Horus
I know that soon or later we will colonize the space, at the moment we must see how we can miximize the benefits of our deserts with the minimum posible environmental cost. The explolation and colonization of ther space is a bigger and more difficult problem.
We start first with the easy, with what we have and we have plenty deserts and ocean water. We will use both of them to maximize the profits for our country and of cause to supply food to people of other countries.

Foxy, examinator, Protagoras, david f,
You know how fast have increaced human population on our planet!
If genetic engineering creates a new type of humans to eat rocks and sand no problem but if not, soon or later, we will have sortage of food, social and political problems, wars for food and water.
This problem will be bigger in our region, mainly in India with its billions of population, Indonesia etc.
The food sortage will not appeared from one day to an other but it will grow up by time! In 60-80 years the food sortage will be visible!
What will we do, knowing that food shortage is coming?
WE WILL TRY TO MAXIMIZE THE BENEFITS FOR OUR COUNTRY, THE BENEFITS FOR AUSTRALIANS, PRODUCINT MORE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND SELLING THEM IN HIGH PRICES OF CAUSE THE HIGH DEMAND OF THEM!
We know that if we do not supply them (mainly from our region) with food they will try to come here as migrants or as invadors!
I understand your worries for the wild camels and the mouses and some trees and millions of tones of sand which will desappeare BUT THE BENEFITS FOR THE COUNTRY AND THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE MILLIONS TIMES BIGGER.
Of cause we will find a solusion for the camels and the mouses BUT WHEN MILIONS OF PEOPLE ARE AT RISK, WHEN OUR PLANET IS AT RISK OF CAUSE THE FOOD SORTAGE THEN THE CAMELS AND MOUSES COME SECOND!
No I am not the bad guy simple I can not ignore the real, the main problems of humanity and I cry for a small number of animals which live in the desert and the desert trees.
I want a green park in the desert because I want to sent the mesege to Australians "LOOK WE CAN CONVERT OUR DESERTS TO GOLDFIELDS FOR AUSTRALIANS AND LIFE SAVERS FOR PEOPLE OVERSEAS!"
We have plenty and big deserts and there is plenty water in the oceans! Let's use them with the best way!
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Dear Antonios,

I think you are a good guy. I am not attacking you as a person. From all I can see you are noble, generous, kind and skeptical - all things I consider good. I just disagree with your idea of transforming the desert. I disagree that we would benefit from it.

Other people have had the idea of taking parts of the planet and transforming it into farmland to feed increasing populations. For one reason or another these efforts failed. It really is a question whether we can devote as much land to agriculture in the future as we do now. In the United States in the thirties there were big dust storms. Farming in areas in Oklahoma and other nearby states had produced a dust bowl. The land should not have been farmed as the soil once plowed simply blew away. The Dust Bowl was eliminated by taking the land out of agricultural production and planting vegetation such as vetch which would stabilise the land. Not learning from the experience of the United States Khruschev in the Soviet Union put the rich chernozem in the Ukraine under the plow. The Soviet developed a dust bowl which had to be controlled in much the same way as the American dust bowl was. On some days in Queensland where I live the sky is darkened by clouds of dust blowing in from other areas of Australia. We have dust bowls in Australia because we are farming land that shouldn't be farmed. We have too much farmland in Australia now. We cannot sustain it. We are losing soil. We need to take some existing farmland in Australia out of production.

We should control our breeding. At the Cairo population conference the Muslim delegation opposed education for women. The Catholic Church opposed birth control by anything but the rhythm method. They banded together to fight recommendations in both those areas.

We humans are destroying the planet, and we are destroying ourselves in the process.

I think you are a good man who has a bad idea

Protagoras
I do not think most Australians travel often to deserts or care very much for the desert trees or animals. They have more basic problems to solve, they have more basic worries than the mouses and camels from the deserts.
The people who visit and know and love the deserts are an extremely small minority, they have big sensitivities about the mouses and spiders but do not care very much for the real problems of Australians or for people overseas.
When Australian people realize that they can benefit from the deserts, when they realize that we can convert our deserts to goldfields then the two main political parties will change policies about our deserts.
Personaly I belong to working class, to low income labours and I see as hypocrities all those who are crying for the mouses but they do not care for our problems and they do not do anything to support us.
For me it is more important the economic benefits from the maximum use of our land including our deserts than the small number of desert animals and trees. I believe most australians will agree with me.
I know that in the forum most people will desagree with me but these people are not a representative part of Australian society.
As usual if I have to fight against all of them I will do. I have nothing to lose and only to win, if they sent some people to me even beter!
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaid

See Ant – now you’ve gone from “small green parks for travellers,” to colonising the deserts and you could just be in luck because the deserts are expanding.

Seventy five percent of Australia's dryland salinity problem is in WA. About 1.1 million hectares of South West land is currently salt-affected and over 14 000 hectares of land is lost to land salinisation each year (equivalent to 19 football ovals per day). And salt just loves a good feast of bricks and mortar.

There ya go Ant – who needs the Great Victoria Desert when there’s new ones in the making. Not sure what you’re going to feed or water the masses on though you could borrow my devining rod. Yay!

david f, Protagoras
WE DO NOT DO WHAT WE LIKE , we do what is necessary to do under our circumstances.
I care for the desert spiders too, I care for the desert camels too, I care for the desert rats too, I care for the desert trees too!
But when I see the dead bodies of the little children of cause the hunger, when I see the crying mothers for their lost children of cause the hanger, when I see the burnd farmlands and destroyed houses from a social mutiny of cause the food sortage, when I see the killed bodies of young soldgiers in a war which caused for food and water, when I see the miilions of unemployees, when we are under hopless conditions THEN THE DESERT RATS AND CAMELS, THE DESERT ANIMALS AND TREES COME SECOND.
For me state and federal governments should start from now the hard work to convert our sem-arid, arid and deserts to productive farmlands and they will bring plenty money and job opportunities for australians, for me the international comunity NUST starts from now the preparation for hard times, especialy for countries as INDIA, How they will feed 4-5 billions people? and they have nuclear weapons!
I know there are plans to bring row materials from the space, from planets or asteroids I know that there are plans for space colonization, I agree with these plans but I know we will need some time for them and their cost will be many times higher from converting our deserts to farmlands.
I like the history and philosophy too BUT over all I like the fight to minimize the number and size of our problems, to create better conditions for the future, to create better conditions for our world.
Let's open a window to the future, let's be inovative, constructive, creative and generous.
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide