6 Brilliant designs to fight desertification

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6 Brilliant designs to fight desertification

Amazing “Green Machine” Mobile City Concept Transforms Deserts into Lush Oases

Read the rest of Amazing “Green Machine” Mobile City Concept Transforms Deserts into Lush Oases Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Climate Change , desertification , deserts , fossil fuels , mobile city , self-sufficient , solar-powered , stephane malka , the green machine , thought experiment        

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Amazing “Green Machine” Mobile City Concept Transforms Deserts into Lush Oases

Jewel of Japan: Gorgeous Sand Dunes Like Japanese Desert

[ By Delana in Geography & Travel & History & Trivia & Nature & Ecosystems . ] Japan boasts countless attractions to delight and entertain tourists, but there might not be any that are more unexpected than the Tottori Sand Dunes . The dunes, in Tottori Prefecture near Tottori City, are unlike anything else in all of Japan – and the area is so impressive that it would be easy to mistake it for a previously-unknown desert. (all images via: Oddity Central ) The Tottori Sand Dunes have existed for approximately 100,000 years. They were formed by sediment from the Sea of Japan washing up onto shore and being blown into the dunes. Strong winds constantly rearrange the sand deposits, creating incredible desert-like formations that can reach heights of 90 meters. The unusual dunes draw an estimated two million visitors each year. The weather at the dunes can be strange and unpleasant: the sand reaches temperatures of 65 degrees Celcius (nearly 150 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer, making it impractical to walk around barefoot like one would at the beach. It also rains quite often, which can shatter the illusion of being in a desert but brings out adventurous sand-boarders and creates interesting patterns in the sand. Although the dunes bring in plenty of tourists, they are in constant danger of disappearing. Human interventions like reforestation and protective concrete barriers have prevented new sand from being deposited in the dunes, causing them to shrink significantly. If you are planning a trip to Japan, be sure to stop by this incredible location before it is gone forever. Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist: Glass Beach: Radical Example of Natural Recycling Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California, used to be a dump – literally. Now it’s one of the most unique and beautiful beaches on the planet. 1 Comment – Click Here to Read More »» Gateway to Hell: The Harshest, Most Volatile Corner of Earth Step into one of the most geologically active places on Earth to see incredible otherworldly sights you will never see anywhere else…on this planet, at least. Click Here to Read More »» Get Tanked: Fabulous Faux Swimming Pool Illusions How weird would it be to gaze deep into a cool, inviting swimming pool and see an entire family walking around on the bottom, smiling and waving at you? 1 Comment – Click Here to Read More »» [ By Delana in Geography & Travel & History & Trivia & Nature & Ecosystems . ] [ WebEcoist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

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Jewel of Japan: Gorgeous Sand Dunes Like Japanese Desert

Threatened Tortoises Slow Down Desert Solar Project

Threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Photo by Beth Jackson/ US Fish and Wildlife Service The building of the massive 5.6-square mile Ivanpah solar project in the Mojave Desert by BrightSource Energy has been suspended in the midst of construction while the U.S. Bureau of Land Management assesses whether more than 3,000 acres of tortoise habitat would be lost

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Threatened Tortoises Slow Down Desert Solar Project

Footballs To Be Made from Feral Camel Leather

Photo: World of Sport Australia has a feral camel problem. The Australian Feral Camel Management Project estimates that 1 million of rogue dromedaries roam outback Australia, annually causing over $14 million AUD worth of damage to infrastructure and livelihoods across more than 3 million km2 (1.1 million m2).

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Footballs To Be Made from Feral Camel Leather

Africa’s Great Green Wall Hopes to Stop the Spreading Sahara – If It Ever Gets Planted

photo: It’s been a couple of years since the still-planned and so-called Great Green Wall of Africa graced the pages of TreeHugger, so here’s a quick update and overview: As the BBC reports, African leaders are meeting in Chad to further push the idea of planting a wall of trees and vegetation at the edge of the Sahara desert in an attempt to halt it’s further southward spread. ..

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Africa’s Great Green Wall Hopes to Stop the Spreading Sahara – If It Ever Gets Planted

Chevron Drilling Oil Well in 8,530 Feet of Water, Says it Doesn’t Need Relief Well

Images: Google Maps & Chevron Everything will be fine, trust us If 5,000 feet is deep enough to make it very hard to fix any problems with an oil well, it would seem that 8,530 feet would deep enough to warrant extraordinary precautions (if you’re going to be drilling at all, not something I’m in favor of). But Chevron, who’s drilling a well at this depth off the coast of Newfoundland says that a relief well isn’t necessary (even though a relief well could probably have avoided the Deepwater Horizon disaster)…

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Chevron Drilling Oil Well in 8,530 Feet of Water, Says it Doesn’t Need Relief Well

Exxon CEO: Oil Industry is "Not Well Equipped" to Deal With Spills

Image via Newsweek I don’t get it. I really don’t. Both Democratic and Republican politicians are up in arms about the offshore drilling moratorium, attacking the president for suspending further operations in deep waters

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Exxon CEO: Oil Industry is "Not Well Equipped" to Deal With Spills

Good Talks to Jonathan Safran Foer About the Great Food Fight

Image credit: Good There are countless reasons to avoid eating meat and, since the publication of his book Eating Animals , Jonathan Safran Foer has been a popular advocate of a meat-free lifestyle. Good sat down with the author to talk about going vegetarian….

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Good Talks to Jonathan Safran Foer About the Great Food Fight

Australia’s Invading Camels Soon to Be Croc Food

Photo via The Telegraph Locals in one region of the Australian Outback have been terrorized of late by a roaming band of feral camels .

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Australia’s Invading Camels Soon to Be Croc Food