Once upon a time, Yemen had rich areas for growing grapes, pomegranates, oranges, and the famed Yemeni coffee. Then came oil in Saudi Arabia and Yemeni men flocked there for work. The women cut trees for firewood and the terraces eroded for lack of maintenance. Water which once could be found at 60 meters is not found until 850 meters or more. Now Yemenis fight over water. See "Postcard from Yemen", Thomas Friedman, New York Times, 2013-05-08.
"Trees have the deepest system of root in soil. They evaporate water from sometimes 50 meters deep level of soil. It increase humidity in air and probabilities of rains, dew-sources of water." Comment by mioffe2000 in response to "Postcard from Yemen".
This comment got me thinking about "The Man Who Planted Trees" about a shepherd who planted acorns over a wide area that had been deforested by charcoal burners. The land was dry and suitable only for grazing sheep.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Planted_Trees, the story is a work of fiction. However, people all over the world have planted millions of trees in many countries to stop desertification and alleviate global warming. This article mentions a few of these projects.
What would the effect be on world peace if the U.S. exported cones instead of drones to some of the trouble spots of the world. Well, not exactly cones because evergreens are not suitable for many areas. Actually, for a small fraction of the military budget, the U.S. could send teams to plant trees of any size, from seeds to semi-mature trees a few meters tall. It would take a few years to bring better rainfall back to areas where water is scarce. More available water would reduce tensions among various groups and go a long way to reducing the hold terrorists have on some areas.
Showing posts with label deforestation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deforestation. Show all posts
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Simple reason for global warming
For millennia humans burned wood for cooking and heat. As long as there were a large number of trees, trees absorbed the CO2 from the fires and created new trees.
Then humans pulled coal and oil from beneath the ground and burned it. The rate of CO2 being put into the atmosphere increased dramatically. Furthermore, because trees all over the world were being cut down faster than they could be replaced, the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere decreased. The increase in atmospheric CO2 traps more heat and thus warms the Earth overall.
Those who deny the human effect on global warming must believe that 1+1-1 equals 3!
Then humans pulled coal and oil from beneath the ground and burned it. The rate of CO2 being put into the atmosphere increased dramatically. Furthermore, because trees all over the world were being cut down faster than they could be replaced, the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere decreased. The increase in atmospheric CO2 traps more heat and thus warms the Earth overall.
Those who deny the human effect on global warming must believe that 1+1-1 equals 3!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Where are the great white pines of northern Minnesota?
This is a question to ask mining proponents. If the large corporations that took out almost all of the large white pines out of Minnesota never bothered to replant the trees, will the large mining corporations bother to restore the areas that they mine?
Government agencies and individual land owners are planting white pines now. Will government agencies and individual land owners have to clean up after the mines?
Government agencies and individual land owners are planting white pines now. Will government agencies and individual land owners have to clean up after the mines?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Fable about a king's palace
A fabulously rich king decided to build a fabulously magnificent palace. He got his privy council to agree because he argued that doing this project would create many jobs for the five years it would take to build it and for the years beyond that to maintain the palace.
For starters, he took by eminent domain 10,000 acres of prime farmland by the river. People said it would reduce the food the country could grow to feed itself. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
He had 10,000 acres of prime forest cut down to supply the lumber for his palace. People said it would decrease wildlife habitat and increase flooding. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
He hired 1,000 workers to build his palace. People said it would decrease the number of workers to build and repair houses. The king replied that these workers would be paid high wages.
He had a million gallons of water per day diverted from the river to supply all the fountains, to water his extensive lawns, and many other uses. People said it would practically dry up the river reducing the water downstream for drinking, washing, and irrigation. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
He built no sewage treatment system to handle the garden runoff or the flushing of 1,000 toilets. He said it would cost too much money. People said sewage would make the river downstream unsuitable for drinking and washing, and irrigation. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
And so it came to pass that many people were hungry because there was insufficient farmland to feed them.
And so it came to pass that many people became homeless as the cost of existing houses skyrocketed because no new house were being built.
And so it came to pass that many people became sick because of the lack of clean drinking water.
And so it came to pass that many people migrated to lands where there was plenty of farmland and clean water.
And so it came to pass that tax revenues dwindled because there were fewer people to pay them.
And so it came to pass that the banks foreclosed on the king's palace because he couldn't pay back all the loans he had taken out to build the palace.
And so it came to pass that after an unusually heavy rain, a mudslide from the former forest buried the partially built palace.
What's the point of this fable? It can't happen here. Oh, but we are a nation populated by people who immigrated from lands that did not have good governance. Will we follow as we lack the foresight to rein in the indulgences of the wealthy as they create short-sighted projects using jobs as a justification without regard to all the other costs?
For starters, he took by eminent domain 10,000 acres of prime farmland by the river. People said it would reduce the food the country could grow to feed itself. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
He had 10,000 acres of prime forest cut down to supply the lumber for his palace. People said it would decrease wildlife habitat and increase flooding. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
He hired 1,000 workers to build his palace. People said it would decrease the number of workers to build and repair houses. The king replied that these workers would be paid high wages.
He had a million gallons of water per day diverted from the river to supply all the fountains, to water his extensive lawns, and many other uses. People said it would practically dry up the river reducing the water downstream for drinking, washing, and irrigation. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
He built no sewage treatment system to handle the garden runoff or the flushing of 1,000 toilets. He said it would cost too much money. People said sewage would make the river downstream unsuitable for drinking and washing, and irrigation. The king replied that the project would create jobs.
And so it came to pass that many people were hungry because there was insufficient farmland to feed them.
And so it came to pass that many people became homeless as the cost of existing houses skyrocketed because no new house were being built.
And so it came to pass that many people became sick because of the lack of clean drinking water.
And so it came to pass that many people migrated to lands where there was plenty of farmland and clean water.
And so it came to pass that tax revenues dwindled because there were fewer people to pay them.
And so it came to pass that the banks foreclosed on the king's palace because he couldn't pay back all the loans he had taken out to build the palace.
And so it came to pass that after an unusually heavy rain, a mudslide from the former forest buried the partially built palace.
What's the point of this fable? It can't happen here. Oh, but we are a nation populated by people who immigrated from lands that did not have good governance. Will we follow as we lack the foresight to rein in the indulgences of the wealthy as they create short-sighted projects using jobs as a justification without regard to all the other costs?
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