One Thing We Need To Tax More Heavily...Seriously

[SDHornet]

Anyway, the real answer to water issues is to improve the ability to desalinate sea water - there's plenty of that. RO machines are more than capable of making enough drinking water for 100x the population currently on the Earth, we just need the power to run them. Ion exchange has been around for decades and that can and does clean up water today. And there's plenty of research going on in less energy-consuming ways to desalinate water. And the good thing is that a lot of these industries are American-based. Don't worry about taxing the stuff, that's just artificial. When people need water, we're going to have more than enough ideas on how to tap the ocean to get what we need.

There is one in the works here in SD County. The loop hole is (and it has already been exploited/used) is to couple a desal plant adjacent and "inside the fence" with an existing power plant. This way the desal plant operators can buy the electricity at wholesale and can avoid the transmission fees of a local energy distributor (SDG&E is our local one). The power plant already has the infrastructure in place for a desal plant (intake and outfall) that can reduce costs, and the effluent coolant water is a lot warmer than water directly from the ocean so the water is easier to clean via existing membrane technology. Multiple pilot tests have been done on a small scale, large scale implementation is just waiting for a joint venture to proceed with it. We should know if this goes through in the coming weeks. The company I am at is on one of the two teams that will be awarded the project. We'll see how this plays out.

[AshevilleApp]

No need to tax water more heavily. Just make sure the rates you charge can pay for upkeep and new infrastructure. Around here, household water costs are kept artificially low due to a lack of political will to raise rates. As a consequence local governments look for grant funds. Everyone pays instead of the system users themselves.

[SDHornet]

No need to tax water more heavily. Just make sure the rates you charge can pay for upkeep and new infrastructure...

[blueballs]

The water situation is real and Gannonfan's post is a great idea.

Take a helicopter over Lake Meade sometime and see the old waterline and how that lake is drying up and tell me it isn't a looming problem.

As for Cap'n Cat, how ironic that he brings this up. After he pissed in the Jerico River off my dock repeatedly a couple of years ago the EPA was called in and the entire estuary declared a federal disaster area and superfund site. I ain't caught a fish that had less than three eyes since.

[Ivytalk]

The water situation is real and Gannonfan's post is a great idea.

Take a helicopter over Lake Meade sometime and see the old waterline and how that lake is drying up and tell me it isn't a looming problem.

As for Cap'n Cat, how ironic that he brings this up. After he pissed in the Jerico River off my dock repeatedly a couple of years ago the EPA was called in and the entire estuary declared a federal disaster area and superfund site. I ain't caught a fish that had less than three eyes since.

Just in: Nancy Pelosi proposes to tax POONTANG to balance the federal budget. Not to be denied, high-bracket regular wick-dippers are resorting to fapping three times a week to keep their tax bills low. When asked to comment, Pelosi accused the wealthy self-abusers of "selfishness" and "Mean-spirited objectives." Congressman Carl Wanker (R-IA) retorted, "Nancy, it's literally none of your ph*king business."

[HI54UNI]

Anyway, the real answer to water issues is to improve the ability to desalinate sea water - there's plenty of that. RO machines are more than capable of making enough drinking water for 100x the population currently on the Earth, we just need the power to run them. Ion exchange has been around for decades and that can and does clean up water today. And there's plenty of research going on in less energy-consuming ways to desalinate water. And the good thing is that a lot of these industries are American-based. Don't worry about taxing the stuff, that's just artificial. When people need water, we're going to have more than enough ideas on how to tap the ocean to get what we need.

There is one in the works here in SD County. The loop hole is (and it has already been exploited/used) is to couple a desal plant adjacent and "inside the fence" with an existing power plant. This way the desal plant operators can buy the electricity at wholesale and can avoid the transmission fees of a local energy distributor (SDG&E is our local one). The power plant already has the infrastructure in place for a desal plant (intake and outfall) that can reduce costs, and the effluent coolant water is a lot warmer than water directly from the ocean so the water is easier to clean via existing membrane technology. Multiple pilot tests have been done on a small scale, large scale implementation is just waiting for a joint venture to proceed with it. We should know if this goes through in the coming weeks. The company I am at is on one of the two teams that will be awarded the project. We'll see how this plays out.

Another good reason to do this is if you used lower cost off peak rates and run the desal plant at night only. Some plants just about give the electricity away because there is too much trying to get on the grid.

[dbackjon]

As long as we let golf courses have all the water they want, I'm OK.

As long as it is reclaimed sewage water, sure...

[SDHornet]

There is one in the works here in SD County. The loop hole is (and it has already been exploited/used) is to couple a desal plant adjacent and "inside the fence" with an existing power plant. This way the desal plant operators can buy the electricity at wholesale and can avoid the transmission fees of a local energy distributor (SDG&E is our local one). The power plant already has the infrastructure in place for a desal plant (intake and outfall) that can reduce costs, and the effluent coolant water is a lot warmer than water directly from the ocean so the water is easier to clean via existing membrane technology. Multiple pilot tests have been done on a small scale, large scale implementation is just waiting for a joint venture to proceed with it. We should know if this goes through in the coming weeks. The company I am at is on one of the two teams that will be awarded the project. We'll see how this plays out.

Another good reason to do this is if you used lower cost off peak rates and run the desal plant at night only. Some plants just about give the electricity away because there is too much trying to get on the grid.

It would be pretty tough and very inefficient to get 100 MGD from a desal plant during non peak electricity usage hours.

[SDHornet]

As long as we let golf courses have all the water they want, I'm OK.

As long as it is reclaimed sewage water, sure...

Yup. And it's either "reclaimed water" or "recycled water" depending on the region. Jon, under no condition shall you associate sewage with reclaimed water. The public no likey.

[Cap'n Cat]

The water situation is real and Gannonfan's post is a great idea.

Take a helicopter over Lake Meade sometime and see the old waterline and how that lake is drying up and tell me it isn't a looming problem.

As for Cap'n Cat, how ironic that he brings this up. After he pissed in the Jerico River off my dock repeatedly a couple of years ago the EPA was called in and the entire estuary declared a federal disaster area and superfund site. I ain't caught a fish that had less than three eyes since.

Funny, I never heard from the authorities. Thanks for covering for me and blaming it on a bunch of drunk black guys!

[blueballs]

The water situation is real and Gannonfan's post is a great idea.

Take a helicopter over Lake Meade sometime and see the old waterline and how that lake is drying up and tell me it isn't a looming problem.

As for Cap'n Cat, how ironic that he brings this up. After he pissed in the Jerico River off my dock repeatedly a couple of years ago the EPA was called in and the entire estuary declared a federal disaster area and superfund site. I ain't caught a fish that had less than three eyes since.

Funny, I never heard from the authorities. Thanks for covering for me and blaming it on a bunch of drunk mexicans!

FIFY