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I find this fascinating, even if it does seem unrealistic. Even if this were achievable, I'm curious to know what the environmental impacts of displacing such

I find this fascinating, even if it does seem unrealistic. Even if this were achievable, I'm curious to know what the environmental impacts of displacing such a massive body of water would be to aquatic life in the mediterranean. It does seem like something that could have become more realistic after the EU got off the ground had there still have been someone to push for the idea.

chr1 9y ago
For aquatic life of mediterranean this will mean an end since salinity of the see would keep growing. More realistic approach is restoring lakes of Sahara [1] by combination of desalination plants, solar towers, and huge solar battery installation to cool down the region and get more rain. It is going to require rather large investment, but it would pay off, by providing place for projected 4 billion Africans to live, and providing a way to slow down the rise of the sea level. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Basin#/media/File:Megatschad_GIS.PNG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Basin#/media/File:Megatsc...
- eru 9y ago
  Isn't a big part of that area below sea level? So for a start you'd just need to dig a channel to the Mediterranean or Nile and wait. No extra energy required at that step--you could even harness some from the flow. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara_Sea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara_Sea and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression
  - chr1 9y ago
    Yes a big part is under the sea level, and would be a good first step. But the most of the potential for storing water is in higher level lakes and aquifer.
pattle 9y ago
It would completely destroy the whole ecosystem. Building a dam would drastically limit the amount of sediment travelling out into the sea to a tiny fraction of its normal flow, thus eliminating a large portion of aquatic life.
- pvaldes 9y ago
  yup, nuking migratory species like thon or whales and also the fisheries that feed millions of european and african people, (would be changed for big chunks of land soaked in marine salt and unable for agricultural purposes). Fully exposing Europe to african viruses and diseases dangerous for cattle... If their goal is to exponentially increase famine in the world until the boiling point of an endless war, looks like a good plan.

chr1 9y ago

For aquatic life of mediterranean this will mean an end since salinity of the see would keep growing. More realistic approach is restoring lakes of Sahara [1] by combination of desalination plants, solar towers, and huge solar battery installation to cool down the region and get more rain. It is going to require rather large investment, but it would pay off, by providing place for projected 4 billion Africans to live, and providing a way to slow down the rise of the sea level. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Basin#/media/File:Megatschad_GIS.PNG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Basin#/media/File:Megatsc...

eru 9y ago
Isn't a big part of that area below sea level? So for a start you'd just need to dig a channel to the Mediterranean or Nile and wait. No extra energy required at that step--you could even harness some from the flow. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara_Sea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara_Sea and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression
- chr1 9y ago
  Yes a big part is under the sea level, and would be a good first step. But the most of the potential for storing water is in higher level lakes and aquifer.

pattle 9y ago

It would completely destroy the whole ecosystem. Building a dam would drastically limit the amount of sediment travelling out into the sea to a tiny fraction of its normal flow, thus eliminating a large portion of aquatic life.

pvaldes 9y ago
yup, nuking migratory species like thon or whales and also the fisheries that feed millions of european and african people, (would be changed for big chunks of land soaked in marine salt and unable for agricultural purposes). Fully exposing Europe to african viruses and diseases dangerous for cattle... If their goal is to exponentially increase famine in the world until the boiling point of an endless war, looks like a good plan.