[snappahead]

Israel has gone through one of the driest winters in its history, but despite the lean rainy season, the government has suspended a longstanding campaign to conserve water..
The problem the Times has with desalination Is explained in the last 10 words of that paragraph

[RayChuang88]

This is why we need new forms of nuclear power such as the molten-salt reactor, which is extremely safe to run (even in earthquake-prone areas) and uses thorium-232 as its primary nuclear fuel in a form that is effectively meltdown-proof. And the reactor design can be scaled up and down for local needs instead of needing one big reactor.

With large desalinization plants powered by MSR's up and down the California coastline, we could produce enough potable water to essentially cut the need for water from dams and canals by 50% or more. And that means the current water distribution infrastructure can be better used for agricultural uses.