we have the technology to turn salt water into potable water and we don’t use it
we have the technology to have unlimited solar energy and we don’t use it
we have the technology to turn the Sahara desert into farm land and we don’t use it
capitalism get on my damn nerves
people always talk about how capitalism is so innovative, but conveniently leaves out that the innovation is only for the sake of profit they never mention that when the prosperity of the entire population isn’t profitable, everyone but the ruling class is left to die
We don’t have the technology to turn the sahara into farmland, and even if we did, we shouldn’t do it. Deserts are critical habitats, not vast empty waistlands.
Turning them into farmland would wipe out countless species. There’s also a reason little grows there. What we can do, is place solar farms out in deserts. A small fraction of the sahara could power the world. That is within our technological ability. This is where captialism strangles us.
Our food production is just fine. We produce too much. Our distribution system however, is not. It focuses on where the most money can be gained, to hell with everyone else. This is where capitalism strangles us.
We also don’t need to turn salt water into fresh water. We need to manage our fresh water better. Use that tech to clean it, and stop poluting it in the first place with fracking and dumping sewage and replacing lead pipes. And to stop letting one or two conglomarates monopolize them. This is where capitalists strangle us.
The problem is not a lack of resources. We have plenty. The problem is captitalism mismanaging and ruining the plentiful resources we have. By opening up new resources such as “turning the sahara into farmland” or turning salt water into fresh water, we are just giving capitalists more resources to destroy and throttle. And destroying more critical environments. We’re not actually fixing the problems.
Also we *do* turn salt water into potable water. Desalination plants are a thing. There’s more than 18,000 of them in operation worldwide.
And you know what?
They produce pollution in the form of what’s called waste brine (which includes not just salt but heavy metals and various unfriendly byproducts and chemicals), and oftentimes heat pollution as well. Introducing this waste product back into the water can have devastating effects on the oceanic ecosystem. To say nothing of the harms the intake process can cause when not properly managed.
Technology isn’t some sort of magic fix-all. Yes, it has the capacity to improve quality of life, allow us to live safely and more efficiently, etc. But technologies often come with drawbacks as well. The disposal and recycling of electronic waste and the mining of rare earth elements are two massive environmental problems driven by the mass production of modern technological devices.
Many of the dirtiest, most dangerous aspects of modern technological manufacturing and disposal are outsourced to developing countries and exploited populations. This includes, by the way, the manufacture of solar panels.
Like @wemblingfool said, the problem isn’t that we lack resources like water. The problem is that we mismanage these resources and prioritize corporate profit over human lives and humanity’s future.
We don’t need technology to fix our social problems. We need to fix our social problems before we can make the best use of our resources–including our technology.
