286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1958 
most familiar. That is the work carried on during the past 5 years 
by the United States of America, and that initiated by the Organiza- 
tion for European Economic Cooperation. From this work we know 
that low-cost sea-water conversion is not yet here, but we also believe 
that in time it will be at hand. Our hope for the future is that today’s 
community of interest and strength of cooperation will continue, 
showing the way to final solution of the problem. 
Before entering upon specific discussion of the arid-lands problem, 
I wish to review the course of the research work into saline-water con- 
version that is being conducted under the Office of Saline Water of the 
United States Department of the Interior [8], and elsewhere, and 
mention some processes that have been studied. 
250 r— 
200 } 
STEAM ELECTRIC POWER 
ee) 
| TOTAL USE\ 
100 
BILLIONS OF GALLONS- DAILY AVERAGE 
IRRIGATION (At Dispersion Point) 
O § SHS “234 
1900 Ig20 1940 1960 
Fic. 1.—Growth of water use in the United States, since 1900. (After Picton.) 
For many years scientists and technicians had been at work investi- 
gating the possibilities of more efficient saline-water conversion than 
could be accomplished by the time-honored distillation process. Note- 
worthy stimulus was given to such efforts by the United States Govern- 
ment in 1952, when it established in the Department of the Interior a 
program to encourage private scientific interest and activity in de- 
salting, together with a limited fund to support conversion research 
and development work by its citizens. Three years later this authority 
was enlarged, and provision was added for devoting part of the fund 
to the support of process research in other nations. 
The act [4] proved to be a powerful scientific and technical stimu- 
lus. One of its effects was to reinforce technical activity abroad as 
