Audio Transcript Excerpt:
PROFESSOR: 'Now, some techno-optimists claim that we can solve the global freshwater crisis simply by building mega-scale re

Question

Audio Transcript Excerpt:
PROFESSOR: 'Now, some techno-optimists claim that we can solve the global freshwater crisis simply by building mega-scale reverse osmosis desalination plants powered by solar arrays along every coastline.'
[Audio Replay Excerpt: 'And while reverse osmosis technology has indeed made leaps in membrane permeability over the last decade... running a desalination plant on solar power alone is fine until the sun goes down, leaving you with either massive battery storage costs or an idle hundred-million-dollar asset. Not to mention the small matter of disposing of millions of gallons of hyper-saline toxic brine without suffocating coastal benthic ecosystems.']

What is the professor's stance toward the proposal to rely exclusively on solar-powered desalination?

Accepted Answer

Pragmatically skeptical due to unresolved economic storage costs and severe ecological hazards.

Answer

Unconditionally enthusiastic about its immediate commercial implementation.

Answer

Completely convinced that desalination membranes are technologically incapable of separating salt from water.

Answer

Indifferent because freshwater access is not a significant global concern.

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