4 ms·

Currently they're fighting desertification in africa(and china) with the "Great Green Wall".[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall_(Africa) http

Currently they're fighting desertification in africa(and china) with the "Great Green Wall".[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall_(Africa) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall_(Africa)

baq 4y ago
$8B. This is like, a couple days of Pentagon spending? Sometimes politics just make no sense whatsoever.
- ccooffee 4y ago
  I am regularly surprised at how "cheap" mega-engineering projects are compared to the things we (USA) already spend money on. Here's some examples of expensive things: * USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier: $13.3 billion [0] * F-35 jet program (covering expected lifetimes of all aircraft through 2070): $1.5 trillion (> $150 million per aircraft) [1] * TARP funds during 2007-2010 crisis: $431 billion [2] * PPP loan forgiveness (during covid): $742 billion [3] It's very tempting to declare these other expenses an exorbitant waste of potential when mega-projects come in so much cheaper: greening Africa ($8bn), using desalination and up-gradient pumping to re-hydrate the Colorado River ($15bn)[4], the large hadron collider ($5bn - $13bn)[5], and James Webb Space Telescope ($9.7bn)[6] to name a few. Sources: [0] https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-navy-uss-ford-aircraft-carrier-2021-9?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-navy-uss-ford-aircra... [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20191206140954/https://www.thenation.com/article/f35-fighter-jet-pentagon/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191206140954/https://www.thena... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program [3] https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/ https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/ [4] https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/we-need-more-water-than-rain-can-provide-refilling-rivers-with-desalination/ https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/we-need-more-w... [5] https://en.as.com/latest_news/how-much-money-did-cerns-large-hadron-collider-cost-to-build-and-who-paid-for-it-n/ https://en.as.com/latest_news/how-much-money-did-cerns-large... [6] https://www.planetary.org/articles/cost-of-the-jwst https://www.planetary.org/articles/cost-of-the-jwst
  - roughly 4y ago
    It also provides some context when people say something is too expensive. As several others have noted, we don’t tend to talk about expense when we decide to bomb something, only when we’re deciding whether to build something.
hgomersall 4y ago
Also take a look at the referencing the Sinai peninsula project: https://www.greenthesinai.com/home https://www.greenthesinai.com/home That draws on the China example and there's some really inspiring content on the site.

baq 4y ago

$8B. This is like, a couple days of Pentagon spending? Sometimes politics just make no sense whatsoever.

ccooffee 4y ago
I am regularly surprised at how "cheap" mega-engineering projects are compared to the things we (USA) already spend money on. Here's some examples of expensive things: * USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier: $13.3 billion [0] * F-35 jet program (covering expected lifetimes of all aircraft through 2070): $1.5 trillion (> $150 million per aircraft) [1] * TARP funds during 2007-2010 crisis: $431 billion [2] * PPP loan forgiveness (during covid): $742 billion [3] It's very tempting to declare these other expenses an exorbitant waste of potential when mega-projects come in so much cheaper: greening Africa ($8bn), using desalination and up-gradient pumping to re-hydrate the Colorado River ($15bn)[4], the large hadron collider ($5bn - $13bn)[5], and James Webb Space Telescope ($9.7bn)[6] to name a few. Sources: [0] https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-navy-uss-ford-aircraft-carrier-2021-9?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-navy-uss-ford-aircra... [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20191206140954/https://www.thenation.com/article/f35-fighter-jet-pentagon/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191206140954/https://www.thena... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program [3] https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/ https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/ [4] https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/we-need-more-water-than-rain-can-provide-refilling-rivers-with-desalination/ https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/we-need-more-w... [5] https://en.as.com/latest_news/how-much-money-did-cerns-large-hadron-collider-cost-to-build-and-who-paid-for-it-n/ https://en.as.com/latest_news/how-much-money-did-cerns-large... [6] https://www.planetary.org/articles/cost-of-the-jwst https://www.planetary.org/articles/cost-of-the-jwst
- roughly 4y ago
  It also provides some context when people say something is too expensive. As several others have noted, we don’t tend to talk about expense when we decide to bomb something, only when we’re deciding whether to build something.

hgomersall 4y ago

Also take a look at the referencing the Sinai peninsula project: https://www.greenthesinai.com/home https://www.greenthesinai.com/home That draws on the China example and there's some really inspiring content on the site.