[lbo-talk] Egypt plan to green Sahara desert stirs controversy

uvj at vsnl.com uvj at vsnl.com
Thu Oct 18 14:10:37 PDT 2007


Reuters.com

Egypt plan to green Sahara desert stirs controversy http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSL2651867020071009?sp=true

Tue Oct 9, 2007

By Will Rasmussen

CAIRO (Reuters) - It looks like a mirage but the lush fields of cauliflower, apricot trees and melon growing among a vast stretch of sand north of Cairo's pyramids is all too real -- proof of Egypt's determination to turn its deserts green.

While climate change and land over-use help many deserts across the world advance, Egypt is slowly greening the sand that covers almost all of its territory as it seeks to create more space for its growing population. Tarek el-Kowmey, 45, points proudly to the banana trees he grows on what was once Sahara sands near the Desert Development Centre, north of Cairo, where scientists experiment with high-tech techniques to make Egypt's desert bloom. http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSL2651867020071009?sp=true



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