Soon I may be drinking sea water ~ In my neighboring town of Carlsbad, California, a huge water project is underway ~ Along the coast of Carlsbad – the plan is to build the largest ocean water desalination plant in the United States – the largest desalination plant in the western hemisphere ~
Sounds wonderful on the surface .. the oceans are our greatest water source but only if we can find ways to convert the water for safe drinking water and for use on landscapes and farms ~ Well, we now have that technology but here is the controversy ~
Two environmental groups in San Diego, Surfrider and Coast Keeper, have challenged the Carlsbad desalination project in court for they see the proposed method in the cooling systems do not do enough to protect marine life in the intake of sea water ~ There are better ways that are less harmful to fish and crustaceans such as sub-sea floor intakes, an environmentally superior technology, but it seems is more costly ~
Here are some related links ~
http://sandiego.surfrider.org/legal-battle-over-ocean-desalination-continues
http://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/learn/san-diegos-water-supply/desalination.html