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I'm assuming you mean irrigate land. Before WW2 in the UK, the countryside was covered with loads and loads of ponds and lakes for livestock to drink from and
by moremetadata 4y ago
I'm assuming you mean irrigate land.
Before WW2 in the UK, the countryside was covered with loads and loads of ponds and lakes for livestock to drink from and to keep the water table up. Fields were typically smaller with more hedgerows for wildlife to live in.
Droughts were less of a problem back then.
It was claimed the Germans Luftwaffe could fly by night on the full moon navigating by the reflection of these bodies of water, so the British govt issued orders to fill in these ponds and lakes to make it harder to fly by night.
Consequently the water table on farmland fell causing more drought problems and after WW2 these bodies of water have never been re-established by govt orders.
The history of the wild apple is also interesting. The Soviet Union paid people to conserve these, but the breakup of the USSR meant these were no longer looked after. They also displayed a symbiotic relationship with other plants just like livestock has displayed a symbiotic relationship with the land.
"Prickly shrubs, such as eglantine and barberry exhibiting symbiotic relationships with wild apples by shielding them from predators were also cut"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus_sieversii#Conservation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus_sieversii#Conservation
If there were no wild animals, like deer that can feed on the leaves, then the bottom of trees would reach to the floor.
The main problem has been trying to feed a growing human population whilst keeping them under control, so ideas sometimes dominate which shouldn't, like we see here with solar cells providing shelter for livestock like sheep.
- biorach 4y ago> It was claimed the Germans Luftwaffe could fly by night on the full moon navigating by the reflection of these bodies of water, so the British govt issued orders to fill in these ponds and lakes to make it harder to fly by night. > Consequently the water table on farmland fell causing more drought problems and after WW2 these bodies of water have never been re-established by govt orders. Citation?
- crakenzak 4y agoAccording to chatGPT: There is no evidence to support the claim that the British government ordered the filling in of ponds and lakes during World War II to prevent the German Luftwaffe from navigating by the reflection of the moon on the water. While it is true that the full moon could provide some illumination for nighttime flights, especially with the use of specialized equipment like the Lichtenstein radar, the idea that the Luftwaffe relied solely on the reflection of water for navigation is a myth. The Luftwaffe had other means of navigation, such as radio beacons, compasses, and celestial navigation. Additionally, there is no record of any official British government policy to fill in ponds and lakes for this purpose. It is possible that individual landowners or local authorities may have taken such action, but there is no evidence of a widespread or coordinated effort by the British government to do so. Overall, this claim is false and lacks factual basis.
- yencabulator 4y agoPlease don't copy-paste ChatGPT output as a reply on HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33945628 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33945628
- moremetadata 4y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_(wartime)#Effectiveness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_(wartime)#Effectivene... "M. R. D. Foot argues that blackouts did not impair navigation by bombers because navigators focused more on reflective bodies of water, railroad tracks, or large highways.[13]" This is about as close as you will get to the truth. You also have what is now called Visual Flight Rules https://youtu.be/0BP_H5tzIM0?t=22 https://youtu.be/0BP_H5tzIM0?t=22 which backs up the claim that pilots used waterbodies to navigate. When people found out, many filled them automatically just like some people knocked out street lights. There own paranoia was used against them, just like we see with migrants in hotels today, or paedophiles in the neighbourhood.
- biorach 4y ago> When people found out, many filled them automatically Citation ?
- antod 4y ago> It was claimed the Germans Luftwaffe could fly by night on the full moon navigating by the reflection of these bodies of water, so the British govt issued orders to fill in these ponds and lakes to make it harder to fly by night. Wondering what percentage of nights in the UK have a full moon AND no cloud? And that if all the countryside was covered in small ponds, would they even be useful for navigation?