What's your big idea for the World?

[Kurt]

My big idea is water. Places like the California and Texas deserts are actually very fertile, get a lot of sun and have long growing seasons. They just don't have water.

Desalination is now only 2X what reservoir water costs, but there's a limited amount of reservoir water and unlimited ocean water. I don't have a clue how much it would cost to transport the water but the Romans did it a couple of thousand years ago.

These desert areas have immense solar potential for cheap energy and the land is really cheap so this would offset some of the costs of desalination and transporting the water.

Throughout human history we have settled in the easiest places for life to survive. We now have the technology to live where it's a little harder to survive and we have less impact and let nature reclaim some of the other areas.

[JoeSpirit]

Do you think farming would be more active as opposed to wind and solar farms?

I know driving across the Texas Panhandle the wind farms keep growing. And south of Vegas and in the Mojave Desert, there are new solar farms every time I go out there.

[Kurt]

Do you think farming would be more active as opposed to wind and solar farms?

I know driving across the Texas Panhandle the wind farms keep growing. And south of Vegas and in the Mojave Desert, there are new solar farms every time I go out there.

I think it would be for both solar and crops. If you've driven around Las Vegas after a rain you've seen how the desert comes alive. Many deserts are similar with good sun and soil but no water. When we're told the planet is at its capacity for people the biggest reason by far is arable land.

Another benefit is by increasing desalination on the coasts is areas upstream can use more water. For example Las Vegas could use more water from the Colorado and S Cal would use more from the Pacific.

LV is in big trouble with water. Lake Meade is so low LV is having to drill lower water tunnels to be able to access the water.

Desalination lets us be less dependent on the whims of weather and makes us much more drought-resistant. There are also intangible benefits of letting Mother Nature reclaim a little land.

I think the question is expense and how much it costs to transport water in addition to 2x the cost of reservoirs. But again, reservoirs are dependent on rain and snow fall. Desal is consistent.

[JoeSpirit]

It's kinda hard to drive around LV after a rain isn't it? I know 100 miles south of there (my Mother lives in Bull Head City) rainfall was rare. Although there are so many people moving in from other areas who insist on grass that they're changing the atmosphere from the constant use of sprinklers in the yards.

I didn't realize that Mead is at low levels. I remember stopping at a dive shop in LV once (mid to late 90s) and learning that at one point it was 650 feet deep.

I read a few days ago that one country desalinates every bit of water that it uses. I don't remember which country that is now.

[Kurt]

LV gets about 3.5 inches of rain a year. The desert is beautiful after it rains and Las Vegas is the best place I've seen for rainbows. It will rain and the clouds disappear quickly and the bright sun comes out. I've seen 5 rainbows scattered across the valley at once.

The country may be Israel. They are pretty much the leaders with desal.

[JoeSpirit]

Driving to LV from Boulder City - as you top the hill (Railroad Pass?) you see a huge cloud of pollution over the city nowadays. Not a pretty sight.

Maybe it was Isreal.

[Kurt]

Water is the key to life and civilization. We search the universe for water. Every human society in history has lived near fresh water. We have picked the easiest places to live, which are also almost always the easiest places for other plants and animals to live.

There is so much open desert just inland off the coast in both Calif and Texas and developing these areas would have a lot less impact on nature and wildlife than in many other places. And it's not just CA and TX. The ability to get fresh water to arid place would solve a lot of the world's problems.