The Oil Drum

56 comments on Pond Scum or Planet Savers?

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LevinK on January 17, 2006 - 12:35am

There were no humans back there in the Eocene to cut down the trees to free farmland. In the absence of huge forests absorbing the excess rain and heat, the sun together with the wind and water erosion will start converting the farmland into desert in a matter of decades. AFAIK this is what happened after ancient Rome a Carthage cut down the trees in Northern Africa to build their ships.

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Southsider1 on January 17, 2006 - 1:41am

First the Romans got to enjoy six centuries or so of intensive grain farming, much as is currently the case in those regions of the U.S. midwest where the aboriginal forests were felled in the 19th century. Of course, with modern farming practices, the notion that the midwest will continue to provide bountiful harvests for many hundreds of years to come is questionable.