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Re:Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here by discordance on Friday July 29, 2016 @11:59PM (#12191563)
I've always thought areas where desert meets the sea present incredible opportunities.

It has heavily under utilized land, abundance of insolation and plenty of water that could be desalinated

If we grew crops in these areas, then both food and water would be a function of energy.

Re:Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here by RijilV on Saturday July 30, 2016 @01:27PM (#12193813)
This ignores another key component of agriculture- nutrients in the solid. Land that hasn't had a diverse ecosystem on it for decades isn't going to have the required nutrients.

Sure you can dump additives in the ground and boost this years crop but that isn't going to create long term healthy soil which can support farming. Fertilizers are just another dependency on fossil fuels.

Water is certainly a part of terraforming a desert, but only a part of it.

Re:Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here by justinator on Saturday July 30, 2016 @03:00AM (#12191960)
> It has heavily under utilized land, abundance of insolation and plenty of water that could be desalinated

Southern California is one such place where the desert meets the sea. It is not underutilized, but it is undergoing a massive drought.