Desalination plants work with reverse osmosis, which converts seawater to freshwater, with concentrated brine as a by-product. That brine is a better starting point for lithium extraction than seawater, so, yes, they could be co-produced.

But extracting either from seawater does not really make any sense. Some mid-east countries desalinate so they can pursue idiotic schemes to grow wheat in the desert, when they could just buy wheat for far less. California has a few desalination plants, because of dumb policies that vastly inflate the cost of water to urban consumers, while subsiding the delivery of rainwater to farmers growing rice and cotton in the desert.

Likewise, lithium from seawater is not economical, and is unlikely to be so in the foreseeable future. It is better to extract it from salt deposits, or existing brine pools. But the seawater extraction cost is a clear ceiling on the price of lithium, and negates any prediction of a lithium supply crisis.

Lithium costs $6/kg. So that 25kg costs $150, or about 0.2% of the cost of a Tesla Model S.

There are 230 billion tonnes of lithium in the ocean. It can be extracted from seawater for about $20 per kg, with current technology. That is about 3 times the current price, but would still represent only a fraction of 1% of the cost of an electric car, and a modest portion of a home battery system. New technology could push the price of seawater extraction below the current world price. Lithium will not be a bottleneck.

If you shoot into a crowd, it isn't okay just because you failed to actually hit anyone.

That is irrelevant. You cannot justify doing something that is wrong or stupid, just by pointing out that someone else did something even dumber.

I personally believe that Snowden, and Manning both disclosed illegal activities that should have disclosed, and both are more hero than not. But I also believe that both could and should have used more discretion in releasing information that was harmful. Maybe someday, in a more enlightened future, they will both get a more permanent statue in their homeland.

Usage patterns also matter. Plenty of people, like my wife and kids, regularly run down their phones and laptops to 0%, even when there is a charger three feet away. Most people commute 30 miles or less in a day, which is only about 15% of a Tesla's range.

Is that why the average worker is no better off today than they were in 1800?

Yes, he would be considered a moderate in France, or Italy. Unfortunately, he is running for president of America, where his chance of winning is infinitesimal. But he could have a big impact: by steering the Democratic primaries sharply to the left, he may compel Hillary to take positions that will make it harder for her to win the general election. We may end up with Jeb in the White House.

India is a big place. It includes both jungles and deserts, including the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, along the border with Pakistan.

How is that a "misfortune"? They are better off than anyone else in Polynesia, and have one of the highest standards of living in the world. If they want to stick to the old ways and try to eke out a living by trying to grow taro in volcanic ash, they can still do so. Yet for some strange reason, few choose to do that.

What is your point? That wasting class time and creating a hostile environment are okay as long as they are done in increments of less than 10 minutes?

That is a false analogy. The holocaust is an important part of history. Using images derived from porn is not an important part of learning about image processing. Using a different image would not diminish the lesson in the least.

Agreed. But using an image derived from porn in a high school classroom is not one of the things worth fighting for.

So instead of teaching image processing algorithms, the instructor should spend class time monitoring the boys to make sure they aren't muttering crude jokes under their breath, all instigated by the actions of the instructor himself? Or he could just use a different image and avoid the issue entirely.

You are missing the point. Of course the image itself isn't offensive. But everyone in the class was aware of where it came from, and there were lots of jokes and snickers about that. At worst that creates an environment that many would consider hostile, and at best, it is a distraction from learning. So why use it, when there are at least a billion other images that could be used?

Yes, at some point they will learn that. But high school CS class is not the appropriate place. The instructor should focus on image processing algorithms, not teaching the (few) girls that, hey, the world is sexist and they should just get used to it.

When did you last leave your mom's basement and talk to a real woman? Next time your mom brings your dinner down, ask her what she thinks about porn sites. If you seriously believe that porn is equally popular with both men and women, you need to get in touch with reality.