Old Ships Saving Lives....

It's strange to think that on a planet covered around 70% by water, there are people who do not get enough to drink. Many people, especially in third-world countries, die because of this. The problem is that our sea-water needs to be de-salinized before it is fit to be drinking water. I found a recent news article that shed a little light on how the salt can be easily removed from sea water - apparently, ships such as those used by the US Navy have their own ways to do this. I've never thought about this before, but makes sense - sailors are at sea for long periods of time, and it's not always easy to accomodate all the necessities for a 'normal' way of life. It's not really sensible for them to store away gallons of fresh water, along with food and supplies. So they make their own.
The news article also explained how, after a while, these ships are retired from use. Whilst decommisioning the ships saves money, it means the ships are a literal waste of space, just cluttering up warehouses. They could be put to use. I like to recycle cans of soda...but wouldn't recycling these old ships (or just parts of them) be even more helpful to our planet? The de-salinization equipment could be sent to parts of the world where fresh water is needed. These old ships could save many lives.....

To read more, visit From Mothballs to Mobilization http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080930135307.htm