Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thought this was a very good TED talk.

http://www.wimp.com/greendeserts/

I like how his proposed solution actually deals with reversing climate change while providing for the needs of a growing population.

This video was posted a little while ago.

It certainly is a hopeful presentation though!

Figured it would be in the TED thread but I didn't see it. Whoops.

Still the way he proposes how to deal with being a good sheppard to the earth without having a reduced quality of life. Most save the world/reverse climate change ideas I've ran across usually have some sort of extreme negative impact (skyrocket energy costs that would literally kill people in developing countries, etc)

Actually livestock in the deserts does not work as long a you don't have a established plant layer there.
Iranians have tried it with oil to capture water and prevent evaporation. As long as there no plants there, it works to an extend.
Australian farmers are fairly good in maintaining plant cover on paddocks so the soil wont dry out. (Well Vertisole are very complicated to handle as they rib roots apart as it dries.

To start getting desert fertile you may start with deep rooting trees, as they can get water from deep down. You might otherwise have problems with water competition between tree and other plants. Next step would be getting plant cover over the soil so it wont dry out. And you loose all that moisture.

It has been successfully tried in Jordan and Australia by Bill Morrison and Graham Bell and it is called permaculture. We are trying that concept on less than fertile soils on our farm.