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If you're displacing groundwater based desert agriculture, that's one thing, but it's worth keeping in mind that in general, desert != wasteland. Deserts are fr
by gbrown 7y ago
If you're displacing groundwater based desert agriculture, that's one thing, but it's worth keeping in mind that in general, desert != wasteland. Deserts are fragile ecosystems with many rare and specialized plants and animals.
- anon1253 7y agoAbsolutely, but then again (almost) everything is a fragile ecosystem. And if man-made climate change is real (I'm inclined to believe that), then it's less of an absolute and more of a trade-off ... a tricky one certainly, but already we're seeing deserts expand (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertification https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertification) and there are efforts to prevent it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall) so it could potentially be another tool.
- gbrown 7y agoFor sure, I just don't think we should gloss over the nature of such ecosystems, since many people really don't know.
- chongli 7y agoDeserts are fragile ecosystems with many rare and specialized plants and animals. Climate change may push the temperature of some of those deserts too high, wiping out the specialized plants and animals that live there. Perhaps we could use a solar installation to provide shade in areas that are getting too hot.
- gbrown 7y agoI'm well aware, just wanted to point out a fact about an underappreciated ecosystem. I feel the same way when people complain about swamps.