Letter to the Editor

Global Warming

Sir,

Apropos of mounting concern over global warming, I wish to suggest a solu-tion. According to my atlas about 1/3 of the world's landmass receives less than 250mm (10") of rain annually. Now if trees, shrubbery and vegetation convert carbon dioxide into oxygen it seems to follow that most the conversion is done by less than half of the landmass. In other words the earth's lungs are at only a third of their potential. With today's technology the desertifi cation of 50% of the huge continent of Africa, the Middle East and Australia could be reversed by means of solar desalination plants, combined with artesian wells and reverse osmosis systems. The pumping could be done by solar, tidal, wind and wave powered plants, but especially the first. If this were to be done, global warming, not to mention food shortages and untold demographic and political problems, could quickly become things of the past.

Furthermore, the capital cost of such a vast infrastructure could surely become self-generative. Equatorial Africa has plenty of sunlight; the technology required is relatively old hat and is commercially available (up-market British Virgin Island hotels have been using it for years); all the materials required-silica, aluminium, iron, copper and plastic (made from oil)-and of course the manpower, are all to be found within Africa.

So instead of young engineers dreaming of terraforming the planet Mars, why don't they dream of irrigating Africa? Better still why not teach Africans to do it for themselves? A dozen or so pilot schemes might serve to whet the appetite of native entrepreneurs. The fertility of the ground in such a climate could be enormous-several crops per year. Indeed, in 100 years Africa could be like New Zealand and Africans could have an inward refugee migration problem all of their very own!

Now wouldn't that be boxing clever? But I'm only a furniture dealer. There must be lots of good reasons why the 'experts' haven't begun it long ago ...?