"Desalinating seawater costs about $1 per 1000 liters..."
Ah... so if I'm in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and have no water, but I do have a dollar in my pocket, someone will deliver me 1000 liters of water, sourced from desalination of Pacific Ocean water? How much energy will that take?
$1 per 1000L figure isn't for an individual, delivered anywhere.
It's the approximate cost, in aggregate, for supplying a city's worth of water using desal, after having made the infrastructure and such. If solar and other renewable energies could be scaled higher, this cost might be even lower.
I imagine that if civilization reaches a developmental limit in access to natural fresh water, migration will happen to somewhat developed coastal areas rather than the Mojave Desert.
Ah... so if I'm in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and have no water, but I do have a dollar in my pocket, someone will deliver me 1000 liters of water, sourced from desalination of Pacific Ocean water? How much energy will that take?