Just relaxing this afternoon and I got to thinking about an invention I read about recently.
Seems a Texan named Terry LeBleu has invented a $500 machine, called the Drought Master, that collects water from air. The condensed water, pulled from the surrounding air, accumulates at the rate of about 5-7 gallons a day.
This got me thinking. While the machine plugs into a standard household outlet, what if one were to combine it with off-the-grid electricity, say solar power. Essentially, one would be creating a small drip on one's property. Which doesn't sound all that exciting until you realize that yet another modern invention, drip irrigation, could be added to the mix and suddenly things get interesting.
With perhaps just a half dozen machines ($3,000), a person could, given plenty of sunshine, grow most of her edibles and thus have little or no need for a connection to the outside world, ... even in an arid locale. Which is what may be the greatest insight I've had for a long time. Arid landscapes that lack water, even those near or on the coast, are usually uninhabitable. But no longer. In fact, entire villages could sprout up on even the most isolated, dry, barren soil.
So, here's my fantasy: Along with perhaps a few dozen pioneers, I buy a remote, isolated desert coastline (Baja California, maybe, or better yet, a fresh-water-starved Pacific island). There's a 50 foot cliff down to an isolated, sandy beach. On the cliff we begin to turn the rocky, dry soil into productive gardens with walkways that bend with the hills. We are periodically supplied by boat, ordering supplies by internet. Soon, we've created a lush paradise that gradually encompasses the entire island.
What an accomplishment that would be. What satisfaction.
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