Decrying desalination.

While the wave energy technology featured in your article on desalination in Australia ("Fresh Water from Down Under the Waves," Currents, March/April 2006) sounds like a forward-thinking solution for powering such operations, it is not a technology being considered here in the U.S. Right now, for example, there are a number of desalination plants being proposed for the California coast. All would be powered by fossil fuels, contributing to global warming and sucking up large quantities of energy unnecessarily. The only functioning commercial desalination plant in the U.S. is in Tampa Bay, Florida, where it is beleaguered by financial, operational and environmental problems.

Before we embark on the desalination path, we must consider this technology's consequences. Desalination destroys sea life and ocean ecosystems, and is being promoted to facilitate sprawl. Our oceans are a public resource that must be protected, not depleted and leased to private companies.

Unfortunately, there are two bills currently before the U.S. Congress that would exacerbate the problems posed by desalination. They provide a $170 million subsidy to fund commercial-scale ocean desalination plants with virtually no strings attached. Such subsidies will prematurely spur plant construction, fuel new growth and increase the potential for irreparable environmental damage.

This is the wrong direction for our resources. Energy and water are critical for every community, but we must consider the consequences of using a technology that is environmentally damaging, expensive and unsustainable. Instead, let's focus on water conservation, reclamation and recycling.

Wenonah Hauter

Executive Director, Food & Water Watch

Washington, D.C.