Why the World Needs Open Borders More Than Ever

[Mila]

Cool balloon though

 

[Kelerei]

I generally think the middle east and Sahara is a dessert because of years of overgrazing and mismanagement of the environment. They farm goats, goats will kill and eat all plant life until there's nothing left.

This is incorrect, for the most part (although there is a recent theory that there is an element of truth to this -- see below...)

The Sahara alternates between desert and savanna grassland in a 41,000 year cycle, caused by changes in the Earth's axis as it rotates around the sun -- between 22° and 24.5°. This "wobble" in the Earth's axis changes the location of the North African monsoon (which today sits south of the Sahara) and, consequently, affects whether the Sahara is dry or wet. We are presently in the middle of a dry period, but it is expected that the Sahara will become green again in approximately 15,000 years.

However, there is a recent theory that the drying period was accelerated from 6,000-2,500 BC by early cattle farmers overgrazing available grassland, so your post does perhaps hold some element of truth. See this paper for more on this theory. In more recent times, I don't expect climate change to be exactly helping either (my own opinion, I can't find any research to support or discredit this).

 

[jack_spratt]

I don't mean it in any offensive way. I am really trying to understand your argument. Your thread title is why we need open borders more than ever. Is the basis of your position that we should have open borders in order to help deal with aging populations?

No, I posted a news article.

I do not agree with replacing existing populations with dissimilar populations.
If you do this then the destination country will become like the country of the immigrants over time.

 

[rietrot]

This is incorrect, for the most part (although there is a recent theory that there is an element of truth to this -- see below...)

The Sahara alternates between desert and savanna grassland in a 41,000 year cycle, caused by changes in the Earth's axis as it rotates around the sun -- between 22° and 24.5°. This "wobble" in the Earth's axis changes the location of the North African monsoon (which today sits south of the Sahara) and, consequently, affects whether the Sahara is dry or wet. We are presently in the middle of a dry period, but it is expected that the Sahara will become green again in approximately 15,000 years.

However, there is a recent theory that the drying period was accelerated from 6,000-2,500 BC by early cattle farmers overgrazing available grassland, so your post does perhaps hold some element of truth. See this paper for more on this theory. In more recent times, I don't expect climate change to be exactly helping either (my own opinion, I can't find any research to support or discredit this).

Seems like I was a bit off in blaming the middle east and goats. The desert belt starts with the gobi desert in north China and Mongolia. So the real blame should be on the Mongolians and their horses.

I think we underestimate how much plant life affects the weather. Most people probably assume it is a one way relationship, but it's not. Plants especially trees does a lot to cool a region down. Open sand does a lot to heat it up and push away any rain that the region might get.

 

[Unhappy1]

Seems like I was a bit off in blaming the middle east and goats. The desert belt starts with the gobi desert in north China and Mongolia. So the real blame should be on the Mongolians and their horses.

Nah, its the Pandas fault, not the horses.

 

[Solarion]

Pipe dream this. A fools fantasy. You start tearing down borders and the world will turn into anarchy and chaos.

If anything, start making those walls higher.