Studying the role of desalination in water scarcity and management
Studying the role of desalination in water scarcity and management
"My dissertation examines water management norms through the study of seawater desalination, the technological process that removes salts and minerals from saline water like the ocean to produce drinkable water. Often desalination is framed as a technical supply “solution” to the problem of water scarcity, which will affect 1.8 billion people by 2025. But desalination’s known downsides — such as its high financial costs, large energy needs, local community impact, and environmental harm to marine life — as well as its yet-to-be-seen effects make it socially, economically, environmentally, and politically contentious."