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snoandsk88 t1_ir5ruce wrote

IMO we need to keep accelerating our ability to produce clean energy. The next big problem will be water and the only source I can think of is the ocean. So we need enough surplus energy to run desalination plants.

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rptrxub t1_ir5xx8o wrote

There is a guy supplying some areas like flint michigan with condensers that pull humidity out of the air and turn it into drinking water. It's cheaper than desalination but I don't know if it'd have negative effects on the surrounding environment at a large scale.

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SwankySozhak t1_ir6w5zi wrote

Dehumidifier water is incredibly energy inefficient and unsafe for human consumption, not to mention they don't work well when the air isn't humid.

As far as energy cost and environmental impact is concerned, you are legitimately far better off shipping freshwater to Flint than trying to use dehumidifiers.

Edit: I should clarify that I am in no ways anti-technology, but it needs to actually work and I dislike how many times snake-oil startups have peddled this idea. Please, instead of pulling water from air, ideas towards purifying already existing water will benefit us much more.

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rptrxub t1_iragt6m wrote

what makes then unsafe for human consumption? I'm all for abandoning half baked ideas if they're impractical.

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SwankySozhak t1_irakpnt wrote

Short answer: Condensation, unlike evaporation or distillation, does not remove contaminants.

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snoandsk88 t1_ir5ykss wrote

Isn’t that basically what mountains and rain water do?

Glad to hear there are alternatives!

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DooDooSlinger t1_ir66uee wrote

The lucky thing here is that water usually is an issue in regions which also have a huge solar power potential, which has itself become dirt cheap to produce.

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AnonymousWritings t1_ir8qiaz wrote

Fortunately solar panel production capacity just keeps accelerating. Capacity for 300GW/year right now, and factories underway to increase that to 900GW a year well before the end of the decade.

May not all run at full capacity, but chances are even more gets built. We currently have just over 1 TW of total solar installed worldwide, and I wouldn't be surprised if we are installing 1 TW/year by a decade from now.

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