Resist ‘Easy’ Desal

For those who live in Santa Barbara, Brad Smith’s Voices piece “Desal, the Climate Crisis, and Our Children’s Future” asks the question “Is the Desalination Plant a $65 Million Mistake?” and — the answer is — yes.

(Resist the “easy” answer = Desal.)

Let’s actually begin to do some long-term, serious, rational planning for sustainable, fair, tested results.

Smith points out the need for education and training, and collaborative research into best practices. He also suggests the obsolete plant may be best used to purify recycled H2O for cleaner drinking water and would emit less air pollution than desal.

This article should be required reading for anyone who has a hand in decision making in Santa Barbara.