Fuel Worth Its Saltwater: Could Saline Solve the Ethanol Controversy?

Desalination remains an expensive solution to water scarcity, but what if self-desalinating plants could take advantage of ever-encroaching sources of saltwater, and produce both biofuels and foodstuffs? Wired Science talks to several scientists who debate the merits of farming on an oceanic scale. One believes that saltwater cultivation could be the solution to a spectrum of land and water pollution crises, including the Salton Sea catastrophe.

“I started in aquaculture back in the early 70s and we thought, golly, aquaculture is going to save the world. Looking back, it’s been 35 years, but over half of the key fisheries products come from aquaculture, it just took longer than people thought,” Robert Glenn, a plant biologist at the University of Arizona, told Wired Science. “I think it’s the same thing with saline crop production.”

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Source: Wired Science