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christopher hamburger

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A worldwide irrigation system.

Drought hist everywhere and ironically those places that are relatively close to water sources. My idea, hopefully elaborated on, would give these places that are not technologically advanced, the opportunity to combat drought in a much more efficient and productive way. We can install pipelines of oil across continents but cannot create worldwide water systems? Perhaps an underground system that would allow water from oceans to funnel into the land, which would hydrate otherwise arid land and encourage growth in every sense of the word.

Topics: Africa Drought Irrigation
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Closing Statement from christopher hamburger

Ok what is the right amount of minerals? U have input on why it wouldn't work but do u have anything to make it a working idea?

Places where drought hit seem to fall further and further into a hole until nature just finishes its course. In today's world we can control almost everything why can't we control this? Drought shouldn't be something whole countries are stricken with.

Maybe Denzil is right. We just need to put farming strategies for the region, but what will grow without water? We have to find a way to make water, considered the essence of life, to everyone. Why is this such a hard problem to tackle. We can land on moons, we can probe into space, we can predict hurricanes and tornadoes but people die of thirst and hunger.

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  • George QT

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    Mar 31 2012: There is a thing to remember in this issue: Artificial irrigation has the seed of its own destruction just on it. Drinking water is not 100% pure, it has all kinds of salts and minerals dissolved on it, when you transport water on pipes, those pipes also add more minerals, if you use that drinking water to irrigate you are automatically adding salts to the soil, which slowly makes harder for plants to grow. If drought is going to be solved globally it must be in a way that delvers water with just the right amount of minerals not to change the soil chemistry in the long run, otherwise the cost may be bigger than the drought itself.

  • Denzil Weitz

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    Mar 5 2012: In Botswana we can greatly improve the plant diversity and add more species, and crate jobs in the process we can look into many of the Aloe and agave varieties, ... in Lesotho we can replenish the destroyed 65% of forests, ... we can also look at intensive farming systems where they currently harvest 22,000 pounds including protein from approximately 1 acre in tunnels, ...

    many of the severe drought areas just need proper farming system plans to mitigate the problems, ... successes has been achieved in China and some spots areas in Ethiopia i think, ... In South Africa farmers rely on a combination of subsidies, insurance and believe it or not prayer, ... they really have to use very marginalized land to feed the nation, and its neighbors, and they face very severe constraints, ... where available irrigation is extremely expensive, ...

  • Denzil Weitz

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    Mar 5 2012: in very huge deserts we can even build massive lakes, using sea water, ... and create the equivalent of the inland water ways on the USA east coast, ...

  • Denzil Weitz

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    Mar 5 2012: I we can use several desert regions, .... we can optimize current dessert areas, ... we can adapt also by huge expansion of fog harvesting up to about 100 miles off shore, planting crops that can handle the desert... most of sub saharan Africa's crop systems can by greatly improved, ... and the most far out one would be to harvest water from the atmosphere, ... one would hope that the USA would do such research and who knows maybe one can fill up the empty lake in Uzbekistan, ...
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    christopher hamburger

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    Mar 5 2012: @ edward i understand there is no profit but water should not be something that we have to pay for. Isn't that the problem today? Too many people thinking along the lines that you suggested. Also isn't that the purpose of TED? to bring together ideas that might change the world with people who can make those ideas possible? Thanks for your input though.
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    edward long 100+

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    Mar 3 2012: It is not that we cannot produce global water distribution networks. It's that there is no profit in it. Remember Mr. Hamburger, the three most important words in technology development: Money; Money; and Money.
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    christopher hamburger

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    Mar 2 2012: North Africa is part of the larger continent of Africa. Its those differentiations that separate. We have to start thinking world instead of nation.
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    Ken brown 30+

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    Mar 2 2012: What about north africa?
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