DAKAR (Reuters) -The United Nations needs an extra $133 million to tackle food shortages and malnutrition in Niger that have already triggered massive displacements of people from their villages, the world body said on Wednesday.

Big Water and Grass Africa

Evaporation cooling = moist southern air moving north.

Water flows down hill… in ancient river beds under the sand.

Nut shell

Big Water and Grass

Big Picture

Data from the Soil Conservation Research project at McCredie during the summer drought of 1953 showed the corn crop exhausting the soil moisture to a depth of 3.5 feet under the fertilized soils. The equivalent of only 1.04 inches of water was left in that entire depth. Where the soil was not fertilized, the crop dried out the soil to a lesser depth. It left the equivalent of 4.5 inches of water in the upper 3.5 feet.
On the unfertilized corn, which took 14 inches of water from the soil, the yield was only 18 bushels per acre. It required 26,000 gallons of water to make a bushel of corn. On the fertilized soil with a yield of 79 bushels, only 5,600 gallons of water per bushel were required.

The drought was a case of plant hunger rather than thirst.

Or simply, 4 times the crop yeild with one fifth the amount of water on fertile soil.

Biosolids and grass seed: more crop less water.

Data from the Soil Conservation Research project at McCredie during the summer drought of 1953 showed the corn crop exhausting the soil moisture to a depth of 3.5 feet under the fertilized soils. The equivalent of only 1.04 inches of water was left in that entire depth. Where the soil was not fertilized, the crop dried out the soil to a lesser depth. It left the equivalent of 4.5 inches of water in the upper 3.5 feet.
On the unfertilized corn, which took 14 inches of water from the soil, the yield was only 18 bushels per acre. It required 26,000 gallons of water to make a bushel of corn. On the fertilized soil with a yield of 79 bushels, only 5,600 gallons of water per bushel were required.

The drought was a case of plant hunger rather than thirst.

The Drought Myth

Big Water and Grass

Big Water and Grass – Africa

I agree completely that the most promising biofuels experiments are those using mixed native grasses. We discuss Tilman’s work and its many potential benefits on page 95-96 of Earth: The Sequel. These include:

- increased storage of carbon in the soil
- improved soil structure
- water infiltration and fertility
- radically reduced need for energy inputs (tilling, seeding, fertilizing)
- avoidance of competition with food production
- reduced pollutant run-off
- enhanced biodiversity, with all its benefits

I also agree that corn ethanol is generally a bad idea, given its poor energy/carbon balance, land and water impacts, and effects on food price and availability.

For net energy analysis, I rely on the work by Alex Farrell and Daniel Sperling of the University of California. They have developed a low-carbon fuel standard by assessing the “global warming impact” (GWI) of each fuel, measured as grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule of fuel burned. The GWI for gasoline is 92, for corn ethanol 76, for Brazilian sugarcane-based ethanol 36, and for cellulosic ethanol just 4.

Amyris’ fuels, because they’re made from sugarcane, currently offer about the same net reductions in carbon emissions as sugarcane ethanol. However, by making pure hydrocarbons and avoiding the distilling process, their energy inputs are lower. Their long term goal is to have the sugar inputs originate in cellulosic materials, like those native prairie grasses.

“In return for the permit, Taurian Resources promised the Government of Niger that the company will green one million hectares of land”

Dung + grass = everything else for nomads. That includes fixing ground and air ( dust ) uranium.

Bacillus subtilis is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium commonly found in soil.[1] A member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis has the ability to form a tough, protective endospore, allowing the organism to tolerate extreme environmental conditions. Unlike several other well-known species, B. subtilis has historically been classified as an obligate aerobe, though recent research has demonstrated that this is not strictly correct.[2]
It has also been called Bacillus globigii, Hay bacillus or Grass bacillus.

“These results suggest that the bacteria have a higher affinity for U than the kaolinite clay mineral under the experimental conditions tested, and that they can immobilize significant amounts of uranium.”

Kaolinite has a high affinity for U and Grass Bacillus affinity is even higher.

Soil bacteria require real ( dung ) fertilizers and soil; the fakes won’t do.
U mine contamination can be managed with biosolids and grass applied at the pit and in the surrounding areas.

Biosolids.

Biosolids Methods

Big Water and Grass – Africa

Fertile soil uses much, much less water to grow much, much more crop.