Reforestation and Sea Water Irrigation

Alright.  I'm changing my stance a bit.  When I was mulling about saltwater irrigation yesterday, I figured that the primary goal should be to desalinate the water to irrigate plants in an erstwhile desert.  Still a great idea.  But I think there's also a lot to be gained by lining the pathway of water with mangroves.  These trees are extremely tolerant of salt water, store carbon in their roots (they're called halophytic) and can be used for biofuel.  Did you know that Pasig river used to be lined with mangroves?  But that's another story.

Irrigating a Desert with Sea Water

In recent months, I've been reading a lot about current environmental issues like desertification and rising sea levels.  These are such contrasting issues, don't you think so?  This got my imagination running again.   Remember my thoughts on garbage utilization and city master planning?    This is part economics & logistics, atmospheric science and irrigation.  So here's my wild thought.

Build an underground tunnel from the ocean to the desert.  Collect the water in plots very similar to salt beds.  You can probably use a solar pump to get the water from the trench connected to the tunnel to the beds.    In fact, make it these basic salt beds.  Then, cover the beds with a passive solar distillation set.  Basically you'll have slanting glass on top so that the condensation seeps into a central storage container. That water can then be used for irrigation purposes.