Maybe it's me but the tone of the article reads to me like "the issue is solar pumps, they're depleting groundwater reserves" whereas the point seems to be more that pumping groundwater is ungoverned and access to it is now easier than ever, thanks to solar powered pumps.
Unfortunately, doesn't change that the issue exists.
I don't think it's just you. It does seem a bit pessimistic / fatalistic at first glance, especially the headline, but it's clearly a more complicated issue once you read through. You're right, the issue isn't solar energy but more about being careful about how it's put to use and the impact thereof. If anything it shows the dangers of expecting capitalism to save us and issues we run into if we try to take the easy way out. We know the issue exists now so it's more a question of what next.
It is really your classic tragedy of the commons issue that capitalism has always been bad at solving.
There is no question what to do next, build solar desalination and pump it to where it's needed using solar pumps.
The problem is not complicated. The problem is population. The solution is complicated.
Our local aquifer didn't need the introduction of solar pumps. They manage with fuel powered pumps and corn, all along the stream. In August the water is gone.
The farms without accessible water just drill a deep well, 120m or thereabouts, and now you have magical water - and the problem gets worse!
The solar just makes it more accessible, so even the remotest areas can participate in the destruction.
At same time there is only very little collection of rainwater from any roof and/or water storage for use in the dry season, and not much education about drought resistant plants. I think that's where efforts need to point towards: share knowledge of different people all over the world as to how to farm with less water and how to farm in respect of the existing aquifer.
share knowledge of different people all over the world
I feel despite the internet we are pretty bad at that in general in all kinds of professions and other parts of life that could benefit from it.
It's getting better. We have become pretty good at sharing cat pictures. I guess it's just time to direct our focus more efficiently. This instance is just one of many tiny efforts in that direction.
And this is why the idiotic Mr Beast well project is so stupid. Building wells willy nilly is extremly short sighted and might ruin aquifers permanently in the long term.
Looks like we need wind traps or water collectors that they have on dune or tatooine or realistically change the farming practices to use less water.
I know that GMO gets a bad name, but taking indigenous food plants and modifying them to be even more suited to the area could add yet more benefits.
Having the seed lines owned by the public would be the only way to make it viable for developing countries tries, though.
That doesn't really work in reality in arid regions because there isn't much water in the air and you would need a lot of energy to pull huge amounts of air through your device to even theoretically get significant amounts of water.
I guess only 1 sun is not enough energy right now. Would be neat though.
The places which actually have water problems have all built big desalination projects which are working incredibly well, they're solar powered too which is nice. Isreal has even been refilling the Sea of Galilee (which is a freshwater lake btw)
The US could do similar and so could everywhere else, the reality is current use isn't really a huge problem - no one is going without and it's not really damaging anything. The cost of infrastructure is falling rapidly and improving dramatically so we're going to see these systems built but transition from fossil fuels is more important though they do go hand in hand as modern designs are engineered to work with excess load
The principle is simple you have it placed near big solar and wind developments and at peek generation you use that to desalt water and pump it into a lifted tank which gives it the pressure needed to pump it through pipes to an upriver lake for storage and use. This allows the solar to output a steady feed into the main power grid without wasting the over capacity,
I'm excited if I could actually see it happen
This is like saying "we shouldn't give people food, because then they live longer, and have more time to do crap." Kind of an unhinged thought, TBH.
everything about energy production