Although a third of the planet’s surface is desert, much of it is undeveloped and uninhabited. Instead of leaving all this space empty, it would be better to utilize it for other things. Although a desert may seem empty and useless at first glance, deserts provide numerous opportunities for people to develop, grow, and make money.
The main reason for the desert being mostly deserted is the lack of water and extreme temperatures. Temperature is not as big of a problem, especially with shelter, but humans require large amounts of water to survive. There are many reasons and ways to develop the desert, but these all require people, who need water. So to use the resources of the vast desert, there needs to be a way to get water.
One easy solution to getting water is to move to the water. Some parts of the desert contain oases and rivers, others border the sea, where people can build desalination plants. Places farther from water can transport water with trucks and pipes or dig a canal to divert water or from a nearby water source, like a river or lake. But in many areas of the desert, water is not in an easily accessible place. Instead, water is found in the form of groundwater. Most desert cities get water from groundwater, digging wells to extract water from. However, water is a limited resource, and most sources of water are often used up faster than they replenish. So people in the desert must conserve and reuse the water that they can find.
Even if we find a way to get water, there needs to be a reason to develop the desert. And one way to do this is mining. The desert isn’t a total wasteland, one can find a multitude of opportunities for mining in the desert. Since deserts contain many natural resources, with more than 60 billion tons of phosphates and 70 billion barrels of oil in the Sahara alone, added with the fact that they are easily accessible due to the lack of vegetation, mines in the desert can be profitable. But even mining requires a lot of water, so mining companies should find good sources of water and recycle the water that they do have. Some mining companies build water recycling centers and water storage areas to save water.
In the desert, despite the lack of water, agriculture is a viable way to use desert lands. In these harsh and dry lands, farming can, and is practiced. Crops like dragon fruit and sorghum do not require much water which is good for desert farms. Combined with the water production methods listed before and farming techniques such as drip irrigation or dry farming which can conserve water by minimizing evaporation, watering plants should not be a big problem.
Still, crops require good soil, not just water. Desert soil is not very fertile, so anyone who wants to farm must improve it and keep soil quality good. If the area receives enough rainfall, trees and certain plants that help the soil retain water can be planted, greening the desert and making farming easier. Another way is building greenhouses, where crops can be grown in a controlled environment where they are protected and soil is better. Although not the most productive, they can still bring significant amounts of income, making investment in these farms worth it.
Another thing that can be done is raising animals. Camels have been around for millions of years and breeds of certain animals like criollo cattle and sahel goats can survive with much less food compared to their counterparts. These animals are adapted to the deserts and can eat the hardy plants of the desert. The animals can provide meat, milk, fabrics, and other goods.
Deserts have a greater potential than to produce rocks and food. Deserts are an ideal place to produce massive amounts of energy. Since deserts receive almost no rain and no clouds, they are a great location to build solar power plants. This is also a good alternative if the area has no resources or cannot sustain agricultural farms. Although it would be expensive and possibly destructive to the environment, covering even 1% of the Sahara with solar panels can power a significant amount of the world.
Another way of generating electricity is wind power. A single wind turbine can power hundreds of homes. Deserts also tend to be windy due to temperature differences and lack of vegetation. Problems arising from wind turbines such as noise have a reduced effect in the desert because of the small number of people living there. However, both solar and wind require maintenance every few months. A small population is also required to maintain the power generators. Without them, the farms may malfunction or become less efficient.
Things do not have to come in the form of usable resources. The desert is filled with dunes, canyons, valleys, and oases. The beautiful landscapes of the desert bring in tourists that would hike, camp and take pictures. For some, a desert is a good place to cool off during cold winter months. For others, it is an alluring place full of exotic plants, animals, and landscapes. People travel to Morocco just to see their deserts. Desert parks attract millions of tourists in the United States. Of course, tourism does require people to work but besides that not as much investment is needed.
There are many other ways to make use of the desert, but in the end, even with copious effort, some areas are too costly to utilize, as water can be hard to transport and building can be expensive due to the long distance from population centers. However, many parts of the desert, especially ones near a river or the coast, can be improved. Other parts can be used for power generation, tourism, and more. Deserts are empty. Deserts have plenty of space. Instead of letting the space go to waste, they should be used. It is better to do something than nothing.
By: Daniel Ryu
Write and Win: Participate in Creative writing Contest & International Essay Contest and win fabulous prizes.
