but during those days u will be .........well yea think abt tht. hehe for now chill but then !

scan

I didn't mean it like that. I meant that we should lower the rate that babies are produced so taking salt water and filtering it which has a high per-person cost, would have a slightly lower total cost.

I should probably add to my list to reduce pollution, even though a bunch of people already mentioned that.

[hitmanblood 0]

Well it is easy to get water from the ocean it is in fact clean safe and not hazardus project in the beginning and if and when we come in contact with such problem as scarce water in the developed world we will start using it from the oceanes however there is another big problem which will happen oceans will become more and more salted and by that ocean currents will change affecting the climate of the world in many different ways this might be real problem because europe might end up like cold land and even further tornadeos and so on.So extensive use of such water is really dangerous for the hall life or for the mosr of it in the world.

[zak92 0]

Well if anyone can hook me up with someway to learn the process of changing salty water to fresh. Thanks.

[salamangkero 0]

I don't believe that humans have the capability to cause a significant drop in salt water. Even though we can ravage the environment six ways from Sunday, the vast expanse of salt

water is simply too much for us to significantly lower.

 

I doubt that humans can survive long enough to significantly lower it anyway. If so much water is needed, then how much of other natural resources are being used? Those other natural resources like electricity, metals, land, etc. would have a tremendously negative impact on civilization and may cause it's end even before we get to the point where we can literally suck our planet dry.

More than twenty years ago, humans also thought, "The ozone layer is vast; we can't possibly cause any significant damage by using CFC's." Now, we have a gaping hole the size of Australia. See, it is this kind of aloof apathy that causes damage to the environment. "I didn't think it was going to be that big," or, "X Corporation had no idea it was introducing that much lead into the environment." How many times must we hear of these excuses long after the deed has been done and the damage, rendered irreparable?

 

Might I suggest that you also watch the movie The Day After Tomorrow. And, just in case that will be taking too much time and effort, I'll just explain a situation that, though presented in a movie, is quite real.

 

Ever since global warming began, chunks of polar ice caps have begun drifting out into the open sea. These fragments, known to us as icebergs, are made of pure water, not salt water. If this continues, we could reach a critical desalinization level that could radically alter the flow of ocean currents (This is true, not fiction. Apparently, the movie writers did some research after all)

 

Okay, so maybe I might concede that maybe we cannot greatly lower the salt content of the oceans by obtaining fresh water from it. However, in the current condition of our world, it might take, what, a few years or decades before we see what happens and could do no more than gasp, "Oh, $#!+"

[possible123 0]

More than twenty years ago, humans also thought, "The ozone layer is vast; we can't possibly cause any significant damage by using CFC's." Now, we have a gaping hole the size of Australia. See, it is this kind of aloof apathy that causes damage to the environment. "I didn't think it was going to be that big," or, "X Corporation had no idea it was introducing that much lead into the environment." How many times must we hear of these excuses long after the deed has been done and the damage, rendered irreparable?

 

Might I suggest that you also watch the movie The Day After Tomorrow. And, just in case that will be taking too much time and effort, I'll just explain a situation that, though presented in a movie, is quite real.

 

Ever since global warming began, chunks of polar ice caps have begun drifting out into the open sea. These fragments, known to us as icebergs, are made of pure water, not salt water. If this continues, we could reach a critical desalinization level that could radically alter the flow of ocean currents (This is true, not fiction. Apparently, the movie writers did some research after all)

 

Okay, so maybe I might concede that maybe we cannot greatly lower the salt content of the oceans by obtaining fresh water from it. However, in the current condition of our world, it might take, what, a few years or decades before we see what happens and could do no more than gasp, "Oh, $#!+"

I fully understand your point, but we seriously have a lot of ocean water. 70% of Earth's surface is covered with water.

Most of that is ocean water. Ocean water is also pretty deep too.

 

I also understand that we could suck the oceans of the world dry. But what would happen to our other resources?

If we take care of our other resources, we should not get the demand of ocean water that will make a dent in it.

Imagine what would happen to metal mining. The metal mining industry is one of the most hazardous to the environment.

If there is such a massive demand of water, and people are conserving it because cleaning ocean water is expensive,

then the industry would wreak massive havoc on the world compared to what's happening now.

 

Because people are trying to protect our other resources, if we can keep our more delicate resources safe, we can

keep ocean water safe.

 

PS: I've seen The Day After Tomorrow. I have it on DVD here.

[salamangkero 0]

I fully understand your point, but we seriously have a lot of ocean water. 70% of Earth's surface is covered with water. Most of that is ocean water. Ocean water is also pretty deep too.

Okay, okay. I could be wrong, yeah, but just in case I'm right, don't say I didn't warn you.
I'll probably grow into an old hermit, if only to nag, "I told you so"