If desalination cost 5 kWhour/meter^3, then to desalinate 11 trillion gallons, which is of the order of what California currently wants above natural supply, https://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/nasa-analysis-11-trillion-gallons-t... would take 8*10^17 joules. The total human world energy consumption per year has been estimated to be 5*10^20 joules http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_consumption of which CA's proportionate share (by population vs world) would be 3*10^18 joules which means California could afford this energy expenditure. But it would be very large compared to the energy that used to be spent to supply water. If humankind had throughout its history spent anywhere near that amount of energy to get water, there would not have been a human race. -- Warren D. Smith http://RangeVoting.org <-- add your endorsement (by clicking "endorse" as 1st step)