DA wrote:
"And no doubt anyone with half an IQ point directed toward ecological concerns may now ask who the "H" defines land as "useless" except those wishing to exploit it for their own personal financial gain. And that seems a reasonable concern to me given human history."
Indeed. we still hear occasionally in NZ that a great deal of Maori land is useless and should be made productive. Thankfully we hear it less these days but it was certainly used as an excuse for confiscations in the past.
As to water in the Sahel region of Africa. The desert is expanding but I get the feeling it's more due to human influence than changing climate. Within five minutes of arriving in the Sahel you see there are too many goats. From my farming background I know goats eat anything. As soon as anything green sticks its head up a goat nips it off. I presume it would be the same with jatropha. Of course there are too many goats because there are too many people. People also use any bit of wood, including cutting down available trees, for cooking fuel. The problems may not be insurmountable but they are nearly.
