As rising ocean levels threaten heavily populated coastal regions, as disappearing glaciers threaten over a billion people dependent on glacier-fed rivers, as soil degradation leads to desertification and peak oil results in peak food, likely within this century we must choose between 1) global famine, war, and massive migrations to struggling urban centers and 2) alternative agricultural practices that have the potential to turn the world’s deserts into food-bearing forest gardens. Since, converting deserts into gardens will take time, preparing in advance in crucial.
Being an optimist, I foresee massive migrations of people into deserts; Asians armed with green knowledge will pour into the Australian and Indian and other deserts. North American cities will depopulate as millions migrate to the warm, inland, Southwest, and the same pattern will be occur across the globe. The Middle-East will be united in its common struggle to become green. Unity is crucial, especially as some evidence shows that desert rainfall patterns improve as vegetation returns.
