Potable water is both a finite and renewable resource. While it is infinitely recyclable, the Earth’s stores of fresh water at any point are limited. So when humanity’s booming populations drain these reserves faster than they can be replenished, shit gets real. And this is how we fix it.
The best way to overcome our water deficit? Make some of that undrinkable H20 drinkable. The conventional methods for extracting the salt from seawater—evaporation ponds (like those above) and reverse osmosis plants—are both time-consuming and energy-intensive. These technologies were eclipsed last year when a Stanford Research team discovered it could cycle salt and fresh water through an electrochemical cell. And if you run the same system in reverse—that is, pumping electricity in rather than out—you can extract semi-fresh water at a fraction of the cost of conventional means.
via Gizmodo
