Operation OASIS = Overseas Arid Soil Irrigation Solution

2012-01-24T01:48:00.000-08:00

Ballast Water Invaders

		BBC World Service	http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/highlights/001108_ballast.shtml

Wednesday 08 November, 2000

Ballast Water Invaders

Commercial ships are transferring diseases like cholera around the world, according to new scientific research. Biologists in the US have discovered that the ships' ballast water, which is used to stabilise the vessels at sea, contains a variety of potentially dangerous micro-organisms. The scientists say these can harm both humans and ocean wildlife. Helen Sewell of BBC Science reports.

Cholera in the water
Ships are designed to carry heavy cargoes and can be unstable when empty so they take in water as ballast. They discharge this at ports of call and en route, dumping more than 79 million tonnes every year into the seas near the US alone.

A group of marine biologists has examined ballast water from 15 ships coming into Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast of America. The vessels all came from Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

Writing in the journal Nature the researchers, led by Gregory Ruiz of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, revealed that every ship they checked was carrying bacteria which cause cholera - a fast-spreading disease which can kill half the people it infects. The report states:

‘Ballast tanks carry a diverse community of organisms, resulting in many biological invasions. Pathogens [harmful microbes], including those affecting humans, are common in coastal waters and can be transferred in ballast water.’


	Listen to Gregory Ruiz explain the problem of the Zebra mussels found in the Great Lakes in the 1980s

Sea hitch hikers
The biologists say it is not just humans who are at risk. They believe that bacteria and viruses from ballast water frequently invade coastal ecosystems. But no one knows the full extent or effects of this discharged cocktail of potential pathogens.

Ballast water is untreated seawater and, if the conditions are right, it is possible that whatever is alive in the water when it is collected, will grow and could even breed. It has already been shown that other organisms, such as carnivorous comb jellies, have traveled the world in ship ballast water, with sometimes devastating impacts on the local environment.

Previous studies in Australia have also revealed all sorts of sea hitchhikers – some more welcome than others. In the 1970s two fish species, previously only found in Japan and North East Asia, were found in Sydney Harbour. The Yellowfin Goby and the Striped Goby were thought to have been introduced through the ballast waters and although an exotic addition to the water, it was feared that the Yellowfin would compete with existing species, consequently having a major influence on the natural order of predators.

'Ballast water is discharged at ports of call and en route, dumping more than 79 million tonnes every year into the seas near the US alone'

Reducing the organisms
In an attempt to reduce the number of organisms present in ballast water, in 1990, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) introduced voluntary guidelines. Whilst the guidelines are not enforced by law, they could go some way to protecting marine species and ultimately human life.

The AQIS suggestions include filtering the ballast water as it is collected, eliminating organisms in the water during the voyage and treating the water as it is discharged in the port. Avoiding the organisms by collecting the ballast from deep water is a further consideration.

Whilst filtering could be effective for eliminating larger organisms, advanced filtering systems would be necessary to collect water-borne micro- organisms. If this system were to be implemented when the water was onboard ship, vessels would need to be significantly modified.

Re-ballasting the ship whilst at sea is another option. Exchanging the original water mid-ocean could reduce the survival rate of the organisms. However, as ships are designed to take ballast water on in still waters, there is a danger that exchanging water mid voyage could upset the balance of the vessel.

Sterilising the water with chemicals also seems a logical solution. Just as sewage is treated with chlorine or hydrogen peroxide, it is possible that ballast water could be treated either on collection or when discharged at the port. However there are two problems with this method – firstly it is costly and secondly the large doses of chemicals could have a detrimental impact on the environment.

Technological developments
All of these treatments have their benefits and drawbacks, however as the researchers at Chesapeake Bay warn, despite growing concern about the global spread of diseases, the potential for ships to carry micro-organisms around the world has been ‘virtually unexplored’. Recognising the benefits of technological advances Ann Pesiri Swanson, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission added:

‘International efforts represent good interim steps in reducing the risks of ballast water organisms, but it is increasingly recognised that a technological solution or improved ballast management practices may provide eventual answers to prevent these invasions.’

The biologists have therefore called for immediate research into the international transfer of ballast water and it’s inadvertent cargoes.

Chicken manure to power 90000 homes - YouTube

2012-01-12T01:29:00.000-08:00

Chicken manure to power 90000 homes - YouTube

http://www.instablogs.com/
The world's largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure has opened in the Netherlands, which will deliver renewable electricity to 90,000 households. The project will give a major boost to green energy within the country.

Chicken manure to power 90000 homes

Many European countries, including the Netherlands, suffer under an excess of different types of animal manure that pollute the environment. The world's largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure has opened in the Netherlands, which will deliver renewable electricity to 90,000 households. The power plant has a capacity of 36.5 megawatts, and will generate more than 270 million kWh of electricity per year. The biomass power plant is more than merely carbon neutral. If the chicken manure were to be spread out over farm land, it would release not only CO2, but also methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. By using the manure for power generation, the release of methane is avoided. The biomass power plant will utilize approximately 440,000 tons of chicken manure, roughly one third of the total amount produced each year in the Netherlands.

2011-11-15T08:01:00.001-08:00

14 November 2011Last updated at 21:04

BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15725207

Charity warning over raw sewage discharge levels

Sewage discharges from an overflow on to the beach at Godrevy in Cornwall

Thousands more pipes could discharge raw sewage into the sea, rivers and lakes than was previously thought, the Marine Conservation Society has said.

The conservation charity said the usually published figure of 22,000 discharge pipes in England and Wales should actually be about 31,000.
That is because other categories of pipes have the same function, it said.
The Environment Agency said over £8bn has been invested to upgrade the sewage system over the past 20 years.
The MCS also called for overflow pipes to be mapped and managed more closely.
The charity said that overflow pipes which prevent sewage backing up into drains and houses in times of heavy rain are necessary in an emergency. But water companies needed to invest in the sewer network to ensure untreated waste water was only released in urgent cases.
The MCS also called for overflow pipes to be mapped and managed more closely.
Referring to the 22,000 discharge pipes, the charity said the figure only referred to pipes known as combined sewer overflows and emergency overflows.
'Public information' The organisation said it had discovered that four other categories of outflows - for example at pumping stations or waterworks - perform the same function, bringing the total figure to an estimated 31,000.
MCS pollution programme manager Dr Robert Keirle said the society "accepts that combined sewer overflows and emergency overflows are an essential part of a well-managed and maintained sewerage network, if sited, used and monitored appropriately.
"However, MCS insists that they should not be used for routine discharge of excess sewage, as an alternative to increasing the capacity of sewers to cope with a growing population."
Dr Keirle also said more needed to be done to map and monitor the outflows, so the public had more information about where they are, if they are monitored and when and for how long sewage is flowing into the sea.
"Mapping costs relatively little yet it could make the difference between an enjoyable trip to the beach or one that ends up in A&E with ear, nose and throat infections or stomach upsets," he added.
Research from the society also suggested there are outlets around the UK coastline which are discharging sewage more than the permitted 10 times a year, including one in Kent which let out waste for more than 1,000 hours during the bathing season in 2010.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said in addition to the £8bn spent by water companies to upgrade sewer systems and reduce water pollution over the past 20 years, over 98% of beaches had met standards for bathing water quality this year.
He said that the agency had also helped to secure a further £4bn investment by water companies in environmental improvements by 2015.
He added: "The Environment Agency publishes detailed online profiles of every designated bathing water in England and Wales.
"The location of all types of outfall is included in these profiles, along with information on the work being done to improve bathing water quality."

2011-11-06T04:31:00.000-08:00

Letter from Bill Gates Foundation regarding Operation OASIS

Dear Mr Gates

Following your interview on television yesterday regarding the logic in supporting developing countries so that they in turn help to support our own economy is precisely what we have been advocating within the Operation OASIS Project, detailed on the website link below.

This project was designed to prevent further drought in Somalia and Ethiopia following the Feed The World Appeal in the 80's and offers a common sense approach to restore arid coastlines into productive agro-forestry based practices by making use of the existing ballast water practices in the bulk ocean transport chain.

Currently, sea water is transported as ballast and released back into the sea at great financial and environmental cost. This practice is under close scrutiny by the E.U. and the U.N. and legislation is placing a heavy compliance burden on shipping, who's only option on the table so far is to install and run expensive sterilization equipment in a bid to prevent the introduction of invasive marine species which have already wreaked havoc on marine and shipping environments, depleting the food chain further.

Oasis offers a land based end use for the treated waste water ballast that can be used safely to grow crops and timber resources along the worlds arid coastlines and in doing so we believe we can stimulate increased annual rainfall in these regions to enable people to return to the land and find valuable employment in providing food and renewable resources.

This act alone will ease the amount of food required to support people in drought stricken areas.

We would welcome an opportunity to discuss Operation OASIS in more detail and thrash out any doubts you may have about this approach.

Best Wishes

Andrew K Fletcher

Info info@gatesfoundation.org to me

show details 4 Nov 2011 (2 days ago)

Dear Mr. Fletcher,

Thank you for contacting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

We appreciate the opportunity to review your request and learn about the mission of Operation OASIS. While we understand how important your work is on behalf of the community you serve, unfortunately, it falls outside of the foundation's giving priorities, and we are unable to provide support.

As you may know, the foundation's work stems from our belief that all people deserve the chance to live healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we focus on improving people's health and giving them the opportunity to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, we seek to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.

For more information about the foundation, including our funding guidelines, recent videos, photo galleries, and a link to the foundation's blog, please visit www.gatesfoundation.org.

We appreciate your commitment to your work and wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Grantee & Public Communications
www.gatesfoundation.org

2011-10-29T02:27:00.000-07:00

Operation OASIS wins Herts Green Award

by FREdome Visionary Trust

Great news. Our carbon cycling project Operation OASIS has won the 2011 Herts Green Award for a communications project.

Our founder Greg Peachey accepted the award on behalf of the FREdome volunteer team at the ceremony at the Hertfordshire Green Exhibition, Knebworth Barns on October 25th.

Greg writes:

Just to let you know, FREdome &
Operation OASIS was a finalist in two categories of the Hertfordshire Green
Awards (Green Project & Green Communications) and we won the Green
Communications category!

Thank you, Suzanne, for writing our successful application! And, of course, thank you Andrew for the
brilliant project!"

2011-10-05T00:30:00.001-07:00

Operation OASIS: Carbon Cycling in the news

by FREdome Visionary Trust

"One thing that is abundantly clear as our forests teeter over the line dividing life and death, our planet’s future teeters with them. We must do whatever we can to protect them....."

A robust defence of the role of forest in climate stabilisation by RP Siegel is published today on Triple Pundit.

Read it to find out why trees are so vitally important to our future and why deforestation must be reversed; http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/10/scientists-find-reasons-forests-be-preserved/

Published on the same day : why biofuels are posing a condundrum in the energy and climate change debate by Jeremy Woods, Seyed Ali Hosseini and Nilay Shah, published in Chemistry World.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2011/October/FacingUpToChallenges.asp

Our Operation OASIS Carbon Cycling project provides a solution to all these dilemmas. Find out more about Operation OASIS , a project supported by Liverpool John Moores University, University of Seville, The Cradle to Cradle Network, the Energy Institute of UCL et al.

Trees can make it rain!

Operation OASIS

Fredome OASIS Press Release

2011-08-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

FREdome visionary TRUST supporting:

Operation oasis

The FREdome Visionary Trust CIC

Unit 303B

The Wenta Business Centre

Colne Way

Watford

WD24 7ND

United Kingdom

Phone: 01727 823450

Press Release

Contact: Anna Zachariassen

Phone: 07949 924303

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 22 2011

THE FUTURE OF MANKIND LIES BENEATH OUR FEET – CAMPAIGN TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF COASTAL SOIL MANAGEMENT SEEKS 1 MILLION EURO FUNDING

At the start of World Water Week, Hertfordshire volunteer group submits bid to the European Commission Life Plus programme for 1 million euro funding to promote innovative coastal soil project.

The ‘OASIS MEDia’ project is driven by the FREdome Visionary Trust, a Hertfordshire volunteer group which harnesses ingenuity and goodwill within society to facilitate positive change. This project aims to support countries affected by drought and famine by raising awareness of how desert coastal soil can be transformed into a viable and sustainable habitat for trees and plants.

Long-term, the team hope to facilitate the transportation of billions of tonnes of nutrient rich-treated waste water to desert shores around the world, using the return ballast capacity of Supertankers and other bulk shipping. Currently, empty tankers are filled with seawater on their return journeys which adds significantly to the price of oil, transfers invasive microbes to foreign ecologies and is widely considered to be unsustainable.

As the EU reviews traditional ballast practices, the OASIS project offers a safe alternative, helping to restore arid coastlines, induce rainfall and potentially mitigate the effects of drought and famine. If the bid is successful, it will enable FREdome to work with local communities in Andalucia, Southern Spain to trial the viability of the project and build links with scientific bodies in other countries.

At a local level, residents in Andalucia and East Anglia will be encouraged to nurture saplings in plastic bags of soil in their own gardens, ready to be transplanted to increase rainfall at the arid Spanish coastline and in a line connecting the East Anglian coast to an inland reservoir, as permitted by authorities and under the direction of scientists.

Greg Peachey, Director of the FREdome Visionary Trust, said:

“This bid is a real opportunity to embrace change and support countries where arid landscapes have a negative impact on local communities. This bid will ensure our proposal is considered at the highest level and I look forward to the Commission’s response.”

The project is supported by a number of eminent partners including Liverpool John Moores University, who have taken on the co-ordinating role, together with the University of Seville, Green Europe and City of Santa Pola, with Cranfield University soil science department as a potential expert sub-contractor.

The OASIS MEDia communications project has been pioneered by scientist and inventor, Andrew K Fletcher. He said:

“I have been striving to deliver this project for most of my life, to help countries affected by water scarcity and desertification, who are long term sufferers of drought and famine. Thanks to FREdome and all of the other partners that we have pulled together, this funding application is a major step in the right direction and I am delighted that we have secured €500k matched funding from our partners and university backing for our bid.”

Notes to Editors

1 The ‘OASIS MEDia’ Communications project is a keystone to secure global food, fuel, timber and water for future generations and supports the Operation OASIS approach pioneered by Andrew K Fletcher.

2 The European Commission will commence negotiations in November 2011 and announce successful bids in March 2012.

3 For more information about the FREdome Visionary Trust visit www.fredome.org

4 For more information about Operation OASIS visit www.operationoasis.com

5 For more information about the European Commission Life Plus programme visit http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/lifeplus.htm

-End-

Radical overhaul of farming could be 'game-changer' for global food security

2011-08-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Radical overhaul of farming could be 'game-changer' for global food security

Public release date: 21-Aug-2011
[ Print | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michelle Geis
mgeis@burnesscommunications.com
301-280-5712
Burness Communications

James Clarke
j.clarke@cgiar.org
+94-11-77-336-9533

Joanna Kane-Potaka
j.kane-potaka@cgiar.org
+94-777-592-908

Radical overhaul of farming could be 'game-changer' for global food security

New practices could enhance rather than degrade the world's ecosystems, double agricultural production and protect natural systems

This release is available in French.

STOCKHOLM (22 August 2011)—According to the authors of new research released today at the World Water Week in Stockholm, a radical transformation in the way farming and natural systems interact could simultaneously boost food production and protect the environment—two goals that often have been at odds. The authors warn, however, that the world must act quickly if the goal is to save the Earth's main breadbasket areas—where resources are so depleted the situation threatens to decimate global supplies of fresh water and cripple agricultural systems worldwide.

A new analysis resulting from the joined forces of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) outlines the urgent need to rethink current strategies for intensifying agriculture, given that food production already accounts for 70 to 90 percent of withdrawals from available water resources in some areas. The report, An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water and Food Security, finds that in many breadbaskets, including the plains of northern China, India's Punjab and the Western United States, water limits are close to being "reached or breached." Meanwhile, 1.6 billion people already live under conditions of water scarcity, and the report warns that number could soon grow to 2 billion. The current situation in the Horn of Africa is a timely reminder of just how vulnerable to famine some regions are.

"Agriculture is both a major cause and victim of ecosystem degradation," said Eline Boelee of IWMI, the lead scientific editor of the report. "And it is not clear whether we can continue to increase yields with the present practices. Sustainable intensification of agriculture is a priority for future food security, but we need to take a more holistic 'landscape' approach."

Meanwhile, a separate report by IWMI, Wetlands, Agriculture and Poverty Reduction, warns against seeking to protect wetlands by simply excluding agriculture. It argues that policies focused simply on wetland preservation and ignore the potential of 'wetland agriculture' to increase food production and contribute to reducing poverty.

"Blanket prohibitions against cultivation do not always reduce ecosystem destruction and can make things worse," said Matthew McCartney of IWMI, who co-authored the report. "For example, the grassy 'dambo' wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa often provide vital farmland to the rural poor. Banning farming in these areas, however, has exacerbated rather than reduced ecosystem destruction. It has prompted deforestation upstream and led to a shift from farming to grazing in the wetlands themselves so that, overall, there has been a much greater impact on these natural systems. What is needed is a balance: appropriate farming practices that support sustainable food production and protect ecosystems."

New Alliance Between Agriculture and Environment Groups

The two reports seek a new path toward achieving both food security and environmental health. They focus on radically reorienting practices and policies so that farming occurs in 'agroecosystems' that exist as part of the broader landscape, where they help maintain and supplement clean water, clean air and biodiversity.

"We are seeing a growing trend of alliances between traditionally conservationist groups and those concerned with agriculture," said David Molden, Deputy Director General for Research at IWMI. UNEP is the voice of the environment of the United Nations, and IWMI is part of the world's largest consortium of agricultural researchers, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

"For instance," Molden continued, "UNEP has adopted food security as a new strategic concern. And IWMI and its partners in the CGIAR are developing a multi-million dollar research program that will look at water as an integral part of ecosystems to help solve issues of water scarcity, land and environmental degradation. IWMI has also recently become a key partner with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on the topic of the relationship between wetlands and agriculture."

"The various political, research and community alliances now emerging are challenging the notion that we have to choose between food security and ecosystem health by making it clear that you can't have one without the other," he added.

Examples of Successful Integration in the Field

UNEP and IWMI and collaborators have identified multiple opportunities to use trees on dryland farms that will intensify the amount of food produced per hectare of land area while helping to improve the surrounding ecosystem. They note that by integrating trees and hedgerows, farmers can prevent runoff and soil erosion and retain more water for nourishing their crops.

Another example of innovative thinking include better water and soil management in rainfed systems in sub-Saharan Africa, which have demonstrated the ability to reverse land degradation while at the same time increasing crop yields by twofold or threefold.

Overall, the authors say it's time for decision-makers at the international, national and local level to embrace an agroecosystem approach to food production. These changes could include providing more farmers with incentives to adopt improved practices through 'payments for environmental services (PES)'.

One example being explored by the CGIAR's Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) is the potential for benefit sharing in river basin areas of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Upstream users value the water for irrigation and ecotourism and also have a spiritual affiliation with the ecosystem. The hydropower companies need a steady stream to support electrification of the growing urban population downstream. Large-scale farms and agro-industry also need increasing supplies of water.

"More and more agriculture needs to be brought into the 'green economy'," said Alain Vidal of the CPWF. "We need to value farming practices that protect our precious water resources in the same way we are beginning to value forest management that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially because those natural resources support the livelihoods of the most vulnerable."

In the report, An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water and Food Security, experts from UNEP, IWMI and 19 other organizations acknowledge that one major impediment to adopting a more sustainable approach to food production is that it requires a new level of cooperation and coordination among officials and organizations involved in agriculture, environmental issues, water management, forestry, fisheries and wildlife management—individuals and groups who routinely operate in separated, disconnected worlds.

"It is essential that in the future we do things differently. There is a need for a seminal shift in the way modern societies view water and ecosystems and the way we, people, interact with them," said David Molden. "Managing water for food and ecosystems will bring great benefits, but there is no escaping the urgency of this situation. We are heading for disaster if we don't change our practices from business as usual."

###

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a nonprofit, scientific research organization focusing on the sustainable use of land and water resources in agriculture, to benefit poor people in developing countries. IWMI's mission is "to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment." IWMI has its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and regional offices across Asia and Africa. The Institute works in partnership with developing countries, international and national research institutes, universities and other organizations to develop tools and technologies that contribute to poverty reduction as well as food and livelihood security (www.iwmi.org).

The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) was launched in 2002 as a reform initiative of the CGIAR. The CPWF aims to increase the resilience of social and ecological systems through better water management for food production (crops, fisheries and livestock). The CPWF does this through an innovative research and development approach that brings together a broad range of scientists, development specialists, policymakers and communities to address the challenges of food security, poverty and water scarcity. The CPWF is currently working in six river basins globally: Andes, Ganges, Limpopo, Mekong, Nile and Volta (www.waterandfood.org).

2011-07-23T03:03:00.001-07:00

Two poems written for OASIS by R.J. Appleby

I live in Africa where I pray for the rain

My prayers and my dreams are always the same

MY belly is swollen and my family are dead

The pain is unbearable until I get fed

I hope I survive and have a family of my own

and we can eat fresh food from seeds we have sown

I will suffer the pain until my dream comes true

and one day it will because of people like you

Author R.J. APPLEBY

A VIEW FROM THE PROM

The view from the promenade is a sight to be seen

Fish should be jumping and the sand should be clean

But if you look closely the truth is there

AS fish lay around and their dead eyes stare

The smell of the sea should be salty and" fresh

But today it just smells of rotting birds flesh

We need not look far to see its pollution

Sewage and oil caused this mass execution

How much more will the ocean bare

Of this relentless onslaught and lack of care

All along the beach we are bathing and walking

Yet why don't we here the animals talking

We will never hear if we simply don't listen

Answers are here to make the seas glisten

Please support OASIS each and all nations

For in this vision lies all our salvations.

Author R.J.APPLEBY Sewage and oil and mass execution

Consume and dump is practised by all life on Earth.

2011-06-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

Consume and dump is practised by all life on Earth.
The only difference with ourselves and other animals is that we frequently consume produce from the soil and return our waste to the ocean either directly or via streams and rivers, and no matter how we try to fool ourselves with elaborate water treatment processes, we simply cannot disguise the fact that our bodily waste and the water we waste in our homes should be returned back to the soil.

Current treatment processes involve either aeration or anaerobic digestion from bacteria and the resulting chemical reactions to destroy most of the harmful pathogens and odours, both of which emit CO2 into the atmosphere. The same can be said for natural composting within the soil, although dry composting does not involve wasting billions of cubic kilometres of highly processed drinking water as a vessel to move our waste from A to B.

When we import grain, fruit, timber etc we are effectively importing all of the water and nutrients used to grow these products and often with dire consequences for the exporting countries as we continually deplete their ground water reserves and plunder humus and nutrients from their fragile soils.

We then sell these countries chemical fertilizers in a bid to address this imbalance and of course make a buck or three from their toils.

End result of this practice is civilisation collapse, as demonstrated by all great past civilisations.

We have even reduced the most intelligent of all species to following our pet dogs around with plastic bags to pick up their poop, which is understandable in our concrete cities but in the open countryside? Better to flick it off the path with a stick perhaps?

What we need to do right now is to add a spoonful of common sense into our habitual one way global environmental suicide pact and begin to address the massive losses of arable land and forestry. Some of these exposed soils have taken thousands of years to develop and a few flash floods along with wind erosion and exposure to the sun can destroy the lands turned over to grass crops within 5-10 years rendering it into unusable desert.

We have one shot at getting this right and to do so we need to close our one way unsustainable trading chains by returning our used water, humus and nutrients back to where the soils are baron to increase the production of the materials we need to sustain our lives. I do not want my grandaughter to watch millions of people around the world eating dirt and perishing in relentless drought and famine as we say in the Great Ethiopian and Somalian Famine. I do not want her to see the winds blow away top soil in great dust clouds, destroying the lives of the people that destroyed the soils. I do not want her to see wars over dwindling water supplies and oceans full of rotting fish from pollution. I do not want her to see wild fires ravaging the last remnants of once great forests and great areas of productive land submerged beneath the rising ocean.

This is why http://operationoasis.com was conceived and should we succeed in demonstrating a pilot this simple, feasible and common sense approach to already in place trading practices can be rolled out on every shore affected by waste water pollution or desertification.

The question is how long will it take to fire up the will and release the modest finances required to turn this dire environmental apocalypse around?

No time left for talking and thinking, the preserved mummies of farmers who ignore the need to manage soil sustainably are in the sands of the Atacama desert. Can we not learn from history?

Andrew K Fletcher

U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon We are running out of time!

2011-06-13T02:36:00.000-07:00

U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon We are running out of time!

| | |

Davos, Switzerland, 28 January 2011 - Secretary-General's remarks to the World Economic Forum Session on Redefining Sustainable Development

For most of the last century, economic growth was fuelled by what seemed to be a certain truth: the abundance of natural resources.
We mined our way to growth. We burned our way to prosperity. We believed in consumption without consequences.
Those days are gone.
In the 21st century, supplies are running short and the global thermostat is running high. Climate change is also showing us that the old model is more than obsolete. It has rendered it extremely dangerous. Over time, that model is a recipe for national disaster. It is a global suicide pact.
So what do we do in this current challenging situation?How do we create growth in a resource constrained environment?How do we lift people out of poverty while protecting the planet and ecosystems that support economic growth?How do we regain the balance?All of this requires rethinking.

Here at Davos – this meeting of the mighty and the powerful, represented by some key countries – it may sound strange to speak of revolution.
But that is what we need at this time. We need a revolution. Revolutionary thinking. Revolutionary action. A free market revolution for global sustainability.It is easy to mouth the words “sustainable development”, but to make it happen we have to be prepared to make major changes -- in our lifestyles, our economic models, our social organization, and our political life.

We have to connect the dots between climate change and what I might call here, WEF – water, energy and food.

I have asked President Halonen of Finland and President Zuma of South Africa to connect those dots as they lead our High Level Panel on Global Sustainability.
I have asked them to take on the tough questions: How we organize ourselves economically?How we manage increasingly scarce resources?Those same questions guide our discussion here. I have asked them to bring us visionary recommendations by the end of December so they can be feed into intergovernmental processes until Rio 2012.

But as we begin, let me highlight the one resource that is scarcest of all: Time.

We are running out of time! Time to tackle climate change. Time to ensure sustainable, climate-resilient green growth. Time to generate a clean energy revolution.The sustainable development agenda is the growth agenda for the 21st century. To get there, we need your participation, your initiative. We need you to step up. Spark innovation. Lead by action.Invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy for those who need them most – your future customers. Expand clean energy access in developing countries – your markets of tomorrow.Join our UN Global Compact, the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. Embed those sustainability principles into your strategies, your operations, your supply chain.To government leaders sitting here and elsewhere around the world, send the right signals to build the green economy.

Together, let us tear down the walls.

The walls between the development agenda and the climate agenda. Between business, government, and civil society. Between global security and global sustainability. It is good business – good politics – and good for society.
In an odd way, what we are really talking about is going back to the future. The ancients saw no division between themselves and the natural world. They understood how to live in harmony with the world around them. It is time to recover that sense of living harmoniously for our economies and our societies.
Not to go back to some imagined past, but to leap confidently into the future with cutting-edge technologies, the best science and entrepreneurship has to offer, to build a safer, cleaner, greener and more prosperous world for all.

There is no time to waste.

Thank you very much for your commitment
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sgsm13372.doc.htm
Operation OASIS Ticks all of the boxes and offers a sound and economically feasible solution

Operation OASIS Has Connected the Dots between Water Energy and Food in a marriage between Shipping, Wastewater and Sustainable Arid Land Management.

We must act now!

U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon We are running out of time!

We have to connect the dots between climate change and what I might call here, WEF – water, energy and food.

In1984 Bob Geldof and Midge Ure released Do They Know it's Christmas to generate food aid for the Ethiopian and Somalian Famine, I began to ponder on why there was drought in these areas. Being a habitual lateral thinker I thought at the time that this approach was never going to resolve the causes and that more famine and drought would be on the cards in many countries affected by water scarcity. The first question was of course why had the rains failed and could we interfere with precipitation in these arid areas?

So got to thinking about where the clouds come from and where they were heading. Began by looking at the Hadley cell and how hot dry air circulates from the coast back towards the content interior. It soon became apparent that the interface between the continent and the sea on the arid coastlines of deserts was the obvious place to start. Not having access then to the Internet, research was mostly purchasing books and watching video documentaries, particularly open University Programmes.

I looked into past civilisations to learn of malnutrition, poor soil management and unsustainable grain crops used to fuel the labour that built the impressive monuments and buildings that remain. Civilisations in Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, South America, China, and many others all showed the same evidence of malnutrition in skeletal remains.

Today, we have fortunately the Internet at our disposal and we can see images from satellites that show the marks of irrigation channels in many deserts around the world, depicting their attempts at sustaining food production and today we are following the same pattern of poor soil management, with deforestation, desertification and desert encroachment baring witness to this folly.

Most major food producing countries are experiencing devastating crop failure and global food shortages is becoming a very real concern for us. We can see here in the U.K. massive food price increases.

So why is this happening?

When deforestation occurs on a coastline and biodiverse vegetation is removed in favour of growing grass crops to support grain production and grazing. The soil becomes depleted of organic matter. Because grass crops have shallow roots, modest shortfalls in rain cause these surface crops and the surface soil to dry out rapidly, whereas the deeper rooted biodiverse system that was removed would have remained tapped in to underground water reserves, affording surface vegetation shade from the sun and protection from the desiccating effects of wind erosion and flash flood damage by providing the soil with the capacity to absorb and hold on to water. Trees and crops transpire water into the atmosphere and this lowers local atmospheric temperature and increases humidity.

Overgrazing by goats, camels, sheep and cattle and indeed crop pests such as locusts prevents natural regeneration. Irrigation follows in a desperate attempt to address the lack of rainfall and for a time it works and business as usual continues, depleting the underground none-renewable water reserves, which in turn causes the salinity in the soils to increase, and salt water moves in from the ocean as aquifers are drained, which in turn causes crops to fail. The end result is soil slainity which ultimately becomes a salt desert. The Aral Sea is a good example of this unsustainable model.

Once the water table has been lowered, the remaining trees begin to die and the coastal soil becomes sand and stone, which rapidly heats up under the intense radiation from the sun.

The heated air from arid coastlines rises high into the atmosphere and then circulates back towards the continent interior. The air on the ocean side of the coast also rises and circulates back towards the sea causing clouds and mist to roll along the coastline, where it is channelled by prevailing air currents

Now we have in place an effective thermal barrier of heated air, which for centuries has provided migrating birds with a navigable river of air from Europe to Central Africa and the Middle East. And on most arid coastline around the world. Nasa Images illustrate fog banks which are in effect low clouds that are channelled along these coastlines and unable to cross over from the sea to the land. The thermal air from the arid coastlines rises high into the atmosphere buffeting aircraft’s as they cross over it and we call this turbulence. Pilot handbooks state that turbulence can be expected when crossing over dry land but not over vegetated land. Glider pilots use these thermals to sustain their flight. It is not difficult to understand why some areas soon become swamped by flooding while others become desertified when the thermal barrier is taken into account.

The knock on effect in this case means that forests and crops inland from the coastline are starved of water. Forests begin to burn out of control, whether started deliberately or by lightning strikes the result is inevitably. Forest fires in France, Spain, Greece, Australia, South and North America, are in the news with depressing regularity yet a connection between the coast and mainland forest fires has not been considered.

When the River Amazon stops flowing as we have seen in the last 2 years we really do need to start asking why this has happened. We all know that logging and a switch to grass farming is an integral part of the problem but how many of us realise that by moving the forests from the coastline we can inadvertently cause the rainforests to be affected by drought? A quick look to the eastern coast of Brazil on Google Earth shows developments, buildings and grass farming has replaced tropical rainforests along a huge strip of coast. Could this have prevented clouds from crossing over onto the land?

As a child, my brother myself and a few friends had eaten tomatoes that we learned later had grown on an old sewage bed in Oldbury West Midlands. They were the best I had ever eaten. The seeds from which these tomatoes had grown had passed through the bowels of someone who had eaten the fruit from another plant, survived the treatment process and germinated in the best growing medium that nature could provide. Human Manure. We came to no harm although we were a bit concerned at the idea of eating food that had grown in someone else's No2.

In my early teens another introduction to humanure came when a friend was growing vegetables unsurpassed by his rivals. Turned out he had treated and fully composted manure delivered from the same sewage beds to his home and used this on his vegetable garden. The seed was sewn then on how to resolve famine and drought in arid lands, though I didn't realise it at the time.

Intrigued by waste water, I was drawn to become a sewer engineer in the West Midlands, learning about how we process wastewater and how we spend a fortune treating it only to discard the treated effluent and solids. This practice to this day is still apparent along most of Europe's coastlines where raw sewage is frequently discharged into the sea, particularly during heavy rainfall, where combined outfalls bypass the treatment processes, despite £billions in investment.

So we take the most precious of all resources that falls from the sky for free, pay a fortune to make sure it is safe to drink wash our clothes in it, bathe in it and flush it down the toilet. We then pay to clean this sewage and waste water costing a fortune, evident in today’s exorbitant water charges.

Lateral thinking is about taking information and arranging it in a way that makes sense, then applying it to resolve a problem.

So we have on one hand a problem with water scarcity and on the other hand a problem with abundant supply of wasted water, how do we marry them together to resolve both problems?

The answer to this comes from normal shipping ballast practices. Today, as has been the case for bulk shipping for many years, shipping requires a return cargo after delivering it's main cargo and to achieve this they use sea water, which is pumped into separate ballast tanks that demand one third of a super tankers (VlCC's and ULCC's) total capacity. Ballast is required to stabilise these giants of the sea and lower the propeller back into the water. Sea water ballast has for years been involved in introducing invasive marine species and organisms into distant shores, often with devastating consequences for indigenous marine flora and fauna. Not long ago, the main tanks were used for both crude oil and ballast water and this practice required flushing out the heavily contaminated cargo into the sea, which we all remember frequently being washed up on the shores as tar balls and birds covered in oil.

Many tankers and other bulk shipping that rely on sea water ballast are now fitted with expensive sterilization equipment to reduce the risk of introducing non indigenous marine species to coastal waters, though this practice of using sea water ballast is under review for legislation prohibiting it's practice in the future by the E.U. This means of course that a land based system of ballast supply and demand will need to be put in place.

This current ballast practice is an insane waste of valuable resources which inflates the cost of our energy.

Using treated waste water as ballast on the other hand offers an exciting and feasible answer that resolves coastal waste water pollution, provides shipping with a paid return cargo and at the same time enables sustainable reforestation and agroforestry to take place along arid coastlines.

When countries realise the value of anaerobic digestion for treating waste water we will find that our energy requirements from methane gas produced by this process will become more sustainable and that the bi-products from this system will provide much needed nutrients, cleaner effluent and natural fertilisers that will significantly lower our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels.

When shipping realises that their carbon emissions can be offset against newly planted forests and agroforestry the demand to scrap older shipping prematurely will significantly lower oil and gas energy costs. We will see a significant reduction in CO2 levels

When developed countries realise that by importing food products from one country to another they are exporting not only the product but all of the water used to grow that product and that this practice of a one way flow of virtual water and nutrients is unsustainable and is responsible for land degradation and waste water pollution at both ends of the supply chain we will see that in order to guarantee continued global food security this one way trading needs to be closed by returning this water back to lands affected by an inherent lack of rainfall.

By demonstrating Operation OASIS in a pilot project we aim to show how we can breach the coastal thermal barrier and cause it to rain more frequently on productive land that was previously desert.

Following the pilot project, we aim to scale up the operation to include countries like Ethiopia and Somalia to enable local people to grow food and sustain themselves, removing their dependency on food aid while providing food and timber exports to help to resolve global food shortages.

Once the thermal barrier has been moved inland by reforestation and clouds and fog are again moving onto the land, the Hadley Cell depicts that these clouds will move towards the continents interior and in doing so will cross over the deserts. With clouds crossing over the Sahara towards Sub Saharan Regions, we will not only have assisted rains to fall more frequently on the coast but induced rainfall to support desert reclamation on both fronts of the worlds largest desert. And as those clouds cross the desert they will afford shade by screening out the sun and lower temperatures. One pilot project will demonstrate the principles and a hundred thousand projects that follow will pave the way to combating climate change.

Initial applications of waste water will require strict controls from source to applications to make sure food safety protocols and guidelines are followed. Forestry and fruit trees on the other hand offer crops that do not come into contact with newly applied treated wastewater, unlike salad crops etc. Once the local climate has been favourable modified to improve precipitation and fog interception by trees, natural sources of water will enable farming of edible food crops grown in soil. Bacteria, mould, fungi, worms and insects and solar disinfection rapidly transform manure and leaf litter into fertile soil. Desert sand and stone is in effect soil with all of the organic matter removed by wind, sun and rain. Therefore bio-solids from waste water treatment is essential to accelerate the restoration of organic matter in soils. Currently this waste product is either discharged into seas and rivers untreated in many countries, or is treated and then either incinerated, used on farmland or disposed of in landfill sites. You may have already eaten food that has been grown on soil conditioned by someone else’s digestive products. In fact septic tanks are frequently emptied directly onto farmland in many countries.

In Kinshasa, Zaire, plastic sacks were used as grow-bags filled with a mixture of earth, urine and excrement. Called "The Eco-Lavatory" the bags were used to nurture plants again in arid and infertile regions. Seeds where sown in holes in the plastic bags, which were sunk into the land.

The bags had the advantage of preventing the spread of contamination and retaining water.

When, countries on both sides of the climate change fence begin to embrace Operation OASIS as a solution to wastewater pollution, water scarcity, energy, food security, timber resources and desertification and this important project is scaled up to it's full potential with land reclamation occurring on all continents affected by deserts and water scarcity we will begin to see stability in nations and peaceful trading relations emerging to form a concerted effort to address climate change. When people go hungry and prices rise the stability of Governments are blamed and overthrown.

The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (30 January 1882 – 12 April 1945) (Letter to all State Governors on a Uniform Soil Conservation Law (26 February 1937) Following the Great American Dust bowl that lasted 8 years resulting in unprecedented losses of once fertile soil.

Operation OASIS finds first African partner – Dr Newton Jibunoh The Desert Warrior!

2011-05-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

FREdome Visionary Trust | May 26, 2011 at 5:27 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pgwuH-dh

Exciting news!

Following a meeting yesterday in Chelsea, London, African NGO, Fight Against Desert Encroachment (FADE) has agreed to become a partner to Operation OASIS.
An exploratory meeting between members of the OASIS network and Dr Newton Jibunoh and his FADE team revealed close synergies between our two projects: FADE's goal is to establish a wall of trees along the fringes of the desert in successive rows; Operation OASIS seeks to establish tree belts on desert coasts to allow airborne moisture to cross onto the land, carrying rain clouds into arid interiors.

: OASIS and FADE teams join up to fight the desert

Shared goals

Terms will be agreed for a way forward which will emphasise:

A shared commitment to promoting the reversal of desertification as a way to counteract climate change
A recognition that the most devastating social ills stem from desertification - displacement, illiteracy, poverty, tribal conflicts, food shortage and environmental degradation.
Appeals for funding pilot demonstrations of Operation OASIS to maximise desert reclamation by re-establishing forests and crops in a moist rather than dry environment.

Dr Newton Jibunoh, Desert Warrior and founder of FADE, Africa

The Doctor says, “Desertification is the primary cause of Climate Change!”

Dr Newton C. Jibunoh is a world-renowned environmentalist popularly known as “The Desert Warrior”. He founded FADE Africa to plant millions of trees with a group of volunteers to reclaim and resettle lands taken by the desert, in the northern parts of Nigeria bordering the Sahara desert, starting with kano, Borno and Yobe states. He resettles the reclaimed lands with people by establishing schools and training programs for the teachers, setting up cottage industries, clean water, electricity, etc, and thereby curbing migration.
Operation OASIS is also a voluntary project, founded by engineer and inventor Andrew K Fletcher, who attended the meeting along with OASIS team member Craig Embleton of the Green Frontier. The OASIS solution proposes the reforestation of desert coasts to allow airborne moisture to cross onto the land, carrying rain clouds into arid interior. Excess wastewater will be salvaged from sewage processing and used to irrigate coastal tree belts. The aim is the reversal of desertification and establishment of agroforestry and eco-affluent societies.

A voice from the desert

The project is sponsored by the voluntary action of the FREdome Visionary Trust. Founder of the Hertofordshire based grass roots community group Greg Peachey said:

FREdome is all about finding a shared way forward. Now we need to communicate the relevance of this project to non-desert nations. We need to unlock international co-funding to finance practical action.
In Dr Newton we are delighted to find a powerful advocate for our message. In his lifetime, he has witnessed the Sahara desert's insatiable advance that constantly devours farms and villages, forcing people to abandon their homelands and migrate to already overpopulated cities.

The Operation OASIS network is uniting scientists, community organisers, local authorities, development agencies and communications professionals in staging a bid for funding from the EU Life + Communications Programme. Should it be successful, the network would have the resource to communicate our ideas worldwide and find partners to work on a demonstration of the system.

Links

FADE Africa is an international non-governmental organisation (ngo) accredited to the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development. Find out more at http://www.fadeafrica.org/

Find out more at the Operation OASIS website . http://www.operationoasis.com/

Help us keep going! Back our bid for £5000 from the Co-op.

This money would keep our OASIS network going until we can get proper funding - we are all volunteers, currently we receive no funding from any source.

Meet Dr. Newton Jibunoh Africas Voice for Action against Desert Encroachment

2011-05-18T02:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.fadeafrica.org/index.php

Meet Dr. Newton Jibunoh. Nigerian soil scientist and Engineer who has crossed the Sahara Desert on solitary expeditions 3 times. His experiences from the expeditions has inspired a life project to bring attention to the expanding Sahara Desert and the shrinking lakes of Africa as a result of global warming. At the world conferences on climate change, he is leading the world as Africa's voice for action to reclaim Africa's land from the Sahara Desert.

YouTube - The Man Who Stopped the Desert - trailer 1 Narrated by Hugh Quarshie

2011-05-18T02:14:00.000-07:00

YouTube - The Man Who Stopped the Desert - trailer 1 Narrated by Hugh Quarshie

An incredible story about a man who against all odds began to plant trees in the baron soil on the inner edge of the Sahara desert, transforming the environment for people to return to their birth place from the cities.

His work was copied by the people when they saw how effective trees were in holding back the encroaching sands of the Sahara. Trees are the key to reversing desertification and ending famine.

Drought worries spread beyond Britain's borders 2011

2011-05-15T01:57:00.000-07:00

Drought worries spread beyond Britain's borders

David Richardson

Thursday 05 May 2011 10:50

Apologies for returning to the subject I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, but drought is the story of the year. And it's not just here in eastern England, although we've probably got worse problems than most.
It spreads across the country, only easing close to the Scottish borders. But it doesn't stop at England. Most of Europe is suffering, the only notable exceptions being Spain and Italy, which is a bit of a paradox, and there seems little prospect in the forecast of the substantial UK precipitation we so desperately need. The few drops late last week, some of which dampened the Royal Wedding, were not enough.
More serious from a world perspective is a widespread drought across most of the wheat growing areas of North America. Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas have all had hot dry conditions and the USDA recently estimated between 42% and 69% of winter wheat crops in those states were poor or very poor. Assessing the entire US acreage of wheat, the agriculture department rated 36% as being in poor condition. And there, as here, it's too late for those crops to recover when rain comes.
Add to that the problems Canada and north central America still have with lying snow preventing spring sowing; inadequate rainfall in the northern half of China (a perennial problem there); and the on-going effects of last year's drought across Russia and several FSU states and there are the makings of a major supply crisis of staple foods.
We can't assume it's definitely going to happen when American maize and soya beans have not been planted (it isn't time yet) and after some parts of Eastern Australia had their best harvest for years (other parts, further north were flooded). South America, however, seems unlikely to fill the gap as Argentina threatens more export taxes and Brazil grows little wheat.
In any event, futures markets around the world went crazy with prices hitting records of over £220/t (briefly) before falling back £10 in one trading session. And if speculators smell more volatility they can be expected to continue distorting prices. The difficulty for those of us who grow the stuff is to judge when to enter the forward market and how much to sell. Overdo it, only to find crops fail, and we could find ourselves having to pay margin calls and/or buy someone else's production at goodness knows what price to complete a contract.
The other major dilemma is whether to invest in irrigation. On relatively heavy land farms, like we have, where we don't grow potatoes or vegetables, we've previously regarded it as a luxury we could do without. But if this year (and last) are examples of the weather we can expect in future it may be we should reconsider - always assuming we'd get the necessary permission when domestic and industrial water supplies are becoming a big issue.
In terms of national policy I am reminded of the days, after the Second World War when memories of food rationing were still fresh, of the "strategic reserves" governments tried to build up against a period the like of which we may be about to experience. Later, when we joined the Common Market they were called "intervention stocks" and got a bad name for being too big and expensive to maintain. But might it be time to re-visit those policies and make plans, next time we have a bumper harvest, to put some of it by for a rainy or droughty day?

David Richardson farms about 400ha (1000 acres) of arable land near Norwich in Norfolk in partnership with his wife, Lorna. His son, Rob, is farm manager.
http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2011/05/05/126634/Drought-worries-spread-beyond-Britain39s-borders.htm

Southern Brazil suffers from drought

2011-05-15T01:37:00.000-07:00

Brazil: Flooding and drought causing losses

Drought inflicts losses of more than R$140 million (US$83 million).

By Cristine Pires, Marcos Giesteira and Ricardo Corrêa—17/01/2011

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil – As Southeastern Brazil suffers from disastrous flooding, it’s the lack of rain that’s causing damage throughout the south.
Since August of last year, precipitation levels have remained below the lowest historical averages documented in the past 40 years.
The soil is cracked.
Emaciated cattle walk the countryside with nothing to eat, since grass is sparse.
Some animals die of starvation.
The artesian wells that once supplied residences are now dry. Water comes only when water trucks make their rounds, attempting to bring relief.
Scenes such as these, once restricted to Brazil’s rugged northeast, are now a routine part of life in Rio Grande do Sul, which has suffered severe drought for years.

Minas Gerais Gov. Antônio Anastasia (left) visits local business hit by the floods in the city of Carvalho, in the state of Minas Gerais, on Jan. 15. (Courtesy of Wellington Pedro/Imprensa MG)

But this summer the drought, which has been attributed to the meteorological phenomenon La Niña, has been stronger than ever. The cooling of the Pacific Ocean significantly has reduced the amount of rain in southern Brazil during the summer months of December to March.
The Campanha Region is the hardest hit, with damages already totaling R$140 million (US$87 million).
Eight municipalities have declared a state of emergency: Candiota, Herval, Pedras Altas, Hulha Negra, Santana do Livramento, Pedro Osório, Lavras do Sul and Cerrito. Others – Bagé, Piratini, Pinheiro Machado and Aceguá – are awaiting approval from civil defense authorities to do so.
In Candiota, one of the cities hardest hit by the lack of water, 600 families living in rural areas depend directly on the supply from two water trucks working nonstop to keep up with demand.
Dairy farming – the city’s economic backbone – has been particularly affected because the priority has been providing water for residents, not cattle.
“We are stepping up distribution because the water is running dry in the wells,” says Candiota Mayor Luiz Carlos Folador.
Some cattle farmers are taking their herds out of the city in search of areas that haven’t been devastated by the drought.
“This week we had a breeder take eight truckloads of cattle off to other cities in search of green pasture,” Folador says.

Cidade de Goiás, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the state of Goiás, is having its historical areas threatened by the damage caused by heavy rains. (Courtesy of Corpo de Bombeiros/Goiás)

Prevention is key
The drought-afflicted municipalities are asking their state governments for comprehensive preventive policies so they won’t have to worry about the water supply again. They are also seeking funding for the construction of new dams and wells and for the renovation of existing ones.
They’re also asking for tanks to store rainwater.
Palliative measures, like distributing food and drinking water, already have been taken.
The Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul sent 300 care packages and 50 water filters to families in rural Candiota. More than seven tons of food were sent to Herval.
In coming days, more cities should receive aid, officials said.
In the city of Bagé, water is being rationed in 12-hour periods.
“It’s a critical situation,” says electricity supplier Carlos Eber Dias Pereira, 46. “We have families who stay up until dawn to take advantage of the 12 hours in which they have water and can shower, wash dishes and do all their household chores.”
Losses in the Campanha Region are estimated at more than 50% of the state’s corn, soybean and sorghum crops, according to the Association for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Businesses of Rio Grande do Sul (Emater).
Pereira also has been following the agony of his relatives in rural areas.
“They’ve lost everything: their entire crop of corn, and everything else that has dried up,” he says. “Their cattle are dying. The situation is horrible.”
http://www.infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/features/saii/features/main/2011/01/17/feature-02

Listen to the children about the global water crisis

2011-05-07T01:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkNY78B2Jio We have a plan to recycle billions of tons of waste water to irrigate and reforest deserts to create fertile rainforests in arid lands. Do you have the time to listen to a solution that has the capacity to stabilise climate change? Visit http://www.operationoasis.com/ to learn

Operation OASIS

2011-05-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.co-operative.coop/join-the-revolution/operation-oasis

We are currently flushing our planet down the toilet.

We simply cannot afford to continue wasting water when there is a sound economically viable option to use that water that all of us flush down the plug hole and toilet to irrigate and reforest massive areas of desert and transform the soil into moist fertile crop producing land to feed an ever increasing population. Failure is an option we simply cannot afford. The first pilot project is on target for the arid coastline of Andalucia in Spain. Once completed we intend to roll out the project to the shores of the Sahara and Middle Eastern Deserts. We need your vote to kickstart a simple project that has the potential to reverse global climate change.

Something is seriously wrong when oil rich nations buy the last remnants of fertile land from the starving millions in Ethiopia! Surely it makes far more sense to convert their own deserts into rich moist life bringing soils using excess treated waste water from Europe, removing pollution, providing shipping with a paid return cargo (instead of transporting sea water as ballast at great coast to the companies and the environment).

Initiative description

Operation OASIS is about peaceful international teamwork: To bring rain back to deserts, so the world can grow enough trees and crops to stabilise the climate and provide desperately needed food, fuel, safe materials and employment.

Our waste recycling initiative will convert raw sewage into fertiliser and waste water to safely irrigate the desert and grow trees.

Did you know that when trees are grown near the coastline next to a desert they change the local climate? This can stimulate rainfall inland, then nature takes over and the forest spreads by itself.

We are applying for funding to demonstrate how simple and effective this can be.

The idea behind Operation OASIS was researched and developed by inventor and former sewerage engineer Andrew K Fletcher. His ultimate vision for the project is to re green the deserts of Africa, providing work, food and an alternative to living in conflict and urban slums.

The Operation OASIS bid is supported by volunteers of the FREdome Visionary Trust in Hertfordshire. Our group aims to involve individuals and communities to make a better world for our children to inherit.

So far we have been successful in getting British professionals, environmentalists, academics, shipping and the waste water industries to talk. We have potential collaborators who are motivated to help us recycle sewage as a useful desert fertiliser, but our project needs resources.

If you want cleaner coastlines, and more forest - please vote for us!

How will the £5k be spent?

£2000 to cover representation at the Arab Water Forum in November 2011.£2000 for project management expenses. £1000 to pay for translation services to help disseminate proposals to overseas partners

Who will benefit?

The environment and communities

-by reclaiming arid land to feed the starving millions
-by recycling huge amounts of raw sewage
-by establishing agro-forestry abroad
-by launching a growth venture that could attract investment and create new jobs in UK

Find me on:

fredome.wordpress.com/

View all revolutions

Operation OASIS to bid for EU water funds

2011-04-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Operation OASIS to bid for EU water funds

FREdome Visionary Trust | April 24, 2011 at 3:11 pm | Tags: agroforestry, agroforestry in spain, arid lands, carbon cycling, Climate change, desert, EU LIFE, forestry, FREdome Visionary Trust, irrigation, Operation Oasis, rain in Spain, treated water waste in forest irrigation, waste water | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pgwuH-ch

Southern Spain will be a target area to identify partners for the Operation OASIS demonstration

The Operation OASIS project, supported by the FREdome Visionary Trust, is to apply for funding to demonstrate the principles of the OASIS system on European soil.

After a comprehensive discussion between volunteers, expert advisers, partners and the Scientific and Technical board, we have identified the “Water” strand of the European Commission’s LIFE + Programme as the best fit for a bid for funding.

LIFE + is the EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU. The fund is divided into different “themes” such as climate change, water, soil, waste & natural resources, forests, innovation and biodiversity. Our problem was that OASIS matches nearly all these objectives so the big challenge for the team was to identify the key driver from a European aspect.

Greg Peachey, the project director, reports;

“For the early pilot demonstrations, both the wastewater donor and recipient sites will reside in Europe. Whilst there will be a number of further European sites that will benefit from induction of a moist microclimate, when we scale up and replicate the project in earnest in conjunction with the Middle East, benefits will become concentrated either within or outside of Europe.

“Our choice of funding strand needed to reflect the immediate concerns of Europe: in order to maximise our relevance to the Water fund objectives, we will seek a source of wastewater that threatens the Andalusian coast with pollution.”

Southern Spain will be a target area to identify partners for the Operation OASIS demonstration: the team has until mid July to identify prospective partners and mount a joint bid.

Notes

The originator of the Overseas Arid Soil Irrigation (OASIS) Solution is Andrew K. Fletcher. For more information about Operation OASIS go to the project website www.OperationOASIS.com

For more information about the LIFE programme visit the EC website

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/

Drought and Heat Create Hazardous Fire Conditions in Texas

2011-04-22T02:24:00.000-07:00

Drought and Heat Create Hazardous Fire Conditions in Texas

So far in 2011, more than 1.4 million acres have burned in Texas. Some 800 fires have occurred throughout the state, burning 401 structures and costing two firefighters their lives. Why is fire activity so extreme in Texas this year? This image, made with data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite, reveals high temperatures that contributed to hazardous fire conditions.

Willie Smits restores a rainforest | Video on TED.com

2011-04-10T02:04:00.000-07:00

Willie Smits restores a rainforest | Video on TED.com

This is an amazing video of hope that reaches the very soul of Operation OASIS

PRESS RELEASE: CAN TREES MAKE IT RAIN?

2011-04-08T11:17:00.001-07:00

PRESS RELEASE: CAN TREES MAKE IT RAIN?

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC EVENT
Hosted by Friends of the Earth
Chaired by Sheila Doyle, Co-ordinator, Friends of Earth Hemel Hempstead and District
Date: 18 April 2011
Place: Hemel Hempstead, Herts
Location: The Quaker Meeting House, 1 The Alleys, St.Mary’s Road, Hemel Hempstead HP2 5ZB
Time: 8pm
Cost: FREE

Greg Peachey

Speaker: Greg Peachey, Project Director, Operation OASIS and founder of the FREdome Visionary Trust
Planting trees in the desert to absorb carbon emissions is a radical idea – but could it become a reality?
That is the question for debate with charismatic community organiser Greg Peachey, founder of the St Albans-based FREdome Visionary Trust.
Greg will be in Hemel Hempstead next week to give a presentation on the Trust’s latest project: Operation OASIS. The project aims to reverse the build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide by establishing forests in areas of the world that have become desert.
“Increasingly, areas of the world are becoming more arid. Action is needed urgently to prevent species loss, and reduce conflict over scarce resources like food, fuel and water,” says Greg, 52, who has given up a successful career in management consultancy to pursue his personal convictions.
The principles of Operation OASIS were debated at an open meeting of an All Party Parliamentary Group last November. Since then the idea has attracted support from cutting-edge environmental scientists around the UK and representatives of the UK shipping industry.
“Recently, Herts County Council came on board to help us bid for research funding from the EU LIFE + Environment programme. The idea has support from scientists in Germany and America. With the support of networking organisations like the Executive Forum and Rotary Club we have recruited a team of highly-qualified and motivated volunteers from around St Albans and Hemel Hempstead to drive the bid. The UK Trade & Investment Environment & Water team are keen to help. This could be a tremendous opportunity for Hertfordshire to shine.”
Paul Harris, the Green Party candidate for Gadebridge local borough council elections and sitting parish councillor for Great Gaddesden, is an enthusiastic supporter of the project: he says,
“Trees are a win – win for everyone! They are the foundation of all life. They absorb CO2, they give back oxygen, they regulate temperature and rainfall, they bind soil together and prevent flooding. Sustainable forestry enables more food to be produced, increases bio-diversity, provides work and generates fuel.“
Anyone with an interest in environmental issues is welcome to come to the meeting to find out more about Operation OASIS, which includes radical proposals for job creation in the Hertfordshire area.
Ends
For more local press information contact Suzanne Watts Communications Officer for the FREdome Visionary Trust, Operation OASIS Project 01442 398466 , email Suzanne.watts@fredome.org.
Note to Editors
The FREdome Visionary Trust is a not-for profit voluntary organisation.
Projects include:

Watford Celebration – an annual cultural diversity event attracting more than 2500 people annually
Show the World and WECare – a talent-promotion and fund-raising project run by FREdome Youth Encouraging Adults (YEA) social network of under 18’s
FREdome Ideas.org – a community ideas database sponsored by St Michaels Catholic High School,Watford
Carbon Cycling – the missing link in the Carbon Debate – an all-age debate at the Houses of Commons in November 2010 – winner of a Global Entrepreneurship Week High Impact Event Award
One Minute to Save the World – audience vote winner of the global film competition with “Stop Global WAR-ming”, shown in Copenhagen 2009, and UK Houses of Parliament.

Providers of support to the FREdome Visionary Trust Operation OASIS project include:

Climate Week
Cradle to Cradle Network Europe
East of England European Partnership
Friends of the Earth Hemel Hempstead
Global Entrepreneurship Week
Green Frontier
Hertfordshire County Council Funding Support Office

More information: http://www.fredome.org
Blog: http://fredome.wordpress.com/

INNOVATION | Waste water can boost tanker profits, says engineer

2011-03-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

INNOVATION | Waste water can boost tanker profits, says engineer

A UK engineer is trying to convince tanker owners they can boost profits by carrying waste water as ballast on back-haul voyages.
This waste will eventually be used to irrigate arid desert coastlines and reclaim forests in countries like Egypt.
The scheme is the brainchild of Andrew Fletcher’s Oasis Solutions, which is due to present the idea at a meeting of the All Parliamentary Climate Change Group at London’s Houses of Parliament on 18 November.
Fletcher, with a background in heavy and mechanical engineering, has been trying to persuade water companies to ship waste water for 18 years.
But now he believes that recent below-break-even rates for VLCCs and ULCCs, as well as the impending scrapping of single-skinned tankers, means the time is right to hook owners up with ballast “cargoes.”
Sewage and farm waste effluent (mostly “grey water”) will be screened for plastics and all unwanted debris.
There will also be opportunities for tankers to act as storage vessels at either end of the supply chain.
Fletcher says he has no funding as yet, which is a key objective of the November meeting.
He told TradeWinds: “We do not have funding in place to move this project forward. Funding appears to be the main stumbling block and will only happen when politicians are onboard.”
He adds the advantages are clear: any crude oil residues will combine with the waste water, providing bio-digestion of tar build-up in tanks and helping clean them.
Seawater ballast would replace the partially digested cargo to finish the cleaning process en route to the next oil terminal.
There would also be a cost saving by avoiding sterilisation of ballast.
Oasis is seeking an initial £30,000 ($47,500) for Herts University to conduct a feasibility study.
“We have conducted a simple calculation that shows each chartered cargo of waste water could be paid for by the water companies and remove the need for land-based treatment, saving well over £500,000 per trip,” Fletcher added.
“This is turn would save each UK household £200 from their annual water bill.”
He adds the key now is to find out how much it would cost to pay a tanker owner who has a single-skinned ship awaiting scrapping or conversion to anchor the tanker for storage at the coast on either the recipient end or the donating end of the operation.
“We are hoping to obtain a paid anchorage cost for storing waste water in Venice, for example, and Egypt.”
Egypt already uses waste water for irrigation.
http://www.tradewinds.no/tankers/569470/from-bust-to-bloom

OASIS PROJECT:scientists to discuss during Climate Week

2011-03-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

OASIS PROJECT:scientists to discuss during Climate Week

FREdome Visionary Trust | March 18, 2011 at 4:54 pm | Tags: carbon cycling, Climate change, climate week, deforestation, green frontier, Low CArbon Shipping, UCL Energy Insitute, waste management, waste water | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pgwuH-bc

The Carbon Cycling debate continues in London

FREdome’s global climate recovery project, OASIS Solution has selected Climate Week to call a meeting of its scientific and technical advisory board in London.
A group of individuals from the board have agreed to meet at University College London, Energy Institute on the morning of 24 March to conduct a project risk analysis to determine the feasibility of the proposal.
The OASIS solution, promoted by the FREdome Visionary Trust, is a renewable way to reduce carbon emissions. It offers radical alternative to lowered economic activity or carbon sequestration (burial).
Instead, the solution would reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide through a natural process – Carbon Cycling – whereby CO2 is absorbed by trees and vegetation. The solution aims to kick-start this process of on a grand scale by reversing deforestation in desert areas of Africa.
The project founder is engineer and lateral thinker, Andrew Fletcher. He says

Andrew K Fletcher – Engineer, Originator of The Overseas Arid Soil Irrigation Solution ( Oasis) Solution.

“Project OASIS is and always was very ambitious, but we have nothing left to lose. Desertification is spreading like a virulent plague and must be halted now!”
Following a presentation of Andrew’s idea to a meeting in Parliament in November, a number of eminent scientists and technologists have come forward to offer their services in exploring the radical solution which would use human waste for fertilisation and irrigation of arid soils, and the cultivation of coastal tree belts to induce rainfall.
The massive project would involve water companies and the shipping industry working with climatologists and environmental scientists to stage trials.
Already, the proposal has attracted interest from the EU “Cradle To Cradle” waste-free manufacturing network. Parties as diverse as Hertfordshire County Council and the international Rotary Club are already putting efforts in researching partners in Europe. Arab countries have also shown an interest, inviting OASIS to present a paper at the second Arab Water Forum in Cairo in November 2011.
FREDome founder and chairman, Greg Peachey says,

We are grateful for the scientists and professional who are willing to give up their time to explore this solution. They recognise that time is running out for us to find an answer to the combined issues of deforestation, climate change and food shortage that pose a threat to the entire global economy. With a positive outcome we aim to proceed to a co-financing application to the EU 267 million LIFE + fund. This could be the UK’s greatest opportunity to lead a new green industry with the potential to create thousands of jobs and redistribute global affluence.

Attendees
John Aitken, JJ Aitken Consulting Ltd
Dr Colm Bowe, Liverpool John Moores University – Natural Science and Psychology
Robin Buller, Renewable Energy Analyst
Peter Darley, Consulting Engineer/Economist in water resources, irrigation, ports and transport
Craig Embleton, Desert Restoration Ecologist, The Green Frontier
Dr Richard Lawson MD, GreenHealth – Founder & Director (Desert Rose Project)
Dr Tristan Smith, UCL Energy Institute – Low Carbon Shipping
Andrew K Fletcher, Project Director, OASIS Solution

Villages on the Front Line - Niger Part 1 of 3

2011-02-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

Methane gas powered VLCC oil tankers

2010-12-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

Tanker Operator

http://www.tankeroperator.com/news/todisplaynews.asp?NewsID=2402

Gas-powered VLCC on the horizon?
(Dec 9 2010)

More than half the vessels ordered from 2020 could be powered by natural gas, a leading class society forecast.

DNV CEO Henrik Madsen said: “I am convinced that gas will become the dominant fuel for merchant ships. By 2020, the majority of owners will order ships that can operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG). As a leading class society, DNV has an important role to play in finding more environmentally friendly solutions for the shipping industry.”

He was speaking at the launch of an environmentally friendly VLCC design powered by LNG. The conceptual design project – Triality – has a hull shape that removes the need for ballast water, thus eliminating ballast water treatment systems, will almost eliminate local air pollution and will also recover hundreds of tonnes of cargo vapours (VOCs) per voyage, he claimed.

Triality has been developed through a DNV innovation project. As its name indicates, DNV said that it fulfils three main goals: It is environmentally superior to a conventional crude oil tanker; its new solutions are feasible and based on well known technology and it is financially attractive compared to conventional crude oil tankers operating on heavy fuel oil.

DNV compared its concept with a conventional VLCC. Both ships will have the same operational range and can operate in the normal spot market.

Compared to the traditional VLCC, the class society claimed that the Triality VLCC will:

- Emit 34% less CO2.

- Eliminate entirely the need for ballast water.

- Eliminate entirely the venting of VOCs.

- Use 25% less energy.

Less harm will also be caused to the health of people living close to busy shipping routes and ports as NOx emissions will be reduced by more than 80%, while emissions of SOx and particulate matter (PM) will fall by as much as 95%.

The new concept tanker has two high pressure dual fuel slow speed main engines fuelled by LNG, with marine gas oil as pilot fuel. The next phase of the Triality concept development will review the use of dual-fuel medium speed engines and pure gas engines, DNV said.

Two IMO type C pressure tanks capable of holding 13,500 cu m LNG - enough for 25,000 nautical miles of operation - are located on the deck in front of the superstructure. The generators are dual fuel (LNG and marine gas oil) while the auxiliary boilers producing steam for the cargo oil pumps operate on recovered VOCs.

A traditional tanker on a ballast voyage needs ballast water to obtain full propeller immersion and sufficient forward draft to avoid bottom slamming. The new V-shaped hull form and cargo tank arrangements completely eliminate the need for ballast water in the VLCC version. There will also be much less need for ballast water on other kinds of crude oil tankers, such as Suezmax, Aframax and smaller vessels.

The new hull shape results in a reduced wetted surface on a round trip and has a lower block coefficient and thus a more energy efficient hull, DNV claimed.

A VLCC in ballast will normally carry between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes of seawater containing organisms that can cause damage when released into foreign ecosystems. In addition, a lot of fuel is needed just to transport this extra water. And finally, the initial coating and later maintenance of ballast tanks during operations are among a shipowner’s main concerns, DNV said.

The Triality VLCC can collect and liquefy more than 500 tonnes of VOCs during one single round trip. These liquefied petroleum gases will then be stored in deck tanks and up to 50% will be used as fuel for the boilers during cargo discharge, while the rest can be returned to the cargo tanks, or delivered to shore during oil cargo discharge.

When it comes to the additional cost of building a vessel such as the Triality and the reduced cost of operating it, Madsen’s conclusion was clear: “It is possible to develop an environmentally superior ship and be profitable at the same time. Our best estimate is an additional capital expenditure of 10-15% for a Triality VLCC newbuilding compared to a traditional VLCC. Even with this extra cost included, we estimate a reduced life cycle cost equal to 25% of the newbuilding cost for a traditional VLCC.

“Triality is a concept vessel and a shipbuilder will need to prepare a detailed design before the first Triality crude oil tanker can be constructed. The Triality concept is based on well known and proven components and systems, so in principle a Triality crude oil tanker introducing all or some of the innovative elements in the concept can be designed today. I am convinced that the Triality concept will create great interest among shipbuilders and crude oil tanker operators, so that the first Triality crude oil tanker will leave a shipyard before the end of 2014,” Madsen said.

He also said a few shipowners and at least three South Korean shipyards, plus MAN Diesel had already looked at the concept with interest.

Brazil coastline showing fog moving inland where vegetation is present and an area of desert devoid of fog.

2010-12-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

Satellite image of Brazil coastline showing fog moving inland where vegetation is present and an area of desert devoid of fog.

Mabinogogiblog: Fredome symposium on global reafforestation

2010-11-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

Mabinogogiblog: Fredome symposium on global reafforestation: "I went up to London yesterday. London was OK in its way, still an awful lot of people there with little means of support, still chaos in mov..."

APPCCG-FREdome Carbon Cycling successful presentation at the Houses Of Parliament 18th November 2010

2010-11-30T02:19:00.000-08:00

http://www.box.net/shared/gzqilkibpj

Al list of downloadable documents from our recent presentation of Carbon Cycling introducing the scope of the OASIS Solution to mitigate climate change.

The meeting was attended by professors, doctors, scientists, environmentalists, politicians, the young and the not so young.

Emerging from the meeting we now have a panel of experts who have offered their services and support for the concept of returning the waste water from Europe to the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East to reforest the coastline and alter the local climate, causing rain to fall more frequently on land that has inherent water scarcity.

This was a truly fantastic day for all peoples.

We are putting together a new website titled http://www.operationoasis.com Watch this space for more exciting news about this application of common sense which solves many emerging serious global problems, including famine, floods and drought.

Turning excess carbon emissions and a major pollution problem into profitable renewable materials, food, employment, by reclaiming arid waste lands, while resolving the carbon emissions from shipping, providing shipping owners with a profitable paid return cargo, instead of using sea water as ballast (current practice) must be achieved!
We simply cannot afford to fail!

Greening the Namibian Desert: An African Success Story - South African Institute of International Affairs

2010-11-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

Greening the Namibian Desert: An African Success Story - South African Institute of International Affairs

Greening the Namibian Desert: An African Success Story

A determined entrepreneur turns an arid landscape into a burgeoning vineyard
SUN-scorched and starved of rain, Namibia's endless desert and scrubland is an unforgiving place for a determined farmer with a dream. Only 2% of the country receives enough rain to grow crops. Irrigation from rivers is possible only along a few border rivers in the far north and south and borehole irrigation is prohibitively expensive.

Yet Dusan Vasiljevic, a lone entrepreneur with a feel for horticulture and global markets, observed that Namibia's mild coastal climate was perfect for growing table grapes for Europe at times of the year when they are most vulnerable to frost elsewhere in the world. Since first connecting those dots in 1988, Vasiljevic - and those who have followed in his footprints - built a new agricultural industry from scratch on land that received less than 50mm of rainfall a year.

Spreading the benefits

Vasiljevic's market knowledge and contacts paid off handsomely. Fresh table grapes sell wholesale for about $3,800 per tonne (after duty) in Europe, and these good prices allowed Vasiljevic to restructure his debt and start planting new vineyards. Today, about 75% of all Namibian table grape sales are to the EU.

Following his initial success, Aussenkehr Farms planted more vineyards, and currently has 350 hectares under production. Vasiljevic sold some land to the Namibian Government at a reduced price, and the parastatal agency the Namibia Development Corporation has planted more vineyards, as has a black empowerment corporation (the Namibia Grape Company (NGC), supported by the Government Institution Pension Funds of Namibia) on 360 hectares adjacent to Aussenkehr. The government is also developing new production areas on the farm Tandjeskoppie, next to Aussenkehr with assistance from the Arab Development Bank, and plans another 5,000 hectares under irrigation.

'Quite a few other farmers, although not on the same scale, have followed his example and have learned from him how to produce and successfully export table grapes of high quality standards worldwide,' said de Naeyer. 'Namibian grapes are well sought after in the European and Asian markets before and around Christmas time.'

Total Namibian table grape production has grown from 1,000 tonnes produced by Aussenkehr's first 150 hectares in 1991 to more than 12,000 tonnes in 2003. The approximate value of these exports is about N$180 million ($29 million).

Roughly 3,500 new permanent employment opportunities have been created by the table grape industry with another 7,000 workers employed as part-time harvesters for three to four months a year. The industry is the largest employer in the impoverished, underdeveloped Karas Region where Aussenkehr is situated. For every 1,000 tonnes of table grapes Namibia has produced and exported, an estimated 300 new permanent and 600 part-time jobs were created, and these workers earn a total of about N$6,000,000 (about $967,000).

Methane Power in Melbourne Australia

2010-11-08T05:18:00.000-08:00

The Eastern Treatment Plant in Melbourne's southeast treats around 41 percent of Melbourne's sewage and services about 1.5 million people in Melbourne's south-eastern and eastern suburbs. It's now partly powering itself by using biogas and it's further reducing the likelihood of odor leaving the plant with a biofilter. http://www.melbournewater.com.au/

Video Link

Anaerobic Digestion News: Did You Know that Thames Water Burns Its Sludge (i...

2010-11-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

Anaerobic Digestion News: Did You Know that Thames Water Burns Its Sludge (i...: "Thames Water achieved a saving of £15m on its electricity bill in 2008/9 by generating its own renewable power from its 13.6 million custome..."

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Did You Know that Thames Water Burns Its Sludge (it Also Digests It Too)

Thames Water achieved a saving of £15m on its electricity bill in 2008/9 by generating its own renewable power from its 13.6 million customer created sludge.

Britain's largest water and sewerage company generated a 14 per cent of its power needs from a combination of burning sewage sludge at some locations, and anaerobically digesting it at others, and then burning the methane derived from it.
Thames Water's Climate Change Strategy Manager, Dr Keith Colquhoun, is quoted as saying that their investment in renewable energy plants has been

"good news because we now treat 2.8 billion litres of sewage every day at our 349 sewage works. The solids in sewage have a high calorific content that we use to generate electricity.

"And this isn't a gimmick: as well as helping us to be more sustainable as a company, it also saves money - £15m less spent on energy last year alone, saving money for customers."

"Our goal is to cut greenhouse emissions by 20 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 - that's about 200,000 tonnes less CO2. By using sludge derived power and other renewable energy sources, we're making significant progress towards this target after cutting emissions by five per cent in the past two years, despite grid energy becoming more carbon-intensive.

"Delegates at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit must face the fact that combating climate change is no longer about talk. It's about all of us taking action - and in our case, that includes sludge power."

Thames Water - which has the largest renewable electricity generation capacity inside the M25 motorway ring, excluding the commercial electricity generators - uses two methods to generate power from sewage:

1. Thermal destruction with energy recovery, where sewage sludge, which is the solid content of the sewage dried into blocks of 'poo cake', is burned to generate power; and
2. Anaerobic digestion, or (with) CHP (combined heat and power) generation, which is where methane derived from sewage sludge is burned to created heat, which in turn generates power.

The following Thames Water sewage works have AD/CHP plants: Maple Lodge (Rickmansworth), Mogden (Isleworth), Rye Meads (Herts), Deephams (Edmonton), Oxford, Reading, Long Reach (Dartford), Slough, Hogsmill (Kingston), Beddington (Surrey), Swindon, Bishops Stortford, Banbury, Aylesbury, Basingstoke, Bracknell, Camberley, Crawley, East Hyde (Luton) and Wargrave (Berks).

And the following two works use thermal destruction:

Beckton, in East London north of the River Thames, Europe's largest sewage works, which treats about 3.5 million people's waste every day; and Crossness, in East London south of the river, which treats the human equivalent of 2 million people's waste.

After it has been used to generate electricity, Thames Water then offers the remaining sewage sludge to farmers to use as fertiliser, or to developers as landscaping material or soil improver. In 2008/09 the firm put 100 per cent of its sewage sludge to beneficial use, sending none of it to landfill and as a result saving millions of pounds in UK landfill tax.

Further details about using sludge to generate power and Thames Water's 100 % win-win utilisation of sludge for renewable energy production can be found in the company's Corporate Responsibility Report

Turning the Horqin Desert into the Timberland Forest

2010-10-08T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Hadley cell is growing

2010-09-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

The Hadley cell is growing. Its expansion above a larger swath of the American Southwest, along with a shifting of the jet stream and many storms northward, is a worrisome trend, says Seager. It means there is little chance that the Southwest can avoid becoming drier in the coming decades. In fact, when Seager's team analyzed some 49 computer projections of the region's likely future climate, using 19 major climate models, all but three scenarios agreed: drought ahead.

http://www.earthfrenzyradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=956:earth68&catid=46:earth68&Itemid=2

If you're one of the tens of millions of people who live in the southwestern United States, get ready for drier weather. That's the message from Richard Seager, a climate scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The American Southwest, says Seager, is soon likely to experience a "permanent drought" condition on par with the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
That rather frightening prediction is the most likely scenario for the region, given the global warming now underway. "It is a matter of simple thermodynamics," says Seager. "The region will face a considerable increase in aridity over the coming decade."

Massive Fishkill in Louisiana, USA

2010-09-20T01:27:00.000-07:00

Drought-Stricken Aussies Forced To Drink Salt Water

2010-07-14T05:13:00.000-07:00

Drought-Stricken Aussies Forced To Drink Salt Water
Source: http://twitter.com/ecosphericblog

In Australia, the world's driest inhabited continent, 10 years of drought has decimated fresh water supplies available on land. As a result, Aussies are turning to the salt water ocean that surrounds them for hope, but success could be costly.

Australia's five largest cities have embarked on a massive $13-billion plan to build desalination plants that can remove the salt from seawater and make it potable (Toronto Sun).

Melboure Water, a utility owned by the Victorian Government, serves a population of over 4 million people, the second most populous city in the country. The utility currently reports that their water storage supplies are at 34 percent.

To address their dwindling supply, Melboure Water has been piloting desalination feasibility experiments for over a year.

Water, water everywhere...

Some Australian residents are angry about the desalination projects, especially because they're already seeing higher utility bills as a result. Environmentalists are concerned that the plants, capable of sucking millions of gallons of seawater from the surrounding oceans every day, require too much energy, and will only accelerate climate change.

With the devastation BP's Gulf oil spill is causing on American shores, there are also concerns about whether it's actually safe to drink desalinated sea water.

Most of the Australian plants utilize reverse osmosis, a method that involves pressurization, filtration and chemical treatment at several stages of the process in order to bring the water up to Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

A sign of the times?

Just because Australia is a uniquely isolated country doesn't mean their water supply problems won't be mimicked by other nations in the future. Aussie officials are convinced that the decade-long drought was deepend by climate change, and other countries, including the United States and China, are worried that this looming threat might affect their citizens next.

"We consider ourselves the canary in the coal mine for climate change-induced changes to water supply systems," said Ross Young, executive director of the Water Services Association of Australia, told the New York Times. He described the $13.2 billion pricetag as "the cost of adapting to climate change."

YouTube - Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07

2010-06-29T01:40:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07
Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07

The greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!

2010-06-29T01:13:00.001-07:00

If we are to survive on this planet, we will need the help of all nations pulling together. Those barren lands we call deserts are the key to global warming and without the cooperation of people living in arid lands we are well and truly screwed. Eventually we will realise the need to manage our soils and lands better than we have ever done in the past and convert them into fertile lands to help cool the planet and feed the ever increasing populations. The Sahara Desert covers an area of approximately 3.5 million square miles. Imagine if this was restored to fertility and instead of sand and rocks we had forests, lakes and rivers.

History tells us that It is politicians who determine whether we are at peace or at war. Soldiers do not want to kill people and risk being killed. They would be equally comfortable with melting down their weapons and turning them into the tools to make this world a far better place. As a child in the UK, we were all taught that the cowboys were the good guys and the Indians were bad. We were taught that the Zulu’s were savages and our soldiers were brave and outnumbered. As the years roll by we gather evidence to suggest the contrary is reality where cowboys and cavalry are the true invaders commanded by the politicians to grab the land from the indigenous peoples and farm it. The Africans were slaughtered in their tens of thousands to pave way for the “civilised world” to rip the heart out of Africa. Slash and burn mentality impoverishes the soils which are blown away on the wind or washed into the ocean by flash floods. One would think that we might have learned something, given the history of mankinds miserable attempts at soil stewardship. Ancient civilisations have all perished leaving behind their monumental pyramids and stone pillars as epitaphs to their follies, as a warning for all to see. Is Dubai yet another modern version of those follies? Did the dinosaurs overexploit their own environment and initiate global warming just as we are now doing?
Politicians can and have done a great deal of good work, so let us hope that a concerted assault on the worlds impoverished soils will transform them into fertile productive lands for the greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!

Use of Wastewater Sludge for the Amendment of Crude Oil Bioremediation in Meso-Scale Beach Simulating Tanks

2010-06-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Use of Wastewater Sludge for the Amendment of Crude Oil Bioremediation in Meso-Scale Beach Simulating Tanks
Authors: H. Maki; T. Sasaki; E. Sasaki; M. Ishihara; M. Goto; S. Harayama
DOI: 10.1080/09593332008616857
Publication Frequency: 14 issues per year
Published in: journal Environmental Technology, Volume 20, Issue 6 June 1999 , pages 625 - 632
Subjects: Biotechnology; Environment & the Developing World; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Geography; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies; Hydrology; Industry & Industrial Studies; Physical Geography; Waste Treatment & Disposal; Water Quality & Pollution; Water Supply & Treatment;
Formats available: PDF (English)
Previously published as: Environmental Technology Letters (0143-2060) until 1990

Abstract
We investigated the effects of the application of wastewater sludges on microbial degradation of crude oil. the experiments were carried out in four beach simulating tanks. In each tank, filled with gravel and seawater, crude oil was added on the surface of seawater. Dehydrated-wastewater sludge, liquid-wastewater sludge and synthetic fertilizers were added in tanks A, D and C, respectively. In tanks A and D, sharp increases in the bacterial number and the oxygen consumption occurred immediately while the increases in tank C was slower. The concentration of nitrogen was high during first few weeks and later decreased in tanks A and D. The synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was maintaining the nitrogen concentration above 1 mg l-1 for the whole experimental period. These observations indicated that the effect of the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was more enduring than those of the liquid and dehydrated sludges. However, higher concentrations of phosphorous were supplied by both the liquid and dehydrated sludges than by the synthetic phosphorous fertilizer. No significant differences were observed between the biodegradation rates of crude oil in each amended tank. Thus, it was concluded that the wastewater sludges are useful as fertilizers for crude oil bioremediation.
Keywords: Crude oil; marine environment; microbial degradation; nutrient supply; wastewater sludge

Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico

2010-06-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico

An estimated 42,000 gallons of oil per day were leaking from an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico in late April, following an explosion at an offshore drilling rig on April 20, 2010. The rig eventually capsized and sank.
These images of the affected area were captured on April 25 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite (top, wider view) and the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite (bottom, close up).
In the top image, the Mississippi Delta is at image center, and the oil slick is a silvery swirl to the right. The oil slick may be particularly obvious because it is occurring in the sunglint area, where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water gives the Gulf of Mexico a washed-out look. The close-up view shows waves on the water surface as well as ships, presumably involved in the clean up and control activities.
The initial explosion killed eleven people and injured several others, and a fire burned at the location for more than a day until the damaged oil rig sank. An emergency response effort is underway to stop the flow of oil and contain the existing slick before it reaches wildlife refuges and beaches in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The slick may contain dispersant or other chemicals that emergency responders are using to control the spread of the oil, and it is unknown how much of the 700,000 gallons of fuel that were on the oil rig burned in the fire and how much may have spilled into the water when the platform sank.
On April 25, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Emergency Response Division issued the following update on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident in the Gulf of Mexico: “An attempt to control the leaking well using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was not successful, and the well continues to leak.”
Twice-daily images of the Gulf Coast are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in additional resolutions and formats, including a georeferenced file that can be used with Google Earth.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010, April 25). Deepwater Horizon Incident: NOAA Situation Update 25 Apr 10. Emergency Response Division, Office of Response and Restoration Website. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

Raw sewage threat to booming Dubai

2010-05-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

Raw sewage threat to booming Dubai

By Julia Wheeler
BBC News, Dubai

Down on the beach next to the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club and the fishing harbour there's a stink: raw sewage is flowing into the sea close to prime tourist beaches.
The putrid problem is caused by the illegal dumping of untreated sewage in Dubai's inland storm drain network, as the city's rapid growth outstrips its infrastructure.
At Dubai's only sewage treatment plant there are long queues and serious delays.

Truck drivers who are paid by the lorry load to collect waste from the city's septic tanks wait for several hours to dispose of their foul cargo legally. There simply is not the capacity to deal with all the human waste the city dwellers produce.
After dark some drivers are taking a shortcut and dumping their loads straight into manholes meant only for rainwater.
The result is raw sewage flowing directly into the once-clear blue sea of the Gulf - right next to prime swimming beaches.
This is bad news for a city which depends on the tourists who flock to its shores.
'Within the standard'

“ I have been out in the middle of the night following these tanker drivers. We know what they are doing ”
Keith Mutch, Dubai Offshore Sailing Club

The city's municipality has already closed one beach and says it is trying to catch the culprits. It has imposed fines of up to $25,000 and threatened to confiscate tankers if the dumping persists.
"The municipality has tracked and caught drivers - many over the last few days," said Mohammed Abdul Rahman Hassan, Head of the Marine and Environmental Protection Section at Dubai Municipality.
The municipality maintains that its latest test results show samples of the water are "within the standard".
"Samples were taken from three locations - the harbour, near the outfall and on the beach," explains Mr Hassan. "It is safe according to our report - within the safe limit."
But independent tests arranged by the sailing club show the water to be highly contaminated with bacteria and the human faeces floating in the sea.

"Our tests show the water is not safe," said Keith Mutch, General Manager at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club. "We have had to cancel sailing lessons until further notice - until there is a clean bill of health."
So far there has been no contamination found near the city's five-star hotel strip but that is just a short distance along the beach and if the research done by the Sailing Club is anything to go by the pollution could get worse.
"I have been out in the middle of the night following these tanker drivers," said Mr Mutch. "We know what they are doing, and we know that they are doing it because there is a huge wait at the sewerage plant. This contamination is definitely happening elsewhere in the city."
Only one storm water outlet is currently open but when the first rain comes to Dubai this winter other parts of the system, including those near the smart hotels will also need to be used.
No-one yet knows exactly what those pipes might contain but everyone is hoping that something can be done before there is a need to find out.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7663883.stm

Published: 2008/10/13 09:59:47 GMT

© BBC MMX

Tankers que for sewage plant

2010-05-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

jaxtif — October 25, 2008 — these are the tankers filled with raw sewage water, and standing for minimum 8 hours to empty their tanks in Al Aweer sewage plant.
people will come to know the reason for the Tankers dumping water illegaly by watching this video. I captured it last week. and trust me this video is not from the starting. I ignored 1km of the que and started shooting from the midway. Enjoy!!! AND GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT

********************************************************************************

Dubai sewage production rising

United Arab Emirates: Monday, December 10 - 2007 at 17:07

Sewage production in Dubai is increasing by about 25 per cent a year and averages 480,000 cubic metres a day, head of sewage treatment plants in Dubai Municipality Aisha al-Abdooli told MEED's Wastewater Treatment & Reuse 2007 conference in Abu Dhabi.

She said that about 100,000 cubic metres a day of untreated sewage is being delivered in about 3,000 sewage tankers serving housing, industry and labour camps not connected to Dubai's main sewage system.

"The throughput in the Al-Aweer sewage treatment plant compares with its design capacity of 260,000 cubic metres a day," Al-Abdooli said.

One consequence is a deterioration in the quality of treated sewage effluent, she said. About 75 per cent is used in irrigation in Dubai and the rest is dumped in Dubai Creek.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/141407.html

Sewage Dumping in Desert Results In Jail Sentence?

2010-02-06T01:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=35679
Sewage dumper gets jail time
Erin Taylor, Miner Staff Reporter

Friday, February 5, 2010

KINGMAN - The manager of a septic pumping company who admitted to dumping raw sewage in the desert has been sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Michael Bray Whitten, 27, also received three years probation and 400 hours community service after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of littering.

Whitten was arrested in February after the Mohave County Sheriff's Office received a tip that employees of All American Septic Pumping were dumping raw sewage rather than taking it to the landfill for disposal.

Another employee of the company, John Evans Dunn, 46, has also pleaded guilty to one count of littering in the case. He will be formally sentenced Feb. 4.

According to court files, Whitten admitted to illegally unloading a 5,500-gallon tanker on a semi-regular basis. The illegal dumping took place in several locations, including along Faith Road in Dolan Springs, in a wash behind the company's business and in the desert on property owned by John Neal.

County Attorney Jace Zack said the state could not find evidence that the owner of All American was involved in the illegal dumping. He said it was the prosecution's belief that the employees were pocketing the cash given to them for landfill fees and then dumping the sewage elsewhere.

Zack asked Judge Rick Williams to sentence Whitten to at least 30 days in jail to serve as a deterrent.

"You can't dump, say you're sorry and not go to jail," he said.

Whitten's attorney, Joseph Carver, described his client as "a good man who did a bad thing." He said the idea that Whitten was pocketing the landfill fees was a convenient theory for the state, but that there was no evidence to suggest that's what actually happened.

Carver said the case was Whitten's first contact with law enforcement and a mistake he would not repeat.

"Here's a guy who will certainly never find himself in this position again," Carver said.

Williams said jail time in the case was appropriate. He cited the recent case of Maricopa County contractor Jeff Inglin, who was sentenced in December to 30 days in jail and 400 hours community service for dumping more than a ton of trash in the desert off of Temple Bar Road, at U.S. 93 mile marker 19.

"While you may live the other 99.9 percent of your life with honor, the court can't help but believe that you would still be out there dumping raw sewage if you hadn't been caught," he said.

Whitten will be allowed to serve his jail sentence in 48-hour increments through January 2011. He was also ordered to pay Neal $2,500. A hearing in March will determine restitution to the county.

Algeria burning the few trees left that enable clouds to cross onto the land?

2010-02-05T00:30:00.000-08:00

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8007/Algeria_AMO_2007241_lrg.jpg
Click The image and study carefully this picture from Nasa Earth Observatory.

Those clouds from the ocean have crossed onto the land where the forest meets the ocean.

Look through the fires and see the tiny clouds crossing at the point where the forest abutts the coastline.

Now question why they burn the forests?

From Desert To Forest In Egypt Using Sewage and Wastewater

2009-12-30T05:46:00.001-08:00

MINISTRY OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS EGYPTIAN ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AGENCY Innovative Approach to Municipal Wastewater Management: The Egyptian ExperienceByDr. Mamdouh RiadMinister of State for Environmental AffairsMarch 2004
Introduction

The sustainable use of land and water resources is directly linked to food security, public health, and economic and social benefits. In many cases, the treated municipal wastewater represents an important water resource that could form a valuable national asset if properly and effectively used.

On the other hand, the uncontrolled municipal sewage discharge is one of the most serious forms of environmental pollution, and represents a clear threat to both human health and to sustainable development. In the majority of the low-income countries worldwide, the sewage effluents are normally disposed of through direct discharge into local waterways, rivers, lakes, or to the sea, sometimes without treatment.

Therefore, addressing the threats of uncontrolled municipal wastewater discharge has been identified as a priority for action in the 1995 Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities. This priority was further reconfirmed at the 2002 Millennium Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

Description of the Initiative

Egypt produces an estimated total of 2.4 billion cubic meters of municipal wastewater every year. The partial treatment of this large amount of sewage costs the government some 600 million Egyptian Pounds (the equivalent of US$100 million) annually.

In addition, Egypt has about 90% of its land area as desert, and suffers from an obvious lack of green cover and of forestry in its deserts and coastal areas. The green cover is largely needed for environmental reasons (climate change, desertification, etc.), and the forestry for economic reasons (Egypt now imports wood for its wood industry at an estimated value of about US$ 900 million annually).

Traditionally, there are two options to deal with the sewage problem: (a) to dispose of the treated sewage water by discharging it to a nearby desert land, where there is a high risk of land and ground-water pollution, or (b) to discharge the treated sewage to the sea and coastal lakes, either directly or indirectly through inland waterways and drainage canals, where there is also a high risk to human health and to the marine environment.

However, Egypt opted to take an innovative approach in responding to these daunting environmental challenges that, while will enable it to deal with such a huge amount of municipal wastewater, will also help transforming its “wasted” desert land into forests and hence increase its green cover.

To this effect, the Egyptian Government, has, since the early 1990s introduced its national plan for the re-use of its wastewater, and developed the practice of establishing on a pilot scale man-made forests of timber trees that are irrigated using treated sewage water in various desert sites nationwide, adjacent to some highly or moderately populated towns.

These pilot experiments were carried out at several locations, under different soil, weather, and environmental conditions. At present 13 forests have been established in different areas in the Governorates of Ismailia, Menoufia, Giza, Alexandria, and Dakahlia, in Lower Egypt, in Luxor, Qena and Aswan in Upper Egypt, as well as in the New Valley in the Western Desert and in South Sinai (see Map), with a total planned area of about 6,000 Feddan (equivalent to about 2700 Hectares).

The pilot experiments undertaken thus far have proved to be extremely successful, and demonstrated very promising results, with numerous environmental, economic and social benefits.

Several partners and stakeholders have been involved with the Egyptian Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs in this initiative, mainly the Ministries of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Local Government, Electricity, Water Resources and Irrigation. The local communities and farmers have been actively involved in the different stages of establishing and in operating these forests.

Mainstreaming and Sustainability of the Approach

The Egyptian approach described above could be summarized by the following formula:

WASTEWATER + WASTE LAND = GREEN TREES
(Treated Sewage) (Sandy Desert Soil) (Forest Plantation)

Applying this innovative approach of re-using treated sewage water is considered a safeguard against human and environmental health problems caused by the traditional approach to the sewage problem by discharging it either to land or water bodies. The Egyptian Government plans to expand and build upon the success of the pilot phase and mainstream this practice into national policies for combating pollution and increasing green areas as stipulated in the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP).

This practical approach, in addition to dealing with the problems of sewage and desertification, and further to its obvious economic benefits, it effectively addresses several important environmental and sustainable development objectives, including:

- Reduction of pollution loads to the marine, coastal and desert environment
- Protection of coastal and marine habitats and biodiversity
- Increase availability of water for development
- Reduce CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere
- Build and Enhance capacity of local and national expertise
- Use of innovative and effective approaches in municipal wastewater management
- Achieve the objectives of the GPA and the Strategic Action Plan on Municipal Wastewater at the national level.
- Insure long-term sustainability of the project through the use of the income generated from the forests’ timber wood and the associated supplementary projects.

The beneficiaries of such forests cover a wide range of public and private sectors of the society, including:

a) the general public through providing cleaner and healthier environment,
b) the professionals working in this field, by providing details on the design and management of environmentally-sound wastewater-irrigated timber tree plantations,
c) the private sector investors involved in the implementation of the project through creating investment opportunities,
d) The local citizens, through providing a wide range of job opportunities and training,
e) the local municipalities through enhancing its role in environmental management.

Having spent several years talking to Doctor Eldaz at the Egyptian Embassy In London, about the logic of using sewage and waste water to reclaim vast areas of desert by turning them into forests, I was delighted to find that several pilot reforesting projects have been conducted and proven very productive, solving pollution, desertification, and providing fodder and timber while the sandy soil is returned once again to fertile soil.

Looks like my hardwork paid off eventually. Now for the next innovative move and use the massive waste water problem from Europe to reclaim massive areas of coastline.

I am absolutely delighted at finding this paper.

Financial Viability and Economics of the initiative

Feasibility studies undertaken in connection with pilot experiments have shown that man-made forests, besides being environmentally sound, are of enormous economic benefit. The tree varieties selected for plantation have high economic value in timber production, and the forest can yield wood production in a period ranging from 10 to 15 years, depending on the type of tree and the weather conditions in each area. The experiments have been successfully implemented at different sites on a pilot scale.

Replicability

The ultimate goal is to further develop and introduce this practical approach in other areas of the country, where municipal sewage represents a current and potential problem and threat to the health and well being of the humans and the environment. The outputs and the experience gained from the project could be replicated in other sites, and the know-how transferred to other countries with similar environmental and social conditions.

Expanding deserts are "The Real Cause Of Global Warming"!

2009-12-30T01:17:00.000-08:00

Forget Co2,methane, etc.

The real problem is the loss of vegetation from vast areas of once fertile and productive land, now transformed into arid environments that have a huge resulting deficit in rainfall, and when it does rain in these areas, flash floods cause even more of the fertile soil to be washed away. Arid lands heat up and return the suns energy to the atmosphere and cool rapidly at night. The returned heat to the atmosphere than goes on to have a serious effect on the weather patterns.

Hell, if it's not raining in the new deserts where is all that extra rain going to fall? You got it! on a land that has tree and grass cover, producing the now ever more familiar floods, while other parts of the world experience the opposite. Cutting co2 output isn’t going to do jack to help the changing weather patterns, in fact making the air cleaner is going to help the suns energy to reach the sandy soils more effectively if anything.

But there we go.

Address the ever expanding deserts by arresting their progress and reversing the loss of vegetation and we shall see a more even distribution of annual rainfall, while at the same time provide areas of land for growing food, oil crops, and forestry to feed the starving millions, generate employment and wealth.

None of the past great civilisations realised this simpe code of survival! All of them perrished by over exploiting the soils! We are now doing it on a global scale so where the feck do we go? Mars?

Every house built, every road layed, every driveway, every runway, every car park,every factory, every warehouse,every vehicle roof and bonnet, all return heat back to the atmosphere. This needs to be offset now by reforesting the deserts!

Andrew K Fletcher

Bones In The Sand

2009-11-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

The ice age was probably brought about by changes in weather due initially to global warming and the removal of vegetation, for example the giant freshwater lake in Canada released onto the ocean surface down the St Lawrence river is thought to have caused the Atlantic conveyor system that drives not only the ocean currents but the world’s weather to grind to a halt, this is said to have caused a catastrophic drop in temperature following the warming that released it.

Here again the temperatures are rising and the caps melting spilling onto the oceans surface, diluting the surface water and interrupting the saline flow and return system that effectively drives the massive flow of sea water to the equator and back.

Huge volcanoes and Earthquakes fail to come close to mans disease on the soil. Deserts and desertification pose more problems than any short-term catastrophic disaster, no matter how spectacular. Take the dustbowl in America for example. Ignore the signs and continue to overexploit the soils and they will blow away leaving behind a desert.
The ancient Egyptians, the Anastasian Indians, the Incas, the Chinese, the Mesopotamians, have perished and their bones tell the story of impoverished diets, disease and starvation. Many more have left their feeble irrigation channels buried beneath the drifting sands.

The dinosaurs became exports at degrading their environment, impressive sizes were reached as more and more efficient plant eaters evolved. Is it a coincidence that many of their bones are found not in lush green forested areas but in sands devoid of vegetation?

If we don’t address the expanding deserts soon we won’t be on this planet for much longer!

Wind power is a smart move to generate electricity reducing pollution significantly but with all due respect it cannot address the worlds inherent lack of fertile soil and failing rainfall, coupled with the all too familiar flash floods and imbalance in rain distribution.

More forests planted along the desert coastlines will permit the ocean born moisture to cross onto the land and cause rain to fall where it is needed most and therefore relieving the burden of too much rainfall in other areas that are still forested.

As the forests grow with or without mans help rain clouds will begin to pass inland to feed more forest rather than falling where they are not needed by vegetation. As the clouds cross the dry deserts the air will cool and the suns energy will be prevented from heating up the sandy soils shaded by the airborne moisture. Then global temperatures will fall.

Now The Tides Have Turned

2009-06-09T03:20:00.000-07:00

When roads turn into rivers and people fall and die.

When the only growth is concrete, reaching for the sky.

Desert winds blowing, fan the mighty flame.

Forest but a memory, don't even have a name.

Seagulls feeding inland, dive upon the tips.

Pipelines belch out sewage, exposing telltale slicks

Ocean levels rising, stink of rotten fish,

No longer do they live here, or end up in our dish.

Now the oil stops flowing, and gushing from the floor,

And water is the reason for which we go to war.

Tankers held at ransom, await the highest prices,

Now the tides have turned and water is the crisis.

By Andrew K Fletcher

A Pocket Full Of Acorns Tree Planting Project

2008-09-05T08:04:00.001-07:00

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb31/Andrew_K_Fletcher/Trees/APocketFullOfAcorns.jpg
Link to original file.

Raining In The Main Hollidays In Britain

2008-07-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

An observation over 21 years living in Paignton.

Holiday main seasons down comes the rain. It can be dry for weeks on end and as soon as the motorists arrive in their drives the rain arrives. Now it could be a coincidence but it happens too often IMO.

So what changes have occurred that might be responsible for causing it to rain?

1. Sometimes along our particular part of the coast we are privileged to be visited by some unusual clouds rolling along the coastline. They do not cross over the hot dry coastline beyond the black tarmac road. So one side is shrouded in mist, the other side is a bright sunshine day with clear air. This can last for many hours as the mist rolls around like washing in a tumble dryer and is channelled along the coast.
2. Where the trees meet the sea mist rolls inland and hugs the wooded areas but goes no further than the tree line does. Walking in the trees on these particular days the temperature is several degrees below that outside of the trees and the air is saturated with water, the trees are dripping and the ground is moistened.
3. When the mist finally vanishes it remains shrouding the trees and the trees milk the remaining water from the air over several hours more
4. Thermals rising from the hot tarmac road can be seen as you drive along it. You can see the wavy thermal pattern as the heat rises. These thermals rise high into the atmosphere and form an invisible barrier against ocean born humidity. These same thermals cause the same barrier along desert coastlines and are undoubtedly responsible for the inherent lack of rainfall in these areas.
5. Trees transpire vast amounts of water into the atmosphere and in doing so remove the thermal barrier that prevents cloud and mist from crossing onto the land. They lower the temperature and as warm moist air rises it is cooled causing a downdraught which causes warm air to rise in a density flow and indeed this can be seen happening at times when dew point has been reached.
6. The holiday traffic involves a massive increase in vehicles cruising along the hot roads. These obviously provide some shadow and while they are moving along they remain cooled by the moistened air flowing over them from the exhaust emissions of other vehicles so an overall reduction in temperatures due to traffic is offset against the heat generated by the engine and the friction from the transmission, brakes and tyres.
7. The exhaust emissions contain collectively a vast amount of warm water released into the atmosphere along with particles which rise due to the heat from combustion. These gasses quickly cool transferring the heat into the atmosphere and fall back towards the ground while the dry hot air rises again generating the same flow and return system that the trees perform.
8. This additional water from exhausts also blocks out some of the suns energy and like the trees removes the thermal barrier so moisture from the ocean can again cross onto the land and fall as rain, and rain it does with incredible regularity.

So the old adage said to holiday makers with regularity “you have brought the bad weather with you may have a lot of truth in it after all.

An Alternative method of Multiplication

2008-06-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

This was the way I taught my sons to learn their multiplication tables at 5 and 6 years. They could recite them forwards and reversed to 23X and beyond just by recognising the patterns in this simple formula rather than drawing the traditional times table and learning them off by heart. At least this way they got to understand the patterns in numbers, which I am sure has helped them to recognise other patterns, particularly patterns in music and language.

No one ever taught me this method of simple multiplication and I have not seen it anywhere since though would not be surprised to find it being taught elsewhere. I was helping the boys do multiplication when the patterns jumped out at me, so got them to see the patterns and write them down without having to think higher that reducing a number by 4 and increasing a number by 2.

Multiplication and patterns. (A different way to teach multiplication)

Think of the number 10
Think of the number 9 in relation to the number 10, it is 1 down from number 10
So the pattern will be the left column goes up 1 and the right column drops down 1

If it were the number 7 then the right column would drop down 3 and the left column would go up 1 except when the previous number permits 7 to be added without pushing the left column up 1 like after the number 70

If it were the number 29 being multiplied then the right column would drop by 1 and the left column would go up 2

And the number 10 would have a stagnant 0 in the right column and go up by 1 in the left column.

9
18
27
36
45
54
63
72
81
90
99
108

9X Formula 1 up 1 down
7X Formula 1 up 3 down

This made learning for them very enjoyable. At the age of 7 and 8 I got them a pitman typing tutor for the commodore 67 computer and rewarded them with £15.00 each for completing the course, learning myself and my wife to type quickly and accurately into the bargain. They both play the guitar. My eldest is currently travelling around the world started in Thailand, can now speak and write fluent Thai having taught English there for 18 months the last time he went travelling. This time he has travelled to Malaysia, Indonesia, Komodo Islands, Krakatoa, Heading to Bali now and planning to work in Australia for a year or more and says it is very easy to learn the language in Indonesia. My youngest is in the building trade planning to develop properties.

Andrew K Fletcher

Tight Rope Walkers at Hennock Reservoirs

2008-05-16T02:05:00.000-07:00

A great day out with Jude, Sylvia and our 4 Bull terriers. Ooops nearly forgot Titch the Lancashire Healer.

At the end of a gorgeous sunny walk through these tranquil lakes we stopped for a coffee from the flask and met some friendly people who set up a tight rope, and after applying considerable tension to it with my immense strength of course :) they proceeded to try the art of tightrope walking. I decided to film it for them and for our own amusement as they became thoroughly engaged in this somewhat hillarious activity. I even had a go myself but these guys n gals were much better than me :)

GLOBAL WARMING ACT NOW!

2007-10-28T02:34:00.000-07:00

Heard on the radio this morning, Radio 4 that is :) (if I heard correct) the pollution equates to around 450 thousand vehicles over one year of driving.
There is a huge plume of black smoke over California apparently and people are urged to stay indoors and not to exercise outdoors.

Where on earth did they come up with the figure 450 thousand vehicles? Do they mean trucks, cars, or motorcycles? So I did a quick sear using these terms radio4 pollution 450000 and low and behold the figure 450000 appears quite a lot over a whole heap of subjects, possibly some statisticians favourite number.

I doubt we shall see the true figure. For example, if it rains heavily the pollution is removed from the air, unlike 450000 vehicles used daily for a year where the pollution is constant.

I also heard that to prevent fires happening and causing as much damage in the future, huge swathes of trees need to be removed from around properties?

They just don't get it do they. The problem is not the trees, it is the human encroachment. That Old song, It never rains in California rings true here, but why? Because these stupid people have removed the forests from the coastlines which cause it to rain by removing the thermal barrier along the coast that lowers air pressure sufficiently to allow moisture from the ocean to cross on to the land!

Remove the trees? Right, does history tell these morons anything? What happens now the fires have ravaged the lands? More trees and scrub will establish itself over the next few years and more fires will happen more frequently eventually causing the soils precious remaining organic material to be dedicated and blown away in the wind. REMEMBER THE AMEICAN DUST BOWEL? http://www.learningfromlyrics.org/dustbo8%5b1%5d.jpg

The magnificent Giant Californian Redwoods stand as witness to the logic of maintaining coastal forest, These ancient trees when left alone do not burn down, but continue to grow spectacularly, year in year out. Moisture is observed to cross over onto the land here and provides the huge volumes of water these wonders of nature require.

Can we not learn how to live in harmony with nature? Australia has completely devastated its natural living resources. Slash and burn has been long admired as land management by the Aborigines and adopted by the sheep farmers. The end result is always the same, massive deserts growing now at rates we could never have anticipated in the past. But we should have been able to anticipate them! There are many fossils of plant eating creatures found in deserts. What happened to the lands?

They did exactly the same as stupid humans are doing now but much slower. They removed the vegetation from the coastlines and then the rains stopped just as they are stopping all over the world right now! Once the rains no longer fall on the inland forests they become tinder dry! Sound familiar yet? After many fires the soil becomes so poor the wind blows away the remaining organic matter until all that is left is dust and sand, eventually the dust is all blown away into the ocean or on our car windscreens here in the UK and the rest of Europe until all that remains are the larger particles SAND!

Deserts can be both hot and cold. Hot deserts heat up the air around them to scorching temperatures this causes thermals to rise and more air to be sucked in to replace it. This is known as the Hadley Cell. Again it is a density flow system using gas rather than fluids but the principles are exactly the same. This causes air to be recycled within the desert rather than cooling cloud cover blocking out the suns energy. This is the real source of global warming. The deserts are the cylinder heads of this vehicle to our own extinction and just like the dinosaurs our own bones will be buried in the sands just like those found in the Atacama desert, one of the driest places on earth. http://www.extremescience.com/images/mumia2.jpg

I was in Spain a while back, it rained every night, but only once in the day. The weather was very warm and dry, yet at night rain came in from the ocean and covered an amazing forested area that runs right up to the coast stretching for more than 25 miles of the most amazing picturesque landscapes, this was as far as we travelled miles. The area was East of Loret da Mar, Costa Brava, along the coastal road. Friends were staying West about 40 –45 miles from us at the same time. While it didn’t rain at all for them, they had clear blue cloudless skies and scorched landscape and very little precious tree cover close to the coast in Reus, a tightly packed heavily built up area with lots of buildings, tarmac and concrete, (Manufactured deserts)

In deserts when it does rain it often rains hard as a rapid cooling effect takes place on the hot air sucking in huge volumes of moisture which cools rapidly and delivers vast quantities of rain rapidly. The ground is not able to deal with deluges of this nature as the capacity of the organic material in the soil to hold onto the water has long since gone. The results are devastating flash floods and sure enough this had happened near where our friends were staying, there was much evidence of destruction, cars washed over the edges of roads etc. But while our friends stayed there not a drop of rain fell in this area when a week before it was pelted with torrential rain. The same has happened in many places throughout the world.

Reducing emissions is child splay compared to the real task at hand if we are even to begin slowing down global warming we must act now and reclaim desert coastal areas by planting billions of trees along the edges of the worlds deserts. To do this we need water and organic material in order to create a fertile crust above the deep sands, otherwise irrigation water will simply evaporate from the surface leaving behind a crust of salt or sink below the surface and cause the ground water to become salty. Replacing organic material in the soil can be done by using the excess human and animal bodily waste in sewage and waste water, which is currently dumped in rivers and oceans throughout the world, or processed expensively where the effluent is still released into the oceans and rivers and the solids are disposed of in landfill.

We currently have a network of huge crude oil carrying ships, VLCC’s and ULCC’s that use sea water as ballast in order to lower their massive structures back into the water after delivering massive cargoes of crude oil to the developed and developing countries. It would be so simple to fill these ships with a cargo of humanure and animal manure enriched water full of essential fats and organic materials to replenish the lost material from the desert sands. And more to the point will eliminate the need to treat this sewage problem other than the removal of unwanted plastics etc and reduce our phenomenal water rate bills into the bargain, while eradicating pollution at a stroke.

Ironically these crude carriers are returning to deserts in North and South Africa and the Middle East where the inherent lack of water prevents reforesting huge areas. Even so many of these countries are using their own wastewater to reforest and reclaim deserts by growing trees in soils irrigated with the waste water from populated areas.

Once sufficient coastal areas have been covered in trees, the thermal barrier that is in place at the moment will be effectively gone. Moisture from the ocean can now cross onto the land and the tree cover vastly reduces the surface temperature of the land enabling moisture to be milked from the sky by the low pressures that develop from irrigation and forestry.

If we only realised now that the deserts represent some of the biggest challenges for humanity and in fact our own salvation, we might begin to address this impending Armageddon we have unleashed upon this fragile world and all its inhabitants.

I have written a book about this whole scenario and require a publisher in order to progress it to the minds of people that can change policy and put this amazingly simple project into practice for the benefit of everyone.

Andrew K Fletcher

I Have A Dream

2007-09-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

Global Warming The Only Sollution! Reclaim Deserts To End Famin - Watch a funny movie here
I have a dream that waste water can be shipped in returning oil super tankers out to the desert coastlines and be used to breath forests and wildlife back into the barren waste lands and cause it to rain. Ironically the tankers currently transport sea water half way round the world for nothing before dumping it back into the sea, often contaminated with huge amounts of oil residues, and once dispersed it reeks havoc on the oceans ecosystem. A dream where we can reclaim the deserts and feed the starving millions who dance wildly while embracing the frequent raindrops in a land where they seldom fall. But this dream differs somewhat from the aforementioned recording system. This dream differs, because I know with absolute certainty that it will happen! I see a land of promise ahead for many people. I see people speculating on barren desert strips and purchasing them for a song,
I see beautiful homes being built in the regenerated lands and children playing in fields full of flowers, picking fruits that abound the trees. I see battery chickens being introduced to live in these lands as guardians, diligently singling out pesky critters and producing truly free-range eggs. I see soldiers becoming at ease with carrying baskets full of fruit from the trees. I see filmmakers queuing to tell the world about our pilot project. I see many more projects developing in many parts of the world. And when this happens, I see many of our present global environmental problems paling into insignificance. But this is not a dream. It is already beginning in many countries. Trees are now growing in many parts of the world where there where no trees, but painfully slow, as the main problem in these arid lands is an inherent lack of water, and they have yet to realise that it cannot be addressed without importing masses of nutrient rich waste water from Europe, who currently pour billions of tonnes of raw sewage into the oceans and rivers every single day!

I have met with Jasem Al Mubaraki at Kuwait Embassy and won his support. I have met with Mohamed Al-Sheddi at The Saudi Arabian Embassy and won his support. I have met with Pakistan Embassy and had many long conversations with Dr Eldaz, who seams in agreement with this logic. I have even won the support of Gideon Tzur the Water Commissioner for Israel, who loves this project, which I call Oasis Irrigation. I even won the interest of two major shipping companies, who began to see the logic of getting paid both ways instead of their current one way earner. I have received many publications in National and local press and even appeared twice on local television news with my dream. I even held a press conference at the Redcliff Hotel hear in Paignton Devon. Even David Bellamy went on BBC National Radio and said: I see a time in the future when great oil tankers will be delivering massive cargoes of sewage and waste water to the deserts in order to transform them into fertile places. He once also said that it would never catch on because we eat pork and there are nations that would not accept our sewage because of this. I still have his letters somewhere in the loft.

SEED SUCCESS BRINGS GLOBAL BRANCH-OUT

2007-09-09T04:39:00.000-07:00

HERALD EXPRESS November 8 1994
SEED SUCCESS BRINGS GLOBAL BRANCH-OUT
Oak trees will be lining a Churston road thanks to the planting of 4,000 acorns and saplings by local volunteers. The mass planting along the four mile length of Kennals Road was the idea of ‘A Pocket Full Of Acorns’ organiser, Andrew Fletcher.
But he was disappointed that no representatives of the environmental groups he invited turned up. Mr Fletcher set up A Pocket Full Of Acorns ten weeks ago after hearing the story of the old French shepherd.
Each day the shepherd attended his flock, he carried with him a pocket full of acorns, planting them across the mountain side as he went. From this daily exercise a mighty forest grew. Mr Fletcher said: “It’s such a simple way of giving nature a hand. There is nothing cheaper than collecting a pocket full of seeds and planting them.”
His plan to plant out Kennals Road with local oaks had the backing of Torbay Borough Council. But invited conservation group representatives failed to appear.
Planting success
“All they had to do was to come along, poke a few holes in the ground with a stick and then drop an acorn in,” He said. Nevertheless buoyed by the planting success and an earlier one at Tebbit Copse on Telegraph Hill, Mr Fletcher is taking his green message around The Globe.
Mr Fletcher said: “With the destruction of the forests in the Third World and the increasing distances that people, mostly women, must walk to collect water and fire wood for cooking and warmth, it would be so easy to pick a handful of tree seeds and plant them on the way back to their villages.”
Recent meetings with representatives from the Pakistan and Saudi Arabian Embassies were very favourably received, he said.

‘A Pocket Full Of Acorns’ Another project from OASIS.

2007-09-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

‘A Pocket Full Of Acorns’
Another project from OASIS. Trees are disappearing faster in the UK than in the Amazon. How can we lecture the Brazilians on saving their forests when we do not practice what we preach.
During the first world war a soldier was baffled when he observed a shepherd continually stooping as he walked and tended his flock near an oak forest. Investigation revealed he was planting acorns and he and his family were responsible for planting the oak forest over generations. Such sustainable agriculture must be applauded.
Each time we visit the moors here in the UK we are revelling in barren wastelands that we proudly call our national parks, and we should remember that these where once great forests, teeming with wildlife. Our ancestors used fire in order to drive out the animals and kill them in comfort, with no regard for the long term situation. Native Australians have burned their land into a massive desert and this strange custom is still implemented today, and can be seen in practice on our own moor lands.
A Pocket Full Of Acorns is seeking to extend from Devon into Cornwall, and is looking for anyone who has areas of land, large or small, who wish to use it to plant native trees. Unused areas of land or industrial premises on farms or small holdings, or even your own back yard are ideal.
If you wish to join the “Pocket Full Of Acorns Project”, come and see the “OASIS” Stall at Surf To Save.

British Embassy in Luanda10th 1st 1996

2007-09-09T04:37:00.002-07:00

British Embassy in Luanda10th 1st 1996
I have just received your letter of 25th October, addressed to the President of Angola, about your proposal for reclaiming deserts by irrigating them with sludge.
I suggest that you make contact with the Angolan authorities thorough their Embassy in London, but you may wish to contact the Overseas Development Administration, who will be able to advise you on the viability of your project in Angola.
Miss T Ann Herd, Third Secretary (Chancery/Aid)

Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Office of the commercial Attache, London 28th 9th 1994

2007-09-09T04:37:00.001-07:00

Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Office of the commercial Attache, London 28th 9th 1994
It was a pleasure to have received you at our office on 26/9/94.
I found our discussions to be useful and your detailed explanation of the "Oasis Irrigation Project" informative.
I have aranged to send the information you left with me on the project directly to the following;-
Director General
Agriculture and Water Research centre,
Minister of Agriculture and Water,

Once I receive a reply from the research centre I will contact you again.
I remain with kind regards.
M.A.Al-Sheddi Commercial Attache

Embassy of The State Of Kuwait, London 14th May 1994

2007-09-09T04:36:00.000-07:00

Embassy of The State Of Kuwait, London 14th May 1994
This is to confirm that The Public Authority of Agriculture and the Kuwait Institute For Scientific Research are considering your OASIS project and would be grateful for a video casset or any other details of your project.
With an open invitation to Kuwait, to discuss your project further.
Thanking You Jasem Al-Mubaraki Counsellor

Institut Mediteranio de l'Eau IME 10th March 94

2007-09-09T04:35:00.000-07:00

Institut Mediteranio de l'Eau IME 10th March 94
Thank you very much for the information about your project that you have sent us.
Unfortunately Mr Potie has been away a lot recently on assignments abroad and I haven't been able to get any kind of constructive reply out of him yet.
But I will continue on your behalf, don't worry!.
Sally Pickford

Joshua M Kyle, New York, USA 30th Jan 96

2007-09-09T04:34:00.002-07:00

Joshua M Kyle, New York, USA 30th Jan 96
Dear Mr Fletcher,
I recently became entranced with the Sahara Challenge and have been collecting information and ruminating about the possibilities.
I would be very interested to learn more about your work and your thinking on the subject. I would be happy to pay the copying costs and mailing costs of anything you could send me.
Personally, I have come to the decision in my life to sell my interest in my company to my partners and begin a new phase in my life and have been considering some way to devote my efforts in the direction of the Sahara Challenge.
Perhaps it is my training in business that influences be, but I believe that any effort on a grand scale must not depend solely on contributions from individuals or governments, but must be internally economically viable to achieve long term results, at the same time a grand project has a power of charisma which can attract support from numerous directions.
My thinking was that there might be a way to unite reforestation with some of the structured input of volunteers, such as that employed by Earthwatch or training programs such as that used by Outward Bound.
If an economically viable entity focused on reforestation could be conceived and implemented in pilot form, I believe that virtually unlimited capital would be available for expansion.
I look foreword to learn more about your efforts and I enclose my CV for your information.
Joshua M Kyle New York 'Steward: Findhorn Foundation (Fores, Scotland)'.

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office 3/9/96

2007-09-09T04:34:00.001-07:00

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office 3/9/96
Thank you for your letters of June and July and I apologise for the delay in reply, as we tried to obtain the list of the participants in the above conference.
Unfortunately the list was not published as the conference was part of an international agricultural exhibition.
At the moment we are not in a position to sponsor you, but I support your idea of promoting wastewater re-use through the Internet and will be very pleased to review your article.
As always I appreciate your enthusiasm and drive in promoting wastewater re-use
I wish you success and hope to meet you in the near future.
Gideon Tzur

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office 21/5/96

2007-09-09T04:33:00.002-07:00

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office 21/5/96
Thank you for your letter received in this office April 11, 1996 and excuse the overdue reply.
Your letter touches several issues and I hope that you will be able to solve the major issues obscuring widespread use of effluents, including the contamination of effluents and sludge with heavy metals and other hazardous contaminants.
I greatly appreciate your extensive efforts to open the road to successfully harnessing adequately treated effluents for irrigation in arid and semi-arid regions and as I mentioned before we will be very happy to support Oasis Irrigation in spreading the good values of irrigation with effluents, based on our large experience in the field.
Please find enclosed a paper summarising our wastewater reclamation policy.
Gideon Tzur

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office 21/2/96

2007-09-09T04:33:00.001-07:00

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office 21/2/96
Reuse of Domestic Effluents for Irrigation

Thank you for your letter of January 21st, 1996 and the wide coverage of the subject of discussion. Beyond it's clear ecological and environmental benefits, our wastewater reclamation plan is directed to reuse domestic effluents as part of Israel water economy. Domestic effluents are substituting fresh water that in the past was allocated to the irrigated fields and now is used to satisfy the increasing demand for drinking water.
Extremely purified effluents are integrated into the water supply system and used for normal cropping and for all crops without any distinction. An annual quantity of about 220 MCM is used by the Israeli farmers and all the systems are regularly monitored and reported
A report summarising the subject is attached to this letter.
In the following you are welcome to visit Israel and see and video as many tapes as you may want to.
In your letter you mentioned that "It is possible to arrive at the coastline of Africa and The Gulf with Europe's waste water, free of any charge", I wonder if you are refering to treated domestic effluents not contaminated by any sort of hazardous waste.
Thank you again for your interest and do feel free to write again Gideon Tzur Water Commissioner.

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office

2007-09-09T04:32:00.000-07:00

State of Israel Water Commissioner Office
Thank you for your letter of October 25, 95 addressed to the Prime Minister of Israel and forwarded to my office by the Israeli Embassy in London.
The letter and the attached material are intriguing and inspiring with regard of the use of sewage sludge and treated waste water for irrigation and as a practical measure against desertification.
We in Israel certainly share your views and we are far beyond a trial and a pilot phase in this matter.
Situated in a semi-arid region on a desert fringe water scarcity is a real threat and therefore 60% of the domestic effluents are already utilised for irrigation throughout the country, providing 220 million cubic metres or fifteen % of the total water used annually for irrigation. One of the major projects conveys about one hundred million cubic metres a year of effluents from the metropolitan area of Tel-Aviv to the barren dry land of the Negev, the Israeli desert.
I wish you a good success in your efforts--in this most important environmental issue and I will be very pleased to assist you with any information related to our vast experience in wastewater re-use.

Gideon Tzur Water Commissioner of Israel

IUCN The World Conservation Union 9/2/95

2007-09-09T04:31:00.002-07:00

IUCN The World Conservation Union 9/2/95
I am replying rather belatedly to your letter last year. I was most interested to read of your endeavours in encouraging tree planting on such a wide front. It is good to have enthusiastic people like you promoting the planting of tree seeds and saplings over such a wide area.
You should be very pleased with the extent of your influence. I have passed your notes on to my colleagues.
On the question of funding, while we are a conservation organisation, we are not in a position to provide funding to individuals. Most of our funds come from donor agencies and they are focused on conservation activities with our members and partners, largely in developing countries.
Many thanks for sharing your insights with us.

Dr Donald Gilmour Programme Co-ordinator
Forestry Conservation Programme

OFWAT 29/10/93

2007-09-09T04:31:00.001-07:00

OFWAT 29/10/93
I have seen the references to this project in the local press. I would be very grateful to receive information
Sean O'Neill Regional Manager

Plymouth and Torbay Health Authority

2007-09-09T04:30:00.001-07:00

Plymouth and Torbay Health Authority
Local office (Paignton) 22/9/93
Thank you for letting me know about your project. Although there is some controversy about the degree of illnesses caused by bathing in contaminated sea water and river water there is no doubt that a substantial burden of ill health is caused by this.
Certainly, if the sewage which is currently discharged into the seas and rivers were to be transported to another country, then the level of contamination of the waters would be reduced and hence the burden of ill health. It is obviously difficult to put a figure on how much this would save the Health Service as quite a lot of illnesses caused by bathing in contaminated water is of a fairly trivial nature.
However inevitably some of it is not and so there must be some saving to the Health Service.

Dr M.R. Kealy. Consultant in Communicable Disease Control

Nick Harvey MP House of Commons 18/10/93

2007-09-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

Nick Harvey MP
House of Commons
London SW1 OAA 18/10/93
Thank you for writing to me concerning the Oasis Irrigation project.
It certainly sounds to be a sensible and economically viable idea and I wish you every success with it's promotion.
I would be pleased to be kept in touch with any progress that you make. As I am sure you are aware, The Liberal Democrats have lead the way with their innovative environmental policies during the last twenty years and as a Liberal Democrat MP I am always eager to be kept abreast of any new environmental measures taking place.
I wish you every success with the Oasis Irrigation Project, thank you for telling me about it.
Nick Harvey MP for North Devon

United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office 13/6/94

2007-09-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office 13/6/94
Thank you very much for your letter of April 7, 1994
It is encouraging that creative people like yourself are engaged in trying to solve the major environmental problems of our time.
Your proposal is certainly imaginative and has it's merit. However it raises several questions and concerns we want to share with you.
* The Major objective of the proposal is to reclaim deserts and settle populations on the reclaimed areas. While this objective has it's merit in long term when the productive lands have reached their limits in terms of carrying capacity, the short and medium term priority for the countries with arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid lands, particularly in Africa, is to prevent desertification (land degradation). This constitutes the major challenge of the International Convention on Desertification which is being negotiated now in the last session of the International Negotiating Committee on Desertification, in Paris.
* Although very attractive, the proposal poses the question of it' cost-effectiveness and it's replicability.
* There are also cultural issues/sensitivities involved in the transfer of sludge from the industrialised countries to the developing countries.
* From a technical point of view, sludge could certainly be used to build nutrients into the soil. Given the desert conditions, the main issue remains however, the permanent irrigation of planted crops or trees. Can we rely on the water from the sludge? If we are to use deep ground water, often available in deserts the cost of irrigation is so high that it's exploitation is not economically feasible.
* A better alternative might be to transform the sludge into dry fertiliser to be transported to Africa and put to the disposal of farmers at a reasonable cost. "The main problem in the desert is an inherent lack of water. Removing the water makes little sense?"
As you might know, we at UNDP particularly through UNSO, are dealing with desertification in terms of sustainable management of natural resources in the dry lands. We are not considering yet action to reclaim deserts.
I hope that the above reflections will be useful in your on-going efforts to look for viable alternatives for desert reclamation.
Maxine Olson Acting Deputy Director Officer in Charge

ODA Overseas Development Administration

2007-09-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

ODA Overseas Development Administration
to Rupert Allason Esq MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
The disposal of sludge in a cost effective environmentally acceptable way is of increasing concern and interest to sewage operators around the world and disposal strategies are under active re-consideration by most of the UK utilities responsible for sewerage and wastewater treatment now that the sea disposal route is no longer an option.
Further ideas for sustainable development in agriculture are always welcome and innovative schemes such as Mr Fletcher's will require increasingly serious study in the future if larger populations in the developing world are to be fed.
The UK water companies have already demonstrated their interest in commercial activities such as transporting fresh water in tankers from the Northumbrian region to Gibraltar. I am sure that they will not wish to neglect any opportunity for economical sludge disposal in the future.
Mr Fletcher may wish to keep up his dialogue with the South West Water managers to ensure that options of developmental benefit are also included in their review of commercial opportunities.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey The minister for the ODA

Silsoe College 25/8/93

2007-09-09T04:26:00.002-07:00

Silsoe College 25/8/93
Thank you for your letter and additional information. There is no doubt that sludge management is and will continue to be high on the environmental priority list in the UK. In addition, novel ideas to overcome problems of soil infertility, scarce water resources and low food production in the developing world are to be encouraged.
Your concepts are on the face of it technically feasible. Surely the biggest question mark however is economic viability. If you can show that the complex transport arrangements required are cheaper than the alternatives, than the proposals might have merit. However it is difficult to see imagine that transpoting sludge to Egypt would be cheaper than application to local agricultural/derelict land in the UK.
Water companies will always opt for the cheapest, environmentally sound option.

S F Tyrrel Lecturer in Microbiology and N E Haycock Lecturer in Water Management.

Surfers Against Sewage

2007-09-09T04:26:00.001-07:00

Surfers Against Sewage
Here at Surfers Against Sewage we are very excited by your proposed ideas.
In particular it is encouraging to see that you are looking a t sewage sludge as a resource that can provide a benefit to society and the environment if suitably treated.
The disposal of Sewage does not have to pose the risks to public health and the environment that it does at present when dumped at sea.
Your ideas show that alternatives exist that do make sense.
One of S.A.S.'s principle aims is to explore and publicises possible viable alternatives to the disposal of sewage at sea. Therefore we enclose a donation for your continued work and research into the OASIS project.
Christopher Hines. General Secretary.

Surfers Against Sewage 18/8/95
Congratulations on the experiment! Also very good letter to SWW. Do you need help with the rail ticket to The Royal Embassy Of Saudi Arabia. If so let me know!
We also have contacts with the band Oasis who seem to be storming the country this year. I will run your project passed our contacts. It may be something they wish to support.
In the meanwhile best of luck
Chris Hines General Secretary

Jonathon Porrit 23/11/94

2007-09-09T04:25:00.002-07:00

Letters

Jonathon Porrit 23/11/94
Thank you very much for sending me the materials about 'Oasis Irrigation'.
I did find them most interesting, and congratulate you both on your persistence and vision. I am not able to judge the technical merits of what you are proposing, but it certainly looks a winner from a layman's point of view.
I do wish you all the very best with such an interesting innitiative.

Local 'product' could bring new life to Kuwait desert!

2007-09-09T04:25:00.001-07:00

Herald Express 13/1/94
Local 'product' could bring new life to Kuwait desert!
If you have ever wondered where the potholes in South Devon country lanes come from then a Paignton man has the answer-Cow-pats an horse droppings.
And this unusual discovery has led to a plan to purify the pollution caused by the Gulf War.
Andrew Fletcher, well known for his ideas to use sewage to make the desert bloom, noticed that cow-pats and other animal droppings attack the tarmac on our quiet country lanes.
Tarmac is oil based. If manure eats tarmac then it will also eat oil-and the huge problems in Kuwait where Sadam Hussein's destruction of the oil refineries has left a pollution nightmare, could be answered.
The desert is covered in crude oil and there is no way that the Arab country can clear it.
Already the British and Kuwait governments are listening to his ideas seriously.
Support for theory
A letter from John Major has resulted in a meeting with the Department of Trade and Industry officials who now look as if they will start to take his ideas seriously.
Mr Fletcher described this meeting as "long overdue". The Kuwaiti Embassy in London has passed his plan on to it's government.
The idea may well sound crazy but Andrew has support for his theory from Trevor Tanton, of the Institute for Irrigation studies at Southampton University, and from Sean Tyrell, a lecturer in micro-biology at Silsoe College, Bedford.
Both the scientific alumni confirm that sewage would actually "eat" the oil.
"The implications for oil spills on land are enormous," says Andrew. After being a lone voice in the wilderness Andrew Fletcher may just be on the verge of producing one of the most original plans to help save the planet.

Underground water supplies contaminated by oil lakes

2007-09-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

Underground water supplies contaminated by oil lakes
Underground water supplies in Kuwait are being contaminated by oil lakes, according to a prominent environmentalist. Dr Fatima Al-Abdali, of the Environmental and Earth Sciences Division of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research said that Kuwait's oil lakes are slowly seeping back into the top soil and now pose a serious threat to underground water reserves.
She said "Experts from KISR, conducting experiments at certain locations in Kuwait have confirmed that oil has been recorded at a depth of two metres into the soil."
Some experts fear this contamination may result in an increase in certain types of cancers over the next fifteen to thirty years.
There are 205 oil lakes in Kuwait, most resulting from the Iraqi invasion. Most of the oil has now been pumped out but the remainder cannot be removed. Another fear is that the dust storms which blow across Kuwait throughout the year will move oily dust particles towards residential areas, posing dangers to health.
Dr Al-Abdali said that oil sediments mixed with dust can be very toxic to humans. She called for more research to check whether there has been a rise in skin diseases and breathing difficulties in Kuwait, since the occupation, because it is too wide and overwhelming", she said "That botanical studies have shown that plants whose roots were blackened by leaking oil can no longer support growth. Other studies show psychological stress affects peoples immune systems suggesting that those who stayed in Kuwait during the occupation may be most affected by health problems. She believes that fish resources have not been endangered.

Poor summer takes toll on SW beaches

2007-09-09T04:23:00.002-07:00

Western Morning News 19th 8th 93 by Derek Lean Environment Editor
Poor summer takes toll on SW beaches
More South West beaches this year are failing to reach EC Quality standards because of the wet summer.
National Rivers Authority regoional tidal waters officer Rupert Grantham confirmed yesterday that sampling up to the end of July had shown that 22 of Devon and Cornwall's 134 designated bathing waters had recorded at least two results which had exceeded the bacteriological standards.
"On that basis they amy be deemed by the Department of the Environment and the EC to have failed.
The NRA does not judge compliance," said Mr Grantham.
But he added: There are no surprises in any of the individual sites, and it is not surprising that monitoring this year is showing a higher number of poor samples. It is because very heavy rainfall earlier this summer has caused high loadings of bacteria to be discharged to the sea from inland sources, including storm sewage overflows and agricultural impacts."
But environmental pressure groups insist that the weather can no longer be an excuse for inadequate water quality and say it is time for an effective anti-pollution system.
Lyn Wetenhall, spokeswoman for Exeter Friends of The Earth, said: "It is pathetic to blame the weather. It just shows what a threadbare system of pollution control we have in this county. We still do not take cleaning our environment seriously enough."
Nicola Husband, of Surfers Against Sewage, said: "we have to cater for our climate. Ultraviolet treatment of discharges is the way to go."
Last year 19 bathing waters during the whole of the season-from May to the end of September-failed to comply.
Set against this the South West did have a major improvement in the quality of sewage discharges around the coastline, and the full effects of this programme would be evident in 1996.
EC bathing waters directives also recognise abnormal weather conditions could cause poor quality.
The results of the NRA would provide the DoE and the EC included information relating to heavy rainfall.
It may be, they would judge that some of the samples had not failed. " They do take weather conditions into account," said Mr Grantham.
He said it was true that bacteria died more quickly in sunny weather, but he did not think that was the fundamental reason that we were getting higher number results. With heavy rain storms, sewage overflows were operating more frequently, and there was the effect of agricultural impacts.
"We have programmes in hand to reduce the impacts of both sources," said Mr Grantham.
The mandatory standards are that the number of faecal coliforms should not exceed 2,000 per 100 millilitres of water and the figure for total coliforms is 10,000. Under the rules 95% of samples have to meet those figures.
Said Mr Grantham: " When we have a dry sunny spell such as we have at the moment, we do not expect the storm sewage overflows to be operating. We do not expect such high levels of bacteria to be coming down streams and rivers. The results we have had so far this year have not given us any surprises. They have not identified any problem areas we did not know existed, and we have plans for improvements at all of these sites."

Where there's muck there's money to be had for SWW users

2007-09-09T04:23:00.001-07:00

Herald Express 13/1/95
Where there's muck there's money to be had for SWW users
A plan to make the deserts bloom could save South West Water users up to £200 each and every year.
That's the claim of a South Devon man who has spent years researching ways to cure the world of two major problems.
Andrew Fletcher of Paignton has identified a way of curing the relentless spread of deserts by using the increasingly burdensome sewage problem of the industrialised countries of the world.
And in doing so he claims to have found a cheaper way of processing sewage and so cutting pounds from water bills.
Tankers
The scheme known as Oasis irrigation and firs revealed to the Herald Express last year-plans to transport sewage an waste water form Europe to desert areas by utilising oil takers which currently return without paying loads.
Figures show that London, for instance, already dumps 3.75 million tonnes of sewage in the North Sea every year-but oil tankers deliver 4 million tonnes of crude oil to the capital in the same period.
"Present disposal methods are expensive, unnecessary and damage the environment," said Mr Fletcher.
"My plan would transport sewage,
Paignton man claims paying cure for deserts
presently polluting our coastline to parts of the world needing irrigation."
The project has interested governments in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. But it's the South West of England where the plan could reap dividends, he says.
Besides the immense savings in water charges, Mr Fletcher claims that his scheme would make South West Water's Clean Sweep Programme redundant over night.
According to his associate, former South West Water engineer Adrian Van Zweden, the EC directive which made Clean Sweep "a Godsend".
"The privatised water industry wants a good return on its investment," he said.
"Because it's profit percentages are controlled by OFWAT the only way to increase it's profit is to increase turnover. The best way to increase turn over is to spend more. With a monopoly this automatically means increased bills. There is no incentive to cut costs."
Oasis is already talking to one other water company from the South East of England which dumps its sewage in the North Sea-a practice which becomes illegal under European Law in 1997.
The company's estimate of disposal costs is £2 per cubic metre. Mr Fletcher estimates that his proposals would cost 42 pence per cubic metre.
And the big bonus is that the deserts can be reclaimed. Currently they are expanding at the rate of 6 million hectares every year---half the size of England.

Andy following in the steps of Marconi

2007-09-09T04:22:00.000-07:00

Herald Express
Andy following in the steps of Marconi
There was a time all those years ago, when the world's merchants believed Christopher Columbus to be crazy.
The way to India, they said was to the East, not sailing the uncharted western ocean... He'll fall off the edge of the world, never to return, was the cry.
As the years rolled on, the same sort of things were said of Marconi. "Sound signals cannot possibly be carried on invisible radio waves around the contours of the globe!" Marconi, too was considered mad.
Today, word is that Andy Fletcher (Pictured) is a "fruitcake". It is being said that Mr Fletcher's Oasis project is simply the rambling of a confused dreamer.
You might remember from previous scribblings that Andy's idea is to remove the problem of unwanted sewage and deposit it onto various deserts of the world, thereby rejuvenating those barren wastelands into fertile Oases.
Struggling against the scepticism of those who find it easier to laugh than to listen and learn, Andy has battled on with only his strong belief to sustain his endeavours. He knows that the worlds waste problems will not just go away-indeed they will most likely multiply-therefore. In time, the so-called "experts" will, by necessity, find it expedient to listen to his findings.
Economics
Andy has extended his research and projected the economics of the operation to a point where South West Water, Greenpeace and many other International research departments have started to sit up and take notice.
The people of Torbay will have an opportunity to consider the findings and beliefs of this likeable "fruitcake" tomorrow at Paignton's Redcliff Hotel where at 2pm he will explain to the media all they want to know about his ideas for "Operation Oasis".
The general public are invited to join in at 3pm, when he will outline again his plans to transport a problem that won't go away on it's own-and how it can save an average of £200 per customer per annum off their water bills!
Go along and listen-you might just learn something-something that portrays a completely new light on our ever expanding environmental problems.
You might very well come away thinking Andy Fletcher is a "fruitcake" but what have you got to lose?
Remember Columbus and Marconi!!

One man's dream but a benefit to all

2007-09-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

Herald Express 15/12 94 Captain Bob Curtis Brixham's Maritime Pilot
One man's dream but a benefit to all
Most of the troubles of the world seem to be caused by man's greed. We tend to reach out grabbing that which we know to be in short supply.....Man is stupid.
Andy Fletcher of Paignton wants to change our basic indiscretions by re-routing the most basic of man's movement.
He has a dream to change the world's deserts into vast Oases, using irrigation from unwanted sewage and unless a government or international consortium somewhere step forward to transform his dreamed of project into acceptable reality, I feel that his deep concern for the future of our planet will turn into a nightmare of frustration.
Along with several others drawn to meet this interesting, friendly man, I attended a gathering in Torquay last week to listen to and comment on the outlined "bones" of his ideas.
... so let's hope high and mighty take it on board
In conjunction with many governments, health organisations, responsible authorities an companies such as South West Water, we must all attend to the universal problem of what is to be done with our own waste material.
Many years ago that exceptional Cornish Politician, the late Mr David Penhaligon, yelled his anger at parliament and accused his honourable friends of adopting a Cornish Farmers' philosophy-"...just 'aive it over the edge, me ansom!"
Andy pointed out to the small collection of people the mounting economical and complex measures that we-that is, all of the civilised nations-have to face NOW, if the earth is to survive.
Someone with power, drive and sharing the same aspirations for the future of this once good, green globe of ours must surely take the Oasis Irrigation Project on board and carry its banners to the parliaments of Europe, demanding that they listen-not only listen but act...before we all find ourselves in the... mire!
For instance, did you know that the city of New York packages two thousand tons of crude human waste, each and every day, and transports it to distant Texas, to be spread across deserted farmland? The worlds gone bonkers!
Fame
Of course, there were bound to be those present at the meeting who believe that the "dreamer" is only intent on seeking fame and fortune.
I believe those assumptions to to be quite wrong.
Others concerned that Andy has not protected his ideas from exploitation and it was lovely to here his laughing reply of : "But if someone steals my ideas-great! It will only prove that someone out there has listened and acted on it. More to the point, it will not have been in vain."What a man! The world would develop a darker shade if it lost it's idealists and dreamers such as Mr Fletcher of Paignton.

Action urged over sewage dumping on farmland

2007-09-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

Plymouth Evening Herald 7/9/94 from Bob Podmore at Westminster
Action urged over sewage dumping on farmland
A Senior Labour MP has demanded Government action over a legal loophole which allows raw sewage to be dumped on farming land in agricultural areas including the West.
Shadow environment minister George Howarth says the waste-from cesspits and septic tanks-is spread on land without any significant checks.
He warned that there was growing unease among scientists about a risk to health.
In a letter to Environment Secretary John Gummer, the Labour MP blamed water privatisation and the fact that sewage dumping is governed anly by a code of practice.
He complained that privatised companies had put up the price of treatment of raw sewage at their plants and forced contractors to look for a cheaper disposal method.
Mr Howarth said: "Waste contractors are bypassing as a result and paying farmers to spread untreated sewage on their land.
Government agencies have pronounced this method of disposal as perfectly safe. However, there are a number of scientists who are quite properly expressing concern that there are very glaring health risks involved."
The Labour front bencher called on the Secretary of State to take swift and effective action to monitor the potentially hazardous method of disposing un-treated sewage.

Millions at risk in expanding dust bowls

2007-09-09T04:19:00.000-07:00

The Independent 13th June 1994 Nicholas Schoon Environmental Correspondent
Millions at risk in expanding dust bowls
THE WORLD is running short of fertile soil. The UN estimates that 900 million people dependent on agriculture in the drylands of the Americas Africa and Asia are at risk-one sixth of the world's population-and says loss of soil fertility represents a greater threat to the poor than global warming or holes in the ozone layer.
This week in Paris, delegates from more than 100 nations hope to conclude negotiations aimed at halting the degradation of croplands and pasture. But as the talks on the International Convention broke up for the weekend, they were bogged down for the usual reason-money. Developing countries were holding out for an increase in foreign aid, which rich countries had no intention of conceding
Bo Kjellen, the Swedish diplomat chairing .the talks for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), believes it will be all sorted out by Thursday, in time for the closing ceremony. Recent negotiations of UN environmental and developmental treaties have seen the Third World forced to accept the harsh reality that they cannot make the wealthy promise money. On the contrary, aid budgets have been in decline due to global recession and new demands from Eastern Europe. But the desertification treaty does not depend on aid to be effective. Its premise is that much of the billions of pounds put into attacking the problem so far have been miss directed and achieved nothing. It calls for changes in the attitudes and conduct of the ruling elite's in developing countries.
Anything can be grown in abundance in the drylands and desert, given enough money, fertiliser, water and technology. Saudi Arabia grows thousands of tonnes of wheat a year. But peasant farmers in arid areas lack those resources. A dearth of fertile soil drives them on to marginal lands, such as steep hillsides, where poor crop yields soon get worse.
The choping down of trees for fuel and over grazing are to blame for thinning out roots and leaves, which protect the soil from wind and water erosion. Irrigation has also damaged soil, leaving the top encrusted with salt, and useless.
UNEP estimates that just under a tenth of the world's land surface is significantly degraded. An area the size of Italy is said to be no longer usable for agriculture and difficult or impossible to restore.
In Sub Saharan Africa, per capita food production fell be nearly 10 per cent between 1986 and 1992.
In the 1970s and 80s the idea that deserts were on the march became fashionable. It was widely reported that the Sahara was moving south at thirty miles a year, with farming and grazing at its margins mainly to blame.
Those alarmist notions are now largely discredited. Satellite images and research have shown that far from there being a one way expansion caused by mankind. Deserts expand and shrink as rainfall changes over the years.
This debate over how much dryland crop failures and shortages are due to natural drought and how much to manmade degradation is a sterile one. From the north east of Brazil to the north west of China and all through Africa's Sahel, the twin causes are extricably linked.
Rainfall and soils need to be conserved from one year to the next, yet population growth and poverty compel peasant farmers to do otherwise. They have to grow as much as they can wherever they can to feed their families, even if they degrade the soil and leave it more vulnerable to erosion.
Camilla Toulmin, an expert on drylands at the London Based International Institute of Environment and Development, has a diagram of the causes of desertification. She lists 24, including, no access to credit, insecure land tenure, and high levels of government debt to industrialised nations.
Can a new treaty do anything to tackle this complex problem? Sceptics point to the last similar UN effort, the 1977 Action Plan to Combat Desertification, now regarded as a failure.
Mr Kejellen says this time the emphasis is on the dryland herders and farmers. Only with the support of
villagers can soils be conserved, droughts resisted and degraded lands brought back into production.
Another belief reflected in the convention is that the solutions that are often low-technology, labour intensive ones which tap into local folk wisdom and long experience of the environment.
Mrs Toulmin, who has advised the treaty's secretariat, says the convention sets out a code of conduct for both developing countries and aid-giving nations. Rights for local people are an important element; if they are in danger of being evicted from their land to make room for civil servants and government supporters, they can never take a long term view on conserving it.
If the forestry department refuses to let them chop down trees they themselves have planted, why should they bother in the first place? Mrs Toulmin says: "Soil and rainfall conservation won't happen unless people feel secure about their rights over their land".

Duchy Sewage could help the desert bloom

2007-09-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

Cornish Guardian, 23/9/93 by Sue Doyle
Duchy Sewage could help the desert bloom
Ships that pass in the night could well link Cornwall and the land of the Nile if the vision of one of the campaigners who visited the Surf To Save contest last week is realised.
Mr Andrew Fletcher from Paignton, travelled to the contest to promote "Operation Oasis"-the use of sewage and waste water as a fertiliser in the arid deserts of Egypt. He thinks it should be possible to use the returning super tankers after they have offloaded oil in this country, to transport effluents back again.
Once unshipped in the Near and Far East, whole areas of desert could be sprayed with liquid mulch made from sewage and waste water. The Mixture would bind with the sand grains to create a fertile crust of top soil, where trees and plants could grow to slow down evaporation.
If additional water was needed it could be pumped from underground using methane also derived from the sewage.
Mr Fletcher's occurred to him some years ago, but only recently has he decided to follow it up, following a discussion with an Egyptian Doctor, Dr Awad told him that as only three per cent of the land on either side of the Nile is fertile, the populations there suffer from a paucity of good soil. He urged him to make his plan public.
The Egyptian Embassy in London has responded with interest in the idea.
One persons annual faeces outlet is equivalent to a 25kg sack of EEC 20:10:10: NPK fertiliser.
Despite its potential no ultimate strategy has ever evolved for dealing with it usefully in a widespread way.
Recently South West Water has been encouraging experiments with land reclamation in the baron clay tip areas of Cornwall, by giving treated sewage cake or powdered form to the ECCI horticultural department.
Experiments are underway to see what combination of sewage and infertile soil are best for growing grass and later trees and crops.
These experiments started only last Spring-an indication of how recent an idea this is.
A SWW official explained that all the sewage sludge collected from cesspits in the county is used on farmlands here (on two hundred and fifty farms in all).
He thought that demand far outstripped the ability to supply as only 1/200th of available land is covered. 'Possibly because no one wants the stuff and already have a massive problem dealing with the waste generated by farm animals,'
If there were inland treatment works for sewage from areas such as Newquay, eventual export of effluents would become more likely, but at present there are only limited supplies of "human fertiliser" for land use.
Mr Fletcher's comments that if we continue dumping sewage in the sea, not only will we ruin the marine environment, we will lose a valuable soil compost.
His idea compares with a scheme piloted some years ago in Kinshasa, Zaire, for using grow-bags filled with a mixture of earth and excrement.
Called "The Eco-Lavatory" the bags were used to nurture plants again in arid and infertile regions.
Seeds where sown in holes in the plastic bags, which were sunk into the land.
The bags had the advantage of preventing the spread of contamination and retaining water.
Perhaps the most novel use for sewage is the one sited by Surfers Against Sewage in its Campaign Journal, Pipeline News.
In Japan treated sewage is compacted into paving slabs... insoluble it is hoped in water.

One Man's Dream really could shape our future...

2007-09-09T04:17:00.003-07:00

Herald Express 26/8/93 Captain Bob Curtis Brixham's Shipping Pilot
One Man's Dream really could shape our future...
LISTENING with only half an ear (the other was tuned in to the radio) to a phone call from another Paignton Resident during the week, my mind told me-"this chap has escaped from the kind of institution that comforts pilots who have climbed one ladder too many."
He bent my ear for about ten minutes about something he'd dreamed up, called OASIS.
This is a scheme that should make all the "Greens", environmentalists and politicians en masse, sit up and listen avidly, once they've accepted that he really isn't one of life's lunatics.
Because I Couldn't believe what was coming down the line and finding it impossible to hide my scepticism. This friendly "nutter" from Paignton offered in his broad Midlands twang, to come along to the office and explain the full meaning of OASIS.
Mr Andy Fletcher duly arrived and laid siege to my senses with a thirty minute lecture on the problems of sewage and the stupid way in which we the civilised world got rid of its....manure,
Long before I'd started to read the documents he'd laid out in front of me, I was well on the way to agreeing with his barmy logic.
Years ago, well known politician, the late Mr David Penhaligon, rose in the House Of Commons and drew fellow members' attention to his Cornish wit in his references to the vast problems with waste disposal. He steadfastly pleaded with Parliament to "think on" about the future and, if I recall correctly, his words went something like: "Even in Cornwall we have come to terms with the fact that we can't go on forever, 'eaving it over the edge.' And yet all these years later, that's what we're still doing.
Giant sewer
Perhaps not over Mr Penhalgon's 'edge, but out there into the sea, treated and untreated, is there really that much difference? Can we honestly go on treating the sea as a giant sewer? There must surely come a day when that sewer will overflow and where will we be then? Right! Up to our necks in ---- and serves us right!!
Bloody heck, Curtis you're well adrift again, get back on course (less 40 degrees). Sorry"!
OASIS is a plan to gather sewage in bulk---treated or untreated---pump it into tankers and ship it out to the Middle and far East, there to discharge it onto the waste desert of Africa and Arabia.
The simple basic plan is that before sinking into the sandy soil the sun would destroy all the remaining bacteria, and as the cargo contents settle into the desert , it would form a crust beneath the surface and change the dead infertile sand into fertile soil. Creating in fact an Oasis!
Okay so maybe I haven't explained it too scientifically and it might appear that my words are mocking a brave man and his dream of a cleaner world. "NOT TRUE!!"
Mr Fletcher will grin if you say he must be bonkers. He's been down that drain and come up smelling of roses. Already there are some influential citizens out there who are listening to what Andy Fletcher is saying.
Perhaps, now and again it might do us all a power of good to take notice of a certain flavour of "madness" that just might in the end make the world a better.

Sewage exports may help fight Third World Famine

2007-09-09T04:17:00.001-07:00

Western Morning News 19/8/93 by Laura Joint
Sewage exports may help fight Third World Famine
A Devon man's idea to end famine in the Third World by exporting sewage to cultivate barren lands has received the backing of the Minister for Overseas Development, Lynda Chalker.
So far OASIS has drawn a blank with South West Water to look into the project, but is hoping that the positive response from Baroness Chalker might spur them into action.
The thirty-six year old former sewage engineer reckons that after ten years of study, he has shown that produce could be grown within three weeks on land in hot, dry countries.
His scheme has already received the active support of the Cornish based Surfers Against Sewage pressure group. And now he has had a letter from Baroness Chalker saying the idea could be viable.
She said: "Further ideas for sustainable development in agriculture are always welcome, and innovative schemes such as Oasis Irrigation will require increasingly serious study in the future if large populations in the developing world are to be fed.
"Mr Fletcher may wish to continue his dialogue with South West Water managers to ensure that options of developmental benefit are also included in their review of commercial opportunities."
SW Water agrees that the idea is innovative.
Oases have a document dating back to the 1970's from the Ministry of Agriculture to the former water board that refers to the dumping of sewage from Exeter at sea in an area five miles off Lyme Bay.
He says that if Large tankers are used then, there is no reason why oil tankers cannot transport sewage waste to the Middle East and Africa.
Shell Oil is already looking at the scheme to see if it is possible and profitable.
"Things are starting to get off the ground now, and Baroness Chalker has suggested in her letter that we get in contact with Northumbria Water, as they apparently have experience in transporting water abroad."
Mr Fletcher has been in touch with the Egyptian consulate in London, Which told him they would be interested in getting the scheme operational.
The idea is that sewage would be spread onto the desert surface so that it can hold water.

Send sewage to deserts says Westcountryman

2007-09-09T04:16:00.001-07:00

Western Morning News 10/7/93 by Laura Joint
Send sewage to deserts says Westcountryman
The thorny issue of what to do with South West's sewage, which is causing South West Waters customers a multi-million pound headache may have been solved by a Westcountryman who reckons they should export it the Middle East and Africa to fertilise and irrigate their deserts.
South West Water and the Egyptian consulate in London have both agreed that the ambitious plan could work.
He says, that rather than dump screened sewage sludge into the coastal waters, it should be used to help countries like Egypt to cultivate their desert lands.
These countries are having problems trying to irrigate their arid lands because the water just goes strait through the sand. If they spread the sewage sludge onto the desert surface it would hold the water".
"The other problem with countries out there is that they don't have our collection system. We spend millions and millions of pounds collecting it, so we may as well put it to good use.
"I've thought about this for ten years or so, and I don't understand why it hasn't been done. I wouldn't like to think it was because of economic reasons, because with the world food shortage, the more we increase grassland, the better."

Schemes to save a fragile world

2007-09-09T04:15:00.000-07:00

The European 19-22/8/93
Schemes to save a fragile world
entries are pouring in for the Ford European Conservation Awards, reports Birna Helgadottir

Perhaps the most unusual and original entry of all came from an engineer Andrew Fletcher of Devon in England. His Oasis scheme, to export sewage to the Sahara in returning oil tankers, "is a crazy idea-that might just work, say the competition organisers.
The project already has the support of several environmental groups such as Friends of The Earth and is even being looked at by Shell and Japan Oil.
Exporting some of Europe's sewage is vital environmentally. "With our sophisticated waste treatments, billions of gallons of water are not soaking naturally through the earth, but going straight into the sea.
We need to take this liquid to where the Earth most needs it-like the Sahara," says Fletcher.
In this country, sewage is treated with UV light and heat-you'd get that from the Sahara sun."

Pollution problem cure would transform deserts

2007-09-09T04:14:00.002-07:00

Herald Express, 4/3/94
Pollution problem cure would transform deserts
'Night Soil' plan to cure world famine
The plan which has been developing over the past years, involves oil tankers returning from Britain to Desert areas, filled with a cargo of sewage mulch from South Devon.
That would be spread on desert areas where it would create a fertile crust and enable the land to be reclaimed.
So far Andy has had interest and support from organisations including the Egyptian Embassy, environmental groups like Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Surfers Against Sewage.
Andy has had interest from researchers at institutions like Southampton University,
In his latest research Mr Fletcher claims that one tanker could deliver 300,000 tonnes of water enriched with organic materials and plant nutrients.
And he says that would provide enough water to support 9,000 nomads and their animals for a whole year. Or it could give enough water for sixty four tons of rice, 18 tons of cotton or 25 hectares of grain.

Mulch Idea may enrich deserts

2007-09-09T04:14:00.001-07:00

Western Morning News 26/8/94
Mulch Idea may enrich deserts
A Paignton man who has masterminded a pioneering project to cultivate Third World deserts has met officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to promote it.
Fletcher said; "It will create a fertile crust on an otherwise barren landscape, which would help crops to grow and increase rainfall levels.
Mr Fletcher's meeting at the Pakistan Embassy was immediately followed by an appointment with the commercial attaché for Saudi Arabia in London.
Mr Fletcher's ideas have since been passed on to the director general of the Agriculture and Water Research centre at Riyadh.
Mr Fletcher said that he was hopeful that they would take the project on board.
"it is still a long way from actually going into fruition."
Mr Fletcher has also set up his own tree planting and reforestation project , "A Pocket Full Of Acorns" Torbay Borough Council has agreed to let him plant two miles of seeds for broadleaf trees, along the verges of Kennals Road, Churston. Mr Fletcher is looking for 30 volunteers to help him.

SWW back bid to ship sewage to the desert!

2007-09-09T04:12:00.000-07:00

Herald Express 19/3/94
SWW back bid to ship sewage to the desert!
South West Water have added their support to a South Devon man's pioneering idea which could solve the problems of starvation.
Andy Fletcher of Paignton met up with Bob Baty South West Waters Engineering Director for top talks about his project.
In the past year Mr Fletcher has received support from environmental groups like Friends of The Earth and Surf To Save and interest from governments like Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. He has even travelled to Southern France to explain his idea there.
Fletcher was pleased with the way the meeting went, he said "they were not negative at all, they really encouraged what I am trying to do," he said. It was suggested that he contacted North West water who have a storage facility next to an oil refinery.
A spokesman for South West Water said the meeting was successful and they would monitor Mr Fletcher's work.

Kuwait door ajar for Bay Man's Brainwave

2007-09-09T04:11:00.000-07:00

Herald Express 9/5/94
Kuwait door ajar for Bay Man's Brainwave
KUWAITI government officials have invited a Torbay engineer to the Middle East to show them how to make the desert bloom!
Andrew Fletcher reckons he can conjure up rain out of thin air, literally by dumping sewage on the barren sands.
His pioneering Oasis Irrigation Plan involves sending empty oil tankers to The Gulf with billions of tonnes of European sewage and waste water.
He says moisture will rise from the muck no one else wants, and create a "vacuum effect" over the desert as it cools.
Clouds trapped off the Kuwaiti coast by a wall of heat rising from the hot dry sand, will then be sucked inland, causing it to rain.
Mr Fletcher 's invitation comes after he met officials at the Kuwaiti Embassy in London on Wednesday.
Staff from the Scientific and agricultural communities are eager to learn more about his proposals.
"They want me to go to Kuwait and discuss the project with them," Mr Fletcher told the Herald Express.
"It looks like a goer. I'm on cloud nine, although this is just the start."
The idea has already found success on a small scale in countries like Spain and Morocco. These countries have used their own water to create a micro-climate but Kuwait has no river.
"Just one tanker could transport 26 million tons of waste water from Europe every year. "That would sustain a tropical rain forest the size of Brixham in the middle of the desert

Desert Oasis idea probed

2007-09-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

Herald Express 25/8/93
Desert Oasis idea probed
South wet Water have been discussing a pioneering project to ship South Devon sewage to cultivate the deserts
The water company has had talks with Paignton's Andy Fletcher who dreamed up the Oasis project.
South West Water representatives showed an interest when Mr Fletcher was at the Surf To Save at Polzeath in Cornwall last month.
Since then they have contacted him about the scheme. Spokesman for the company Stephen Swain said; "they were always wide open for ideas as to how to get rid of sewage mulch.
"in considering many possible options we are obviously interested in any new developments," he said.
They would continue to keep in touch with Mr Fletcher, he added.
Mr Fletcher also has the support of Dr Trevor W Tanton of the Institute For Irrigation Studies at Southampton University.

Sewage-to-soil 'miracle' idea by Bay Pioneer

2007-09-09T04:09:00.000-07:00

Herald Express, 21 6 93 by Joe Cole
Sewage-to-soil 'miracle' idea by Bay Pioneer

Pharaoh scheme's dune-right clever!
South Devon sewage could cultivate land in Egypt if a Paignton man's idea becomes reality. Andrew Fletcher, has thought up a radical way of getting rid of our sewage and helping other countries to grow their own food.
And so far his OASIS Irrigation idea has met with an enthusiastic response from South West Water.
There is water underneath desert areas like Egypt, but to put it onto sand is futile, according to Fletcher.
His plan to spray whole areas of land with liquid mulch, made from our own sewage and massive amounts of waste water.
The mixture would bind with the sand grains to create a fertile crust of top soil, where trees and plants could be grown, to slow down evaporation.
Grasses could eventually grow and additional water could then be pumped from under the ground using methane pumps running on gas produced from the digested sewage.
"We have got no use for the sewage at all," he said. "it would mean savings for those who actually pay the water rates, because it will no longer have to have expensive treatment."
He had the idea many years ago, but decided to go public following a meeting with an Egyptian Doctor
Mr Awad told him about the large population and how only three per cent of the land either side of the Nile is fertile and urged him to make his plan public.
Mr Fletcher, who used to work on sewers in the Midlands, has already met an official from South West Water services who was very interested and referred him to the companies project manager. He has also tested the waters with the Egyptian Consulate in London, who also seem keen on the plan.

On Earth Magazine

2007-09-09T04:08:00.000-07:00

On Earth magazine
Regenerating the desert (sent to Oasis by post from New York) 30/1/96
The Overseas Agricultural Sewage Irrigated Soils-(OASIS) Project aims to regenerate irrigate and propagate desert areas.
The project echoes the vision of Richard St Barbe Baker, who was interested in fertilizing and irrigating arid areas of North Africa The organisers are hoping to interest the governments of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Ethiopia, in the scheme.
The driving forces behind OASIS are Andrew Fletcher, Adrian Van Zweden, David Perret Green and Adrian Sanders.
OASIS writes:- The Sahara has not always been a desert; there is abundant evidence of Tropical rain forest from fossilized tree trunks and also of men made weapons. In fact most of the worlds deserts were created by deforestation. But now the process is accelerated. Once it took a thousands of years to create deserts, whilst in recent times five years is enough.
It is possible to reverse desertification. Within desert regions there exists a convection system which at present is continually circulating hot dry air.
In the Sahara for example, the sun recycles hot air drawn from the exposed North Coastline, taken to the Equator and returned. The wind system is also circular.
To break this cycle vast amounts of water are needed preferably waste water, at the North Coast. This would reverse the existing cycle by circulating moist, cooling air, rising and falling as rain in the desert and promoting growth from the night dew and a basis for reforestation.
This effect can be seen in several places around the world such as Morocco where desert reclamation and reforestation was begun forty years ago, and to a lesser extent on the Fuengerola coastline in Spain, where new building, in an otherwise arid area together with new water supplies have led to a wetter local micro-climate, as the water was used for small scale cultivation.

Press Cuttings Oasis Irrigation

2007-09-09T03:43:00.000-07:00

N C A September 1994
OASIS PROJECT
Featured last year was Andrew Fletcher’s brainchild to transport raw-sewage in empty returning oil tankers, to help reclaim desert and arid areas in The Gulf and North Africa. Gathering support for the scheme, The E.U. Commission now have it on file and are studying the implications, and with the U.N. Development Programme acknowledging it—although at present they say they have no plans to reclaim deserts. (Their main concern is sustainable development of natural resources in dry-land areas).
Many Gulf and North African Countries have been approached. The Kuwaiti Government are the most responsive and Andrew is set to visit there later this year to discuss the project in more detail.M.E.P.A the Marine Environmental Protection Agency formed in 1991 for marine vessels is now fully supporting OASIS and using it’s connections to link in the Oil Tankers to the project.

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YouTube - Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07

The greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!

Use of Wastewater Sludge for the Amendment of Crude Oil Bioremediation in Meso-Scale Beach Simulating Tanks

Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico

Raw sewage threat to booming Dubai

Tankers que for sewage plant

Dubai sewage production rising

Sewage production in Dubai is increasing by about 25 per cent a year and averages 480,000 cubic metres a day, head of sewage treatment plants in Dubai Municipality Aisha al-Abdooli told MEED's Wastewater Treatment & Reuse 2007 conference in Abu Dhabi.

Sewage Dumping in Desert Results In Jail Sentence?

Algeria burning the few trees left that enable clouds to cross onto the land?

From Desert To Forest In Egypt Using Sewage and Wastewater

Expanding deserts are "The Real Cause Of Global Warming"!

Bones In The Sand

Now The Tides Have Turned

A Pocket Full Of Acorns Tree Planting Project

Raining In The Main Hollidays In Britain

An Alternative method of Multiplication

Tight Rope Walkers at Hennock Reservoirs

GLOBAL WARMING ACT NOW!

I Have A Dream