Follow the Water

[Airbrush]

"Follow the water" is the astronomer's mantra for finding life elsewhere.  So let's spread the fresh water around here on Earth!  What do any climate science experts think of this idea?  The idea is to "colonize Earth" by means of "oasis-states."  An oasis-state is a plan to decentralize humans for survival on Earth in the face of disastrous climate change.  It starts with giant water pipes that carry huge volumes of sea-water to previously uninhabited, inland deserts.  The desert should not be too far from the ocean so you don't need to transport the water very far.  The salt water is delivered to a new "oasis-state" that begins by desalinating sea water and then the fresh water is used for subsistence farming to support the workers.

The idea is desalinate sea-water by sun power alone.  The water is placed in concrete ponds, a few feet deep, that are a convenient size so the ponds can be covered with lensed glass (made from desert sand!) to rapidly heat the water until vaporization and the condensation flows out in pipes and hoses to be used for farming and other uses.  When most of the water is vaporized the very salty residual water is pumped out so some can make salt, and the excess high salt water is dumped back in the ocean.  These oasis-states can grow in size until there are thousands of concrete ponds desalinating water.  Eventually there is much more fresh water than is needed for subsistence, the excess fresh water can be used to grow trees to suck co2 out of the air.  These oasis-states can use solar and wind power.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Airbrush

[Roamer]

3 hours ago, Airbrush said:

An oasis-state is a plan to decentralize humans for survival on Earth in the face of disastrous climate change. 

so it's workers are gonna be bees & ants ?

[zapatos]

Who is going to pay for all of this? Certainly not the subsistence farmers.

[Airbrush]

18 hours ago, zapatos said:

Who is going to pay for all of this? Certainly not the subsistence farmers.

There will need to be an initial investment to get it started, but over time the oasis-state could become self-sufficient.  They could first sell fresh water and table salt, then later when farming is up and running, sell crops and other farm products, and sell energy from solar and wind.  Sell glass made from desert sand for more desalination ponds.

This would be a better investment than trying to colonizing Mars, the moon, or asteroids, which is just pie in the sky.  Earth should be colonized and adapted to climate change BEFORE colonizing outer space.

Edited October 8, 2020 by Airbrush

[zapatos]

3 hours ago, Airbrush said:

They could first sell fresh water and table salt, then later when farming is up and running, sell crops and other farm products, and sell energy from solar and wind.

To whom will they sell fresh water and table salt? They are in the middle of the dessert. Transportation costs top populated areas would be substantial. In 2020, the state of Missouri (where I live) is expecting to pay $62 per ton of salt. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of salt in the world.

Who is going to pay for the solar and wind infrastructure, as well as the transmission lines to ship the energy out of the desert?

Earth is already colonized. Why do you want to do these things in the desert? Ocean water is available in lots of places that aren't so remote.

[Airbrush]

38 minutes ago, zapatos said:

To whom will they sell fresh water and table salt? They are in the middle of the dessert. Transportation costs top populated areas would be substantial. In 2020, the state of Missouri (where I live) is expecting to pay $62 per ton of salt. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of salt in the world.

Who is going to pay for the solar and wind infrastructure, as well as the transmission lines to ship the energy out of the desert?

Earth is already colonized. Why do you want to do these things in the desert? Ocean water is available in lots of places that aren't so remote.

Wealthy people will need to invest in human survival to get the ball rolling.  If humanity does not survive intact, with industrial power, then wealthy people do not survive either.  Either that or there will be wars over water.

Maybe there are other valuable minerals that can be extracted from sea water?  Yes I doubt there is a shortage of salt. 

The basic idea is the water would not be sold, but used locally.  Such an oasis can grow from humble origins.  First you build a big water pipe from the ocean to a coastal desert, maybe within a few miles from the ocean.  The water is delivered to an "initial" desalination plant that uses whatever power available to begin desalinating water for the local workers to drink and plant food to eat.  Over time they construct concrete ponds with lensed-glass covers to magnify sunlight to vaporize water directly from sunshine, and condensation is collected.  Then they build larger pipelines to deliver MORE sea water to MORE desalination ponds.  Also they install solar panels and wind mills everywhere they can.  The more power the better.

Humanity better start creating fresh water before it is too late.

Z:  "Why do you want to do these things in the desert? Ocean water is available in lots of places that aren't so remote."

Good question.  Coastal deserts, that have cloud-free weather, would be chosen because you need:  (1) square MILES of empty wasteland to construct desalination ponds, (2) you need lots of sunlight, and (3) you can't be too far from the ocean.  If there are "lots of places that aren't so remote," then desalinate there also.  People can even create fresh water in their back yards!  All you need is a pit, throw in vegetation, cover it with clear plastic, and collect the condensation in a bucket in the middle.

My next question for any climate science experts, would creating such oases, where before there was only a few desert cacti, cause a climate crisis?  I don't think so.

"A new paper paints a disturbing picture of a nearby future where people are fighting over access to water. These post-apocalyptic-sounding "water wars" could rise as a result of climate change and population growth and could become real soon enough if we don't take steps to prevent them.

The study, which comes from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), says that the effects of climate change will be combined with an ever-increasing number of people to trigger intense competition for increasingly scarce resources. This can lead to regional instability and social unrest."

https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/where-the-water-wars-will-be-fought

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Airbrush