Ecosystems - Articles - Zimbio

You Can't Own The Desert

Wed, 18 Oct 2007 09:33:00 GMT

posted by sementivae

There is a scene in the English Patient, where Almasy and his best-friend Madox discuss the urgency of securing the Saharan desert.

"What do we find in the desert?" Asks Madox "Arrowheads, spears. In a war if you own the desert, you own North Africa."

Almasy scoffs disdainfully "Own the desert?"

The idea of property and ownership - of land, of people - was a central theme of Anthony Minghella's award-winning film The English Patient.

Almasy - played by an on-form Ralph Fiennes, alongside an otherwordly Kristin Scott-Thomas (pictured) - abhorred the notion that reserves of nature could be owned for martial, strategic, financial or Imperial gain.

It is our turn to scoff disdainfully as Britain divulges its plan to carve a piece of the Antarctic desert for itself.

The claim for propriety of a slice of the Atlantic would give Britain exploratory rights for gas, oil and minerals.

Mining and drilling for oil would disrupt the fragile eco-system of the Antarctic, one of the few remaining wildernesses of our planet.

Many of the fascinating creatures that belong to the Antarctic eco-system would be killed by such human endeavours.

This is an exercise in greed and shamefaces Britain who, in 1959 became a signatory of the Antarctic treaty that no new claims should be made upon the Antarctic.

The Antarctic, as with many other parts of our natural world, needs to have its status asserted as an exclusively protected area. What this means is that no form of human expansion, construction, mining etc. may take place in such regions.

Whatever UN treaties currently exist to that effect - and these will be too few - they are evidently not sacrosanct so that nations like Britain dare not violate them.

Own the ice desert?

Welcome to our blog about Ecosystems

Fri, 1 Jul 2006 00:23:20 GMT

posted by The_Zimbio_Team
This is our group blog, which is unique because any Zimbio member can post an entry to it. Some members blog about recent news and trends related to the portal topic, others recount relevant personal stories. You can also comment on and rate existing blog entries, to voice your opinion and to help the community identify which members and entries on the portal are must-reads. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this portal? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own blog entry!

'Ocean deserts' are growing

Wed, 1 May 2008 06:00:01 GMT

posted by oeln
Nature: Low-oxygen 'underwater deserts' in the tropical oceans have expanded over the past 50 years, according to new measurements. The most likely cause of the change is global warming, and climate models predict that the trend will continue, potentially threatening marine ecosystems. The discovery concerns a layer of the ocean called the 'oxygen-minimum zone', where concentrations of dissolved oxygen are particularly low. The new study shows that this zone has been expanding both upwards ...

Dessert Desert

Mon, 19 Feb 2008 05:13:00 GMT

posted by tiltsays
When I hear “desert,” I usually think about cupcakes. But that word is “dessert.”

A desert is an area that does not get rain and has few plants. If you had dessert in the desert, you would want to make sure you have a lot of milk.

The largest desert is the Sahara. It is larger than the United States. To get an idea of how big it is, imagine a cupcake bigger than the United States. Then imagine a glass of milk bigger than Mexico. How about a hot dog the size of Argentina or a pizza bigger than Russia?

Dear Reader, Please Place Your Vote

Fri, 29 Sep 2007 15:58:00 GMT

posted by sementivae

This is an update encouraging Sementivae's visitors to take a few seconds to vote on the poll on the right hand side-bar of this site.

The poll is Which is the biggest threat to bio-diversity?

Sementivae will run the poll until the New Year when we hope to have a sizable number of votes to have meaningful data.

The rather charming young couple in the photograph are much more endearing and persuasive, so I shall leave it to them to win your vote.