User whom started this thread (Screen Name/User ID):
Teru Wong (kk23wong)
Date of posting:
14 Jul 2010
Link(URL):
http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/environmental-news-discussion-forum/25195-desertification-real-killer.html

Desertification is a long term imbalance of the ecosystems, which cannot be recovered.
Photosynthesis is carried out by the living tissues of the Earth i.e. plantation. It is responsible for the only input of energy i.e. sunlight into her life cycles. They are the bottom of the food chain including marine ecology. Desertification removed them permanently. It is also the aging (decaying) of the Earth. It can be slow down but not recoverable. Natural rules such as birth, growth and death cannot be violated. It is ironic. For instances, the clock cannot be turned back. Religions have already become valuable heritages. The Earth is very likely to be a Supreme Being. The traditional concept of the God has been replaced by the new understanding of lives. Lives have hierarchies. A higher level of lives gives birth to the lower. With the application of modern microbiology, the structure of the Earth should be very close to the individual cells.

Below are the major constraints we are facing:
1. Long-term Imbalance of the Regional Ecosystems
Deforestation contributes to the removal of biomass. Heavy rains flush the nutrients away from land. The run-off cannot be absorbed by the marine ecosystem immediately. The alluvial sediments are wasted. Meanwhile, the land being washed becomes desert eventually.
2. Poor Recycle Networks of the Human Settlements
We have failed to establish good recycle networks because of the technological problems, especially kitchen wastes. Sanitation is the major problem. First, the risk of spreading diseases is the major obstacle that we are facing. Second, it cannot make any profit or even result in deficits. Third, the cost of transportation is high (e.g. reefers and other necessary sanitary measures).
3. Increasing World Population
It can never be solved. The traditional cult in Africa regards it as a curse from the God for not having babies. Moreover, the population of relatively backward country with huge population such as India consumes less power than the developed countries such as the US and the EU. China is also increasingly an overwhelming nation with one-fifth of the world population. The consumptions of the cities are too great that it has quickly speeded up the aging of the Earth. The consumption in the cities creates bulky land wastes and unrecyclable kitchen wastes. As I have mentioned above, plantation is at the bottom of the food chain. We have removed the initial input of the Biosphere and the Earth has started decaying rapidly. The process is so fast that we have no hopes to survive in the coming century.

We have no universal methods to stop the decaying of the Earth now. Desertification is not recoverable. Many of us already acknowledge the truth. Maybe it is the first step for people to understanding it. Then we find a way to confront it altogether. Otherwise, we should be well prepared for this natural process of lives. A Chinese Idiom says “Deceiving yourself is deceiving others.” Death is an inevitable cost for every living thing. We should not avoid from talking about it.
Although individuals help little about it, our greatest power is to draw the public attention toward the worsening environmental problems. Public pressure is a useful tool for passing the environmental bills and signing of the relevant treaties. In the meantime, the NGOs and states can only save the Earth by improving recycle networks and introducing birth control (family planning).