There are very few species that have a high tolerance of salt, thus the idea, although good, has a limited range of uses. If you wanted to transfer the salt resistance of a potato to a lettuce you would need to use DNA splicing, making it a GMO. Also, it is true that most of the salt is retain on the leaf, but a good portion remains on the soil as small crystals, accelerating erosion of the field.
I remember MGS 2 brought up this possibility, when they compared Raiden's VR training with normal live exercises. And how even in real drills there is a chance of someone dying, while VR training makes you think war is a game.
It is not groundbreaking at a theoretical level, but its implications in the everyday lives of people seems to be far reaching. It is a signal of how much things have changed in the world, now not concerned with great advances, instead focused on technologies to use resources more efficiently.
I believe lifting cargo outside orbit is not the greatest strength of an orbital elevator, instead it most useful feature would be on gathering sun rays which have not been diminished by the atmosphere. But there are many challenges to achieve that: http://io9.com/5984371/why-well-probably-never-build-a-space...
This could become the new trend, as populations concentrate more and more in cities, creating slums, the conditions to catalyze outbreaks increase exponentially. I agree with the author that the cause of the recent epidemic has to do with the geographic location of the initial cases.
I've played a lot of Destiny since it came out, and I did lapse for a short while to the farming strategy, but left it because it wasn't giving me good results, so instead I focused on leveling my reputation with factions to buy better gear, leading my character to better stats and higher level in a more predictable fashion than by relying on chance.
Such dichotomy is present in our every day lives, but a game can speed up the results, and allows to see which of the two opposing strategies is better, di=one faster than in the real world in order to learn the lesson quicker, and with minimum consequences.