4 ms·
My question is are there downstream effects? The planting techniques are fascinating but the water that they are capturing surely was going some where, right? H
by thinkingtoilet 3y ago
My question is are there downstream effects? The planting techniques are fascinating but the water that they are capturing surely was going some where, right? However little the stream may be, how do they do this without messing up people who are downstream?
- pwthornton 3y agoI have to imagine a lot of it evaporated because it wasn't being captured, and then others became runoff that may have gone out to sea if it had been raining too hard.
- micromacrofoot 3y agohard to imagine a downstream effect that's worse than becoming part of the sahara
- anonporridge 3y agoI think the concern is downstream effects negative to areas and people far away. Like how the Sahara feeds the Amazon rainforest. https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-how-much-saharan-dust-feeds-amazons-plants/ https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasa-sat... i.e. greening your land might lead to browning mine.
- micromacrofoot 3y agoah right, but they're not looking to reduce the sahara, but stop it... so in theory they're avoiding any new downstream effects? though I guess it's possible that some necessary process results in the sahara's growth? that's not my understanding though, part of the reason it grows is due to surrounding areas becoming more susceptible to desertification through agriculture
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- fnordpiglet 3y agoThey discuss this in the video, and if you watched it you’ll notice that they’re doing these projects along a major river near the ocean. They only capture 15% or so of what is today run off into the river. Rivers ultimately flow into the ocean. There is no one really downstream depending on that small percent of runoff.
- thinkingtoilet 3y agoI did watch the video but must have missed the 15% number. Thanks.
- fnordpiglet 3y agoNp I’d also notice the placement along the river and the river proximity to the ocean. They specifically call out not over harvesting the water. I’m pretty impressed as an engineer how well thought out the program is.
- tim333 3y agoIt doesn't necessarily work like that. Vegitation can cause more rain rather than just taking water from elsewhere. A striking example is the Loess plateau, in China which went from dessert to green. Article mentioning it: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/20/our-biggest-challenge-lack-of-imagination-the-scientists-turning-the-desert-green https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/20/our-bigg...