Can making seawater drinkable quench the world's thirst?

BBC ^ | 13 October 2015 | By Padraig Belton

[moose07]

Producing fresh drinking water from the sea - desalination - has always seemed to be the most obvious answer to water shortages.

Our oceans cover more than 70% of the earth's surface and contain 97% of its water.
But the energy needed to achieve this seemingly simple process has been costly.
Now, thanks to new technologies, costs have been halved and huge desalination plants are opening around the world.

The largest seawater desalination plant ever, Israel's Sorek plant near Tel Aviv, just ramped up to full production.
It will make 624 million litres of drinkable water daily, and sell 1,000 litres - equivalent to a Brit's weekly consumption - for 45p.
Nearby in Saudi Arabia, the Ras al-Khair plant reaches full production in December.
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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US have even experimented with semi-permeable membranes made from atom-thick graphene.
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[Dusty Road]

Wouldn’t make a difference.

[Mike Darancette]

This such a no brainer solution for the California coast. Too bad Brown must have his choo-choo.

[samtheman]

Too bad Brown must have his choo-choo.

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yup

[Mike Darancette]

When pumped into the deep ocean the brine by product has a negligible effect.

[dfwgator]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks moose07, one would think that the idiots running California would have concluded that "free electricity" from sunshine and windmills, plus the proximity of the ocean, would make this kind of thing a good idea -- partincularly when bluejean millionnaires from Hollyweird have spent decades agitating to remove the federally-funded dams that have made the entire fantasyland in the desert possible.

[Oberon]

That’s a question for an engineer... but in any case you’d get your fresh water for the cost of pumping it (plus upkeep).