Comment on Desalination system could produce freshwater that is cheaper than tap water

Smoogs@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

• Masimatutu@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  The article explicitly states that it is directly powered by the sun.

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  • MeanEYE@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    And how does buying panels or power make it cheaper than filtering river water?

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  • Smoogs@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Solar panels is an entirely other discussion about the issues they themselves bring especially with covering the earth with more black surface which is negating the point of what the ice was doing to cool the earth before it melted. Ocean water is black and solar panels are black. You’re turning the earth into a cinder block.

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    • Masimatutu@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Surely you cannot pretend this is a real problem? This is nothing compared to the loss of Albedo caused by ice melting, and also nothing compared to the fossil fuels that would otherwise go to similar purposes.

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      • Smoogs@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Dodge the uncomfortable fact.

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• NOT_RICK@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  If you read about this device you’ll find it’s solar powered. This isn’t anything new, solar powered desalinization boxes are nothing new, but this one doesn’t get clogged quickly like previous models have. If it scales up as well as they’re hoping this could really help a ton of people.

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  • Smoogs@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Solar panels also have an issue that come with it covering the earth with more black surface which is negating the point of what the ice was doing to cool the earth before it melted. Ocean water is black and solar panels are black. This is known as albedo effect.

    then you have the issue of helping people. Sure, helping people who have NO ACCESS TO WATER this should definitely be an option.

    But offering it to people whom already have tap water and access to water as a secondary ‘cheaper’ option is not so altruistic particularly if we don’t consider the impact as the aforementioned non reflective surface that is a much bigger impact on global warming. Hence that solar panels aren’t an all-source solution for the overall issues.

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    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      They’re not solar panels, they’re solar powered by a black sheet that heats up the box to get the water evaporating. Creating clean tap water also takes energy so unless the effect of the box’s lower albedo is greater than the environmental cost of cleaning and transporting water it’s still a net positive, especially in those parts of the world where fresh water is scarce.

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      • Smoogs@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Again, not arguing if it’s needed where water is scarce, So the topic is switching to a cheaper form for tap water and this is being sold as an idea to people who already have water.

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• Armand1@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Getting water to places that don’t have access to fresh water is not a minor inconvenience.

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  • Smoogs@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    they already have tap water hence the title.

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