5 ms·

Better to experiment off earth than on it in such planet changing endeavors. You can afford less attention to (safety)detail in that scenario.

russler23 6y ago
Potentially habitable planets close enough to colonize are rare enough that we can’t afford mistakes either way.
funnybeam 6y ago
Or maybe not. Turning the Sahara into a forest would have a massive climate impact. I am not a climate scientist but I’d imagine there would be significant changes to rainfall patterns over most of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East Edit - sorry, reply was meant to be to parent
- pinkfoot 6y ago
  A fair amount of the phosphorus in the Amazon comes from dust storms originating in the Sahara. [1] https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-how-much-saharan-dust-feeds-amazon-s-plants https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-...
  - arcadeparade 6y ago
    given that the Sahara is only a couple thousand years old does that mean the amazon is just as young?
    - pinkfoot 6y ago
      Very good question.
    - macintux 6y ago
      An interesting article on how people shaped the Amazon. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/its-now-clear-that-ancient-humans-helped-enrich-the-amazon/518439/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/its-now-...
    - thaumasiotes 6y ago
      The Amazon is much younger; much of what is jungle today wasn't before the Columbian Exchange. There is a theory that American reforestation was responsible for the Little Ice Age.
- ptsneves 6y ago
  There is a nice article about some paper modeling the climate if all the Sahara was covered with solar panels and wind turbines.The temperature on the Sahara would actually increase on average.rain would also https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/carpeting-sahara-with-wind-and-solar-farms-could-make-it-rain/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/carpeting-sahara-wit...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

russler23 6y ago

Potentially habitable planets close enough to colonize are rare enough that we can’t afford mistakes either way.

funnybeam 6y ago

Or maybe not. Turning the Sahara into a forest would have a massive climate impact. I am not a climate scientist but I’d imagine there would be significant changes to rainfall patterns over most of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East Edit - sorry, reply was meant to be to parent

pinkfoot 6y ago
A fair amount of the phosphorus in the Amazon comes from dust storms originating in the Sahara. [1] https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-how-much-saharan-dust-feeds-amazon-s-plants https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-...
- arcadeparade 6y ago
  given that the Sahara is only a couple thousand years old does that mean the amazon is just as young?
  - pinkfoot 6y ago
    Very good question.
  - macintux 6y ago
    An interesting article on how people shaped the Amazon. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/its-now-clear-that-ancient-humans-helped-enrich-the-amazon/518439/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/its-now-...
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    The Amazon is much younger; much of what is jungle today wasn't before the Columbian Exchange. There is a theory that American reforestation was responsible for the Little Ice Age.
ptsneves 6y ago
There is a nice article about some paper modeling the climate if all the Sahara was covered with solar panels and wind turbines.The temperature on the Sahara would actually increase on average.rain would also https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/carpeting-sahara-with-wind-and-solar-farms-could-make-it-rain/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/carpeting-sahara-wit...
deleted 6y ago
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