Yishan Wong, Head of Terraformation, and former CEO of Reddit.
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Bill Gates opened himself up to Reddit users on Friday in the ninth Ask Me Anything, and while he responded to everything from the conspiratorial actions he called his advice to job interviews, he largely focused on climate change.
Gates has just published a book on climate solutions, “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster,” but one particular Redditor found that Gates ’answer was not to a question about dehydrating seawater.
Another user, Sahil Raza, asked Gates: “Hey Bill! How do you think seawater desalination will affect global water scarcity in the years to come? ”
“We have a lot of rain,” Gates replied. “The problem is that it is expensive to evacuate and move to where it is needed. This is all about the cost of energy. The cost is prohibitive for aquaculture use of water. Fresh seeds can reduce water use, but some may not be able to cultivate as much. ”
That’s when Yishan Wong, former CEO of Reddit, came in, saying that freshwater shortages are “a problem that could be completely solved in the next 10-20 years” thanks to falling solar energy prices.
“This is no longer as big a problem as it used to be, due to the continuing decline in the price of the sun,” Wong wrote in a 538-word comment.
Wong is now CEO of Terraformation, a Hawaii-based company he started in 2017 to promote native forest regeneration. The company has built the world’s largest off-grid solar power dissipation system, according to its website, “to reduce water scarcity that hinders ecosystem regeneration. ”
The main cost for transporting water, Wong clarified, comes from the energy needed to build it, but solar power pumps can move water uphill when the sun is shining and storing it. the tanks, avoiding any solar issues, until required. It then effortlessly flows downhill with no energy cost.
In addition to cost, incineration has been fueled by the waste water it produces. The Terraformation system draws water from a rough well near the ocean – not directly from the ocean – so it starts with water that is about 25 percent as salty as seawater. It makes two streams – 1) clean, unsalted water and 2) water, which is about 50 percent as salty as seawater. The saline product is used to irrigate salt-tolerant plants.