Samo Burja on the Technology That Can Create New Superpowers

Erik Torenberg and Samo Burja examine how advancing desalination technology could reshape geopolitics and transform landscapes. They discuss how affordable desalination ($0.3 cents per liter) makes large-scale terraforming feasible, potentially enabling countries like Saudi Arabia or Australia to create vast green spaces and support larger populations. The technology's implications extend beyond water security to national development and climate resilience. The essay on desalination originally appeared in The Bismarck Brief - subscribe here: https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/—📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess 🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse —SPONSOR: NETSUITE | SHOPIFY | SQUADOver 41,000 businesses trust NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud ERP, to future-proof their operations. With a unified platform for accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR, NetSuite provides real-time insights and forecasting to help you make quick, informed decisions. Whether you're earning millions or hundreds of millions, NetSuite empowers you to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. Download the free CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at https://netsuite.com/zen.Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system Shoppay and exclusive AI apps. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/momentofzen.Head to Squad to access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to https://choosesquad.com/ and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.—RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE:The Untapped Potential of Desalination: https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/p/the-untapped-potential-of-desalination 1957, 1978, 2005 Chicken Sizes diagram: https://compote.slate.com/images/4e407854-6360-4172-a85e-d7b8c64fd365.jpg?width=1200 Growth, efficiency, and yield of commercial broilers from 1957, 1978, and 2005: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579119385505 Live Players: Can China Power Its Rise?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOei7kZjuZU Live Players: The Possibility of Human Extinction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEQEMpxLnGA&t=42s Bismark Analysis: https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. This season's guests include: Delian Asparouhov & Nadia Asparouhova, Kristen Berman & Phil Levin, Rob Henderson, and Liv Boeree & Igor Kurganov.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hJzs0gDg6lRT6r10mdpVgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod—HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:Technology Status Highly efficient: 2.3 kWh per cubic meter Low production cost: 0.3 cents/liter Main costs: infrastructure, not energy Current Usage Gulf states lead adoption (UAE: 42% of water from desalination) Viable for moderately developed nations Transformative Potential $32B could match Nile River's annual flow Enables desert terraforming Could transform Saudi Arabia, Australia, US regions National Opportunities Saudi Arabia: $300B for national parks Australia: Support larger population Regional development: Turkey, Spain Strategic Impact Eliminates water scarcity concerns Enhances climate resilience Enables new settlement patterns Potential tool for political stability Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.