Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the way living things are treated or used by different human cultures. It studies the dynamic relationships between people, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present.
The amount of energy potentially available from the difference in the salt concentrations of seawater and river water around the world is 1.4 to 2.6 terawatts, or about 20 % of local electricity consumption. This natural process does not produce carbon dioxide or any other polluting combustion emissions, nor does it result in thermal pollution.