[zeugma]

Moreover, Bromberg said desalination is not an end-all solution. The plants require immense amounts of energy, consuming roughly 10 percent of Israel's total electricity production, he said.

Yup. If you're near the ocean, all you need is energy and you can have clean water.

The exact impact of desalination plants on the wider Mediterranean also isn't clear, he added. A number of countries, including Cyprus, Lebanon and Egypt, are either using or considering the use of desalination plants.

Waiting for the eco-nazis to step up on this one. I'm sure they'll be yelling about it soon enough.

Put a bunch of jews in the desert, and eventually you'll have a civilized oasis.

Put a bunch of muslims in the desert, and you eventually have dead muslims... and desert.

[mikey_hates_everything]

The plants require immense amounts of energy, consuming roughly 10 percent of Israel's total electricity production, he said.

Small price to pay. The total motor rating at the Edmonston Pumping Plant on the Ca aquaduct is 1,120,000 hp or 835MW. No, that's not used all at once but it's there if they need it. That's just to move water up a mountain to the other side, not production.

[BlackVeil]

Desalinisation is even more dominant in the Gulf Arab states - 90% of their water comes from it. So, if the drawbacks listed in this article were serious, one would expect them to be already evident in the Persian Gulf.