[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 107 (Friday, August 5, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                           DESALTING THE SEAS

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, the Waukegan News-Sun is one of the 
few newspapers in the United States that has taken an interest in a 
problem that is going to be afflicting not only this Nation but the 
world in the decades to come. They also note something that I was not 
aware of, a study by Population Action International that suggests, 
``by the year 2,025, one in three people on the face of the Earth will 
live where water is scarce.''
  I am talking about the water problems and the need to have research 
to find a less expensive way of converting salt water to fresh water.
  It may seem strange for the Waukegan News-Sun, published in a 
community sitting at the edge of a huge body of water, Lake Michigan, 
to take an interest in the problem of water around the world.
  But the reality is that if we do not move toward solving the 
desalination problem, the sons and daughters of the present residents 
of Waukegan are going to be adversely affected.
  Legislation is now pending in the Senate to move ahead on this, and I 
hope we will move and move before long.
  We should listen to the final two sentences of their editorial: 
``Furthering mankind's ability to cost-effectively produce fresh water 
from the sea is most important from a world survival perspective. We 
hope the usual indifference can be overcome so that better technology 
can be developed.''
  I ask to insert the entire editorial into the Record at this point.
  The editorial follows:

                 [From the News-Sun, July 23-24, 1994]

                           Desalting the Seas

       At issue: The need for further research to develop cost-
     effective technology to drink water from the seas.
       Desalination may seem a decidedly out-of-the-ordinary cause 
     for one of Illinois' U.S. senators.
       Yet, Sen. Paul Simon is the chief sponsor of a bill to 
     revive the federal government's dormant research into 
     desalination--removing salt and impurities from sea water to 
     make it safe for human consumption and agricultural 
     irrigation. No newcomer to this concern, Simon has been 
     working on more research funding since 1986.
       With Lake Michigan, many rivers and underground aquifers 
     supplying in most years more than adequate supplies of water, 
     we Illinoisans do not think about water shortages.
       However, consider that less than one percent of the Earth's 
     water is fit for human consumption.
       We remember from geography that more of the Earth consists 
     of great bodies of water than of land masses. That water, 
     however, is salty.
       Technology exists to desalt water from the oceans, but it 
     is expensive and energy-intensive. Among the most arid 
     nations, only rich countries such as Saudi Arabia can afford 
     big-scale desalting plants.
       The ocean states of California and Florida are forced by 
     water shortages to rely on existing, expensive commercial 
     desalination. And that can indeed have an impact here in 
     Illinois. Shortages of cheap water for irrigation in 
     California and Florida mean higher prices here for fruits and 
     vegetables.
       In Africa and the Middle East, droughts are common and 
     water supplies always are scarce.
       Sen. Simon said recently he has heard Israeli and Egyptian 
     leaders talk more about water than oil--to the degree that 
     the next war in that region well could be fought over water, 
     not oil.
       A study by Population Action International (PAI) forecasts 
     that, by the year 2025, one in three people will live where 
     water is scarce. Already, PAI noted, half of the world's 
     population suffers from water-related diseases such as 
     diarrhea, which claims the lives of four million infants a 
     year.
       With the world's population growing, it's clear, as the 
     senator said, that we ``are going to have to use the two-
     thirds of the world that is covered by salt water.''
       Simon's bill would authorize investment in research to 
     develop ``the best and most economical'' means of 
     desalination; $5 million in fiscal year 1995, $10 million in 
     1996 and ``such sums as may be necessary'' through 1999.
       The measure also would authorize $50 million over the 
     period for development of facilities in a cost-sharing 
     arrangement with municipalities and states.
       The United States was once considered at the forefront of 
     desalination technology development. Federally funded 
     research was largely curtailed in 1974, in part because of 
     the Arab oil embargo. That created a shortage of fuel for the 
     experimental plants. Also, the technology development was 
     considered sufficient.
       Simon acknowledges it doesn't have much sex appeal. 
     Nevertheless, as he points out, ``it really is important for 
     civilization. It is one of these things that is going to have 
     a huge impact on the future for our kids and future 
     generations.''
       Furthering mankind's ability to cost-effectively produce 
     fresh water from the sea is most important from a world 
     survival perspective. We hope the usual indifference can be 
     overcome so that better technology can be developed.

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