[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Star30

Right GAHD! I lived in Bermuda in the late 80's. Many or all of the local buildings and homes were made of limestone with the roof white and "staggered" with collection holes to collect water in tanks beneath the structure.

Many years ago it was illegal to have water tanks in this area.
Now the Council subsidizes their installation!

I talked to a Guy at the IAI conference who worked for a big power Station up north.
I ran the "de-sal at power plant" thing by him and he thought it was a good idea. Power Stations need to keep a base load going. At night, he said, they need to gradually "step down" their massive generators. CO2 wise, this is not very efficient use of the energy produced by burning the coal. A lot of energy is wasted gradually stepping down the massive generators over a period of hours.
Sometimes they need to expend a lot of energy going to get an extra power station on line to cope with peak demand.
He also said that seawater used for cooling is warmed to 50C anyway, so it is not a lot more to get to 101C.
I suppose it is a matter of economics, perhaps of perception, perhaps of conservative thinking; but the Professor's new technology (above) looks good.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Star30

ONE HUGE THING. As was suggested be sure to check with your health care provider before altering your diet. This especially with potassium or salt substitutes which often (not all) are of a potassium derivative. Anyone on Potassium sparing diuretics does not want to add potassium to the diet. Hyperkalemia can lead to death.

This guy -Cuatro Cienegas-thinks potassium may have caused the Cambian Extinction Event.
Interesting argument
Phosphate Does A Body Good

This scarcity of phosphorus makes Cuatro Cienegas a good analogue for the Precambrian Earth.
The rock record shows that phosphorus, once scarce, became abundant around the same time as the Cambrian explosion.
Could phosphorus be the key to unlocking the mystery behind the Ediacaran extinction and the sudden emergence of animal life on Earth?
. . .
Then he discovered studies of other animals which also showed that too much phosphate has a negative effect on their growth. This led Elser and his colleagues to suggest that animals exist on a phosphate "knife edge" where too little phosphate in the food supply provides poor nutrition, but too much is harmful.

"Phosphate is central in cellular metabolism in all kinds of ways - ATP turnover, nucleic acid synthesis, and other pathways," says Elser. "Cells maintain the phosphate concentrations in the cytoplasm extremely tightly; it's very strongly regulated.
But if you have too much phosphate, then those equilibrium phosphate concentrations in metabolism get out of balance, and reactions in the cell are impaired."

Elser wonders if the Ediacaran biota, first stimulated by initial increases in the phosphorus supply in the biosphere 600 million years ago, may have been poisoned by further influxes of phosphate recorded in the early Cambrian rock record.
The Cambrian animals that followed needed to find a way to accommodate the increased phosphate.

Elser suggests the solution, for at least some of the animals, was the ability to produce the mineral apatite.
This calcium-phosphate mineral was deposited as hard body parts, and apatite is still the main component of our bones today.

"Your bones have more phosphorus by mass in them than calcium," says Elser. "Everyone knows you've got to drink milk to get calcium, but everyone forgets about the phosphorus part of the mineral.
Our argument is that the first function of apatite formation in animals was not for structural support the way it is used now. Instead, it was originally a detoxification mechanism as a way of preventing excess dietary phosphate from affecting physiology."

The emergence of hard parts in animals by phosphate deposition could account for the "explosion" of fossils in the Cambrian rock record, since hard parts are better preserved over long time scales than soft body parts.

Elser also says that the increased phosphate - after eons where there was very little phosphate available in the environment -- may have allowed multi-cellular life forms to proliferate.

Salt water as a fuel??
nah!
http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/908501...-2BCDEF0926BC/
http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=68227
Donklephant » Blog Archive » Turning Salt Water Into Fuel?
blog.myspace.com/thehardbody
Directory:John Kanzius Produces Hydrogen from Salt Water Using Radio Waves - PESWiki
WorldNetDaily: Can water fuel world?
Directory:John Kanzius Produces Hydrogen from Salt Water Using Radio Waves - PESWiki

Salt to Store energy?

The DESERTEC concept

For a summary, click DESERTEC in brief.

Every year, each square kilometre of hot desert receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil. Multiplying by the area of deserts world-wide, this is several hundred times the entire current energy consumption of the world.

The key technology for tapping in to this energy is 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), which means using mirrors to concentrate sunlight to create heat. The heat may be used to drive a Stirling engine and dynamo to generate electricity or it may be used to raise steam to drive turbines and generators in the conventional way. CSP is very different from the better-known photovoltaics (PV, sometimes called 'solar panels') and should not be confused with it. However, slightly confusingly, some CSP plants use mirrors to concentrate sunlight and then use PV panels to convert the concentrated sunlight to electricity.
Less than 1% of the world's hot deserts, if covered with concentrating solar power plants, could produce as much electricity as the world currently uses.

Solar heat that has been captured by a CSP plant can be stored in melted salts (eg nitrates of sodium or potassium) or other medium so that electricity generation may continue at night or on cloudy days. Also, gas may be used as a stop-gap source of heat when there is no sun. More about these aspects of CSP may be found on the web page about generating electricity without the sun.

TREC-UK

[Star30]

Also posted on Water: Where will it come from in 2050? #80

When I read this I instantly thought of this thread. Rio Grande Regional Seawater Desalination Project

[palmtreepathos]

A couple more links related to salt and water....

Greening the Desert....If you haven't got High speed/net maybe a trip to the library will let you watch this one....AMAZING!
Greening the Desert - now on YouTube | Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

The Watercure...the only way salt works is with water....
Watercure.com - The Miracles of Water to Cure Diseases
Water Cure 2

Water from Air...
"water from air" - Google Search
Air2Water - pure drinking water, water machine, water from air, water cooler, water system

[palmtreepathos]

To inspire you to really give the watercure site a good read I will forego the miraculous change in my health and that of the many people who I know who have tried the formula taught by Dr Batmanghelidj, M.D. and will share a story about my golden retriever.

After applying the formula for a few months with great success and gradually working my way through the watercure2 site I read some of the pet stories and decided it was time to try it out on my old retriever. As a pet he was the best, always happy to see me and be near me in the yard when I was working. Whatever I had used in my work of the day he would then guard for hours after... awwww my buddy!

You may know about the retrievers weakness of arthritic hips. As he reached the age of 10 he already had been moving with less enthusiasm for about 2 years, then I began to notice that every time he tried to stand he would grimace and falter, the pain was getting very bad. So I started to keep track of his water consumption and I found it to be approx. 1 quart water every other day. The formula for the watercure is using 1/4 teaspoon of good mineralized sea salt per quart of water that you drink. (drinking water with the salt in it is nasty!) So I used the salt (every other day) in what I call dog gravy made from our dinner leftovers.

Less than month to see amazing results! Not only did he find it easier to get standing but he now was prancing again in a way I had not seen in 2 years. Three years have passed and he is still sashaying around the place with only the ocassional achiness. I cannot tell you the joy this brings me to help my old buddy have less pain.

This was way less expensive than the Vet charges and prescriptions, and it worked better! My own experience of Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and arthritis relief by using this method can be read in the many other personal stories on the site.

[Michaelangelica]

palmtreepathos

the Lab's Explore in Science
GM techniques used to increase salt resistance in cereal crops
Mark Tester is applying GM techniques to cereal crops, turning on or off particular genes in particular sections of plants.
75% of Australia’s wheat crop is stressed by salinity.
An English moss has great abilities in removing salt from its roots.
The gene was isolated and inserted into rice and barley.
Now these crops behave in the same way, pumping salt out of their roots. They have become salt resistant varieties of these plants. (Science Show 18/08/2007)

Science Show - 18August2007 - GM techniques used to increase salt resistance in cereal crops

[palmtreepathos]

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

AMA's campaign against salt fails to recognize health benefits of sea salt and trace minerals

I concur, (Hence my last 2 posts on the importance of water AND salt) I should have read to the end of the thread, I see that the topic has developed a different focus. OOPS!

BTW I enjoyed your researching the "salt water flame" articles yet they never mentioned did the fire actually "use up" any of the salt.

I thought this topic "Salt water as a fuel??" would fly in the alternative fuels thread alas it did not. No knowledgeable discussion there either....nah! is just not enuff for inquiring minds

[palmtreepathos]

This is a nice site so far as the explanation..... and a lot of contributions from the readers

Saltwater into fire « Desalination Research And Development

[Michaelangelica]

I think it uses more energy than it makes

Salt tolerant perennials

PDF Print E-mail
Written by Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor, UVM
Monday, 08 October 2007
With winter in the north comes salt applied to roads and walks to melt snow and ice. Such salt can damage the roots of nearby perennial plants. There are several herbaceous perennials fairly tolerant of winter road salt.

The County Courier Salt tolerant perennials

Good link to a comprehensive plant list at the end of the article too.

Does anyone have a list of salt tolerant Oz natives?

What is this?
Illume Gallery Salt Lamps-improve your air quality and reduce stress with our handcrafted, ionizing salt lamps

[Michaelangelica]

Growers hail new turf that can be watered with seawater
PRINT FRIENDLY EMAIL STORY
The World Today - Wednesday, 28 March , 2007 12:30:00
Reporter: Tanya Nolan
ELEANOR HALL: It's being hailed as the saviour of the drought-ravaged turf industry and the great green hope for those who love their lawn.

It's a new breed of turf that can be watered with seawater.

But while it's been popular elsewhere in the world, it's been slow to catch on in Australia.

Now turf growers are encouraging state governments to embrace it as an element of sustainable planning.

But as Tanya Nolan reports, environment groups say they want to know what its broader environmental impact may be.

(Sound of lawnmower)

TANYA NOLAN: The sound of the lawnmower priming on a Sunday morning has long been a great Australian ritual.

But with the drought and water restrictions, it's a ritual that's dying out, along with the lawn in the backyard.

Turf grower and a founding member of Turf Producers Australia, Greg Miller, has felt firsthand the impact of water restrictions.

He estimates it's cost his business around $700,000 a year in lost revenue.

And it's prompted the search for a new drought-resistant lawn that thrives on salt water.

Now he's encouraging the New South Wales Government and homeowners to get behind it.

The World Today - Growers hail new turf that can be watered with seawater

* Water shortages and degradation. (See section above.)

Badly planned and poorly built irrigation systems have reduced yields on one half of all irrigated land, according to a 1995 estimate by FAO.39 The two main problems are salinization and waterlogging of crops. FAO estimates that salt build-up in soil has severely damaged 25-30 million hectares of the world's 255 million hectares of irrigated land.40 Another 80 million hectares are affected by a combination of salinization and waterlogging.41

Every year, on average, about 1.5 million hectares of irrigated land is taken out of production because of salt build-up alone, half of the amount of land brought into production.42 With such problems, the world's irrigated croplands may actually be shrinking at a time when they should be expanding to meet growing demand for food, according to the International Irrigation Management Institute.43

The State of World Population 2001