Sahara Blooming?

[mike Meehan]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/sahara-forest-project-that-breathes-life-into-deserts-claims-climate-week-2012-award.html

Now this could be interesting - let's just hope that first of all it works, that it is economically sustainable and that local politics does not put the carbwash on it all, otherwise it will have to be re-located to East Anglia.

[4wd]

It looks like an excellent project, but the emphasis on CO2 throughout the article as a justification (?) is a bizarre symptom current obsessions.

I'm sure the development as a whole with construction of infrastructure and transport will create a great deal more CO2 than a patch of sand.

[Guest]

Taking it to the ultimate, we know that the trees airflow travelling over the tropical rain forests gathers nearly as much water vapour as it does travelling over the sea, so we could postulate that if the Sahara were eventually to become re-forested it could make quite a significant change to the climate in not only that area but probably a good part of the northern hemisphere - a tree and vegetation cover would make it cooler as would the evaporation of water vapour from the plants which would also help towards soaking up some of the CO2.

Agreed it is a vast area to cover but with an ongoing policy covering several generations it could eventually be done.

Even a trek of 100 miles has to begin with the first step.

[summer blizzard]

A good idea and one that i hope is rolled out on a large scale.