Environment & Energy

NickB79

(19,233 posts)

3. As hunter pointed out, it's VERY energy intensive

Tue Aug 27, 2013, 06:49 AM

Aug 2013

Beyond that, the amount of water we use daily absolutely dwarfs how much oil we use daily.

Currently, the US consumes 800 million gallons of oil daily. That includes oil not pumped cross-country in pipelines, like the stuff imported on tankers from Saudi Arabia.

The average US citizen uses 100 gallons of water daily: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html

With 300 million citizens, this translates to 30 BILLION gallons of water used daily. I don't believe this even takes into account industrial or agricultural use, either.

If we pumped as much water daily as we currently pump oil, it would still be a drop in the bucket for our water consumption.

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Water Woes: Vast US Aquifer Is Being Tapped Out [View all] NickB79 Aug 2013 OP

Desalinate the ocean and pipe it wherever we need it. mbperrin Aug 2013 #1

Desaliniztion takes a lot of energy. hunter Aug 2013 #2

Even setting aside desalinization, moving water is incredibly energy-intensive hatrack Aug 2013 #5

So moving petroleum products is cheap, but somehow water is too expensive. mbperrin Aug 2013 #13

No, it's a question of scale hatrack Aug 2013 #21

Not really ever worked in the industry, have you? mbperrin Aug 2013 #25

Good, you can leave any time - knock yourself out. hatrack Aug 2013 #32

good block CreekDog Aug 2013 #34

+1 XemaSab Aug 2013 #35

It's the blazing gratuitousness of it all . . . hatrack Aug 2013 #38

he wasn't just arguing some science with you, he was dismissing the severity of the issue CreekDog Aug 2013 #39

I don't think so kristopher Aug 2013 #40

First, I'm anti-nuclear, Second, your arguments have problems, but at least you're trying, he wasn't CreekDog Aug 2013 #42

Not strange when you consider it relative to the value of the product. GliderGuider Aug 2013 #31

Why would wind and solar be very expensive? mbperrin Aug 2013 #12

As hunter pointed out, it's VERY energy intensive NickB79 Aug 2013 #3

Yet the OP doesn't say the whole country needs it. mbperrin Aug 2013 #14

One MASSIVE aquifer that irrigates millions of acres of land NickB79 Aug 2013 #18

Not really. Have you ever been through and seen the Tri-Matics run? mbperrin Aug 2013 #23

Let me repeat: 6,800,000,000,000 gallons of water ANNUALLY NickB79 Aug 2013 #28

Nope, can't "scale up." hunter Aug 2013 #20

So no amount of research will help. mbperrin Aug 2013 #24

Mother Nature bats last. hunter Aug 2013 #29

Wow. oldhippie Aug 2013 #4

Well, I did, so you can believe your own eyes, or you can just go with your mbperrin Aug 2013 #15

if we put the money into it, it could be done efficiently. mopinko Aug 2013 #6

What is your basis for that syatement? oldhippie Aug 2013 #7

there was a story on here just the other day about mopinko Aug 2013 #9

Yes, Tampa is already using this - wave action leaves the salt in the ocean and mbperrin Aug 2013 #16

In a gentle world we could make this work. hunter Aug 2013 #30

So your argument is that less research will help. mbperrin Aug 2013 #17

Nope. Made no such argument. oldhippie Aug 2013 #22

Sure you did. But since you won't own it, I won't be seeing you anymore. mbperrin Aug 2013 #26

You are gone - we don't need the snark, the hostility and the legions of strawmen hatrack Aug 2013 #33

I did the math in post #18 NickB79 Aug 2013 #19

Money is just pixels on a page. That's never an issue. mbperrin Aug 2013 #27

if what you propose is as difficult as others say, then why not do something easier but possible CreekDog Aug 2013 #36

transport it through existing rivers and streams? treat them like canals and conveyances? CreekDog Aug 2013 #41

is this what it took to extract it? mopinko Aug 2013 #37

I read this study about ground water extraction and sea level rise OnlinePoker Aug 2013 #8

thanks for answering a question that always comes up mopinko Aug 2013 #10

Study forecasts future water levels of crucial agricultural aquifer OKIsItJustMe Aug 2013 #11