Simple, solar-powered water desalination (2020)

How much cost?

This is essentially a solar still that uses the natural water cycle to produce fresh water.

Learning about desalinization should be taught in all schools for more innovations in this area.

It would be a cosmic joke to run out of water on a water planet, we'd look like universal dunces.

USGS site has a great overview of desalinization that is a good place to start, you can even try your own solar still in your backyard.

USGS Desalination site [1]

Build your own backyard desalinization system (solar still) [2]

> You can make your own personal desalination plant

> Remember looking at the picture at the top of this page of a floating solar still [3]? The same process that drives that device can also be applied if you find yourself in the desert in need of a drink of water.

> The low-tech approach to accomplish this is to construct a "solar still" which uses heat from the sun to run a distillation process to cause dew to form on something like plastic sheeting. The diagram to the right illustrates this. [2] Using seawater or plant material in the body of the distiller creates humid air, which, because of the enclosure created by the plastic sheet, is warmed by the sun. The humid air condenses water droplets on the underside of the plastic sheet, and because of surface tension, the water drops stick to the sheet and move downward into a trough, from which it can be consumed.

> You can try this at home! [2]

> - Dig a pit in the ground

> - Place a bowl at the bottom of the pit that will be used to catch the condensed water

> - Cover the pit loosley with a plastic sheet (you can use stones or other heavy objects to hold it in place over the pit

> - Be sure that the lowest part of the plastic sheet hovers directly over the bowl

> - Leave your water "trap" overnight and water can be collected from the bowl in the morning

We need to put tons of money in desalinization. California is already a leader in that but we need more. Israel and Saudi Arabia are also pretty good at desalinization due to more dire water situations.

Additionally we need geoengineering in terms of helping create moisture/rain in areas that feed the Colorado.

The better bet is desalinization that uses the nature water cycle, it makes for cleaner water as well. Saudi Arabia is doing a solar dome to test this [4], we need more of this.

[1] https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/scie...

[2] https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/how-build-your-own-solar-s...

[3] https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/a-floating-solar-still-des...

[4] https://wired.me/science/environment/desalination-solar-dome...

You need exactly 3 litres per day. Or rather: I do and I did it for several years. This would mean tiny portable and durable device and it would make many places totally habitable. Not just Baja California.

Now we have 3 numbers... US units are great...

I have a healthy skepticism about your skepticism