How to kill 40,000 elephants and then save the world...

[gtarman]

Catchy thread title eh? Wanted something a bit attention-grabbing so more people might get a chance to watch this really cool TED talk video I found about desertification (and climate change). The title will make more sense after you watch it..and try not to judge the dude too harshly on the elephants...he thought he was doing the right thing.

http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change.html

Edited September 24, 2013 by gtarman

[Weirdo]

Thanks for that, it was eye opening. Replicating nature is obviously the way to repair degraded land in regions where large herds of grazing animals and their predators once helped to maintain the natural balance.

What of Australia though? Desertification is a threat here also, but I am not aware of there having been vast herds of grazing animals migrating all over. I read that there would be a lot more rainforests on this continent if Aborigines had not introduced their burning regimes. No doubt human beings have contributed to Australia's various landscapes and I can only imagine what Australia looked like before the human invasion. I certainly do not hold Aboriginal people responsible for Australian desertification, that would be the work of invading Europeans and their need to change the environment to suit themselves rather than to live as a part of it.

That presentation certainly provided food for thought.

[Francois le Danque]

... Aborigines ... introduced their burning regimes.... invading Europeans ... change the environment to suit themselves rather than to live as a part of it.