[geofft]

Interesting. Why do you think this article will help scare the public into giving "them" the money? According to the paper linked in the article (Jones et al. 2019), many of these desalinization plants are in the Middle East and North Africa: "Brine production in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar accounts for 55% of the total global share." Do you think that the general public in those countries reads Gizmodo and also has voting power to adjust the budgets for desalinization plants?

Also, why do you think that paper does not address the option of pumping in more ocean water and diluting it? (It's paywalled - if you'd like a PDF I can get you one.)