RENEWABLE ENERGY SEAWATER PIPELINE CAN TURN DESERTS INTO HABITABLE HAVENS

Water is the basis for life. Much of our country is uninhabitable due to a lack of water. The land between Southern California and the Gulf of Mexico is arid desert. This land can be changed into agricultural prosperity with a precious commodity, water. We propose a seawater pipeline be built between the Pacific Ocean in Southern California and the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.

This pipeline would not be like the canal used to create the Salton Sea (). Instead it would be a pipeline, pumped with electricity and filled with seawater. The pumps would run on electricity created by the oceanic tides. Along the pipeline would be passive desalination greenhouses, where vegetables can be grown and fresh water produced for the local residents. This pipeline would create new oases where people will be able to live in the desert.

We would harness the power from the tides of the very oceans we draw the salt water from in order to generate the electricity that would power the pumps for the pipeline. Although other people () have proposed electrical generators that use the currents of the ocean, we have a completely different electrical generator in mind. Our electrical generator would use the movement of tides.

This concept is based on the use of barges as platforms for electrical generators. Each generator would have a cable and pulley leading to the ocean floor where an anchor would hold it stationary. There can be many generators stacked on top of these barges. As the barge goes up and down with the tides, generators will spin along the anchor lines to produce electricity. Using extremely powerful magnets, these generators can produce huge amounts of electricity using this design.

Construction can begin with the creation of these tidal electrical generation barges. Initially, the electricity generated from these tidal barges can be sent along power lines to shoreline communities. Eventually, this electricity will be used to run pumps that would pump ocean water into the beginning of the pipeline. Any excess electricity can be stored in deep cycle seawater batteries on the barges for use when electric generation is low. If there is a large amount of excess electricity generated, it can continue to power homes on the mainland.

The Pipeline itself will act as a passive desalination structure as well. With a Carbon Fiberglass Outerhull it will be relatively unbreakable. Along each side of the Pipeline, streaming channels of condensed fresh water will collect and purge into sloughes(or covered chambers) where they can outflow onto the land nearby. Thus, moistening the parched Earth, making plant growth sustainable.

Once the Seawater is flowing into the pipeline, main outlets at various locations can be opened and closed as needed. At each of these outlets, there will be also be a passive desalination system. To maximize the potential of salt water on the planet we can build a pyramidal structure that can purify water. This design offers maximum stability in high wind environments. The tripod of the pyramid provides a structure that can withstand extreme winds as evidenced by the Pyramids in Egypt. By utilizing every area under the pyramid to condense water molecules, we will provide an unlimited source of fresh water.

Within each pyramidal desalination unit, there can be shelves of corrugated plastic descending from the center down toward the base. These shelves offer water the greatest surface area to evaporate. By maximizing the surface area of water, we achieve maximum condensation up above at the wall of the pyramid. The pyramid concept also allows for the greatest convex of heat possible. Evaporation requires extreme heat to fully take place in a highly saline environment. The residue from this entire process will accumulate at the base of the pyramid. It is here that it can be collected for use in our deep cycle seawater battery system. The salt collected here will power the batteries which will power the salt water pumps for the entire seawater pipeline.

The design for this type of desalination unit can be deployed in deserts and regions with access to salt water. Our design entails a wall built from nested layers of waffle board, or corrugated plastic, separated by a few inches. This plastic will be perforated in certain areas to allow pure water to enter as condensed vapor and then freely leave the system along set path ways in the corrugated plastic. The peaks of the interior corrugated material would have holes down the center. As the salt water evaporates, the water vapor would go through the holes in the peaks of the corrugated plastic. Then it would condense on the greenhouse material and drip into the valleys of the corrugated plastic which do not have holes. As the water collects in the valleys of the corrugated plastic, it would flow down the sides of the pyramid. Avenues of water will flow into collector bins around the base of the pyramid into a collection area where it can be piped to nearby homes and settlements. With the advent of our seawater pipeline and pyramidal desalination units, deserts can become habitable havens.