What if.......................................?

The amount of solar energy that hits our atmosphere has been well established at 174 petawatts (1.740 x 10^17 watts), plus or minus 3.5 percent.  Out of this total solar flux, approximately half reaches the Earth's surface.  Since humanity currently consumes about 16 terawatts annually (going by 2008 numbers), there's over five thousand times more solar energy falling on the planet's surface than we use in a year.  Once again, it's not an issue of scarcity, it's an issue of accessibility.
      Moreover, as far as water wars are concerned. Masdar sits on the Persian Gulf - which is a mighty aqueous body.  The Earth itself is a water planet, covered 70 percent by oceans.  But these oceans, like the Persian Gulf, are far too salty for consumption or crop production.  In fact, 97.3 percent of all water on this planet is salt water.  What if, though, in the same way that electrolysis easily transformed bauxite into aluminum, a new technology could desalinate just a minute fraction of our oceans?  How thirsty is Masdar then?
      The point is this:  When seen through the lens of technology, few resources are truly scarce;  they're mainly inaccessible.  Yet the threat of scarcity still dominates our worldview.

-Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler,  Abundance:  The Future Is Better Than You Think