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Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

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Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#51

Post by rokkitmensch »

Terr_ wrote: post #37
bgroat wrote: post #31

I'm not a historian, archeologist, or any sort of relevant expert. But I've long had the pet theory that the Green Sahara is the origin of the Eden Myth. Homo Sapiens origin, lush vegetation, turns to dessert for some reason beyond our comprehension...

I dunno, I mean the myth doesn't say "Then The Lord Smote the Garden Unto Sand", it says that Eden (and the plants) persisted in the same spot as before... Humans were just being actively blocked by an angel with a flaming sword.

I do not struggle to see echoes of an oral tradition recalling receding greenery. I can quite imagine a cult feeling expelled from Eden as the productive grasslands walked away.

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#52

Post by deafpolygon »

Terr_ wrote: post #37
bgroat wrote: post #31

I'm not a historian, archeologist, or any sort of relevant expert. But I've long had the pet theory that the Green Sahara is the origin of the Eden Myth. Homo Sapiens origin, lush vegetation, turns to dessert for some reason beyond our comprehension...

I dunno, I mean the myth doesn't say "Then The Lord Smote the Garden Unto Sand", it says that Eden (and the plants) persisted in the same spot as before... Humans were just being actively blocked by an angel with a flaming sword.

Hey, that's Aziraphale! Good guy.

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#53

Post by DoreenMichele »

xhkkffbf wrote: post #18

I've heard about some efforts to regreen the desert by careful planting and geoforming. Anyone know anything about this? It would be cool if it could work, even partially.

You might find histories of Fresno County, California interesting.

When settlers showed up, it was essentially river running through a desert landscape. They dug canals to support agriculture and the landscape greened up substantially.

A lot of water law and patented water development tech happened in Fresno County. It's essentially a modern "hanging gardens of Babylon" situation and no one seems to talk about it.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29696251

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#54

Post by jansan »

RC_ITR wrote: post #34
jazzyjackson wrote: post #28

I think it was in Michael Palin's show Sahara, he's talking to some locals living in a village in the middle of the desert, and while I'm wondering why anyone would ever settle out there, the person being interviewed relayed that many more people used to live there before it became a desert. It wasn't that they moved out there, they were all that was left. Kind of post-apocalyptic. Edit: found the mention, he's talki…

Great reminder to all that we know we are effectively killing Lake Chad, but there's not much anyone is really doing about it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chad

How exactly are "we" killing Lake Chad and what would be an easy solution to save it? Also, who is "we"?

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#55

Post by RC_ITR »

jansan wrote: post #54
RC_ITR wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great reminder to all that we know we are effectively killing Lake Chad, but there's not much anyone is really doing about it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chad

How exactly are "we" killing Lake Chad and what would be an easy solution to save it? Also, who is "we"?

Humans. How do you want me to segment us to minimize the problem?

And we are killing it by diverting water from it.

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#56

Post by jazzyjackson »

mr_toad wrote: post #45
jazzyjackson wrote: post #28

I think it was in Michael Palin's show Sahara, he's talking to some locals living in a village in the middle of the desert, and while I'm wondering why anyone would ever settle out there, the person being interviewed relayed that many more people used to live there before it became a desert. It wasn't that they moved out there, they were all that was left. Kind of post-apocalyptic. Edit: found the mention, he's talki…

Timbuktu’s population dropped by 4/5ths since the Middle Ages, from a near legendary city to a nearly forgotten one.

Any recommended sources to learn more about it?

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#57

Post by Terr_ »

deafpolygon wrote: post #52
Terr_ wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, I mean the myth doesn't say "Then The Lord Smote the Garden Unto Sand", it says that Eden (and the plants) persisted in the same spot as before... Humans were just being actively blocked by an angel with a flaming sword.

Hey, that's Aziraphale! Good guy.

> Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide.

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#58

Post by mr_toad »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #56
mr_toad wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Timbuktu’s population dropped by 4/5ths since the Middle Ages, from a near legendary city to a nearly forgotten one.

Any recommended sources to learn more about it?

Not of Timbuktu specifically. There are books on the history of West Africa, or Mansa Musa.

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#59

Post by mkl »

defrost wrote: post #50
lettergram wrote: post #48

> The results confirm the North African Humid Periods occurred every 21,000 years and were determined by changes in Earth's orbital precession. This caused warmer summers in the Northern Hemisphere, which intensified the strength of the West African Monsoon system and increased Saharan precipitation, resulting in the spread of savannah-type vegetation across the desert. So… as we finally exit the current ice age we s…

> So… as we finally exit the current ice age ... If by "Ice Age" you mean period of glaciation - the most recent one ended ~ 11,500 years ago after starting some 120,000 years ago. We're not currently in an "Ice Age" .. although by general expectation of this cycle we should be slowly moving into one . . . save for this recent rapid rise in C02 and atmospheric insulation increase caused by the most recent century of…

We are still in an ice age, just an interglacial part of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interglacial, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age

Re: Why and when the Sahara Desert was green: new research

#60

Post by true_religion »

RC_ITR wrote: post #55
jansan wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How exactly are "we" killing Lake Chad and what would be an easy solution to save it? Also, who is "we"?

Humans. How do you want me to segment us to minimize the problem? And we are killing it by diverting water from it.

Segmenting maximizes rather than minimizes.

When the problem is caused by all humans in the world, then no one feels pressured to do anything.

If you could instead name people individually, they would have to take a stand to actually do something about the issue.

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