What I learnt about the Australian bushfires living on the edge of the Sahara Desert

From 1981 to 1999 my family and I lived in Niger Republic, a borderland of the Sahara Desert. 

Tony Rinaudo prunes a thorny acacia tree, which helps
transform useless-looking "desert bushes" into potential trees.

I was in charge of a small reforestation project. The hard-earned lessons acquired during that period serve me to this day.

When I arrived in 1981, I was confronted by an environment on the cusp of ecological collapse and barely able to support life. 

The country was in undeclared crisis. In 1984, Niger faced famine. 

Severe drought and crop failure the previous year precipitated this crisis. 

Deforestation and land degradation over previous decades significantly exacerbated the impact. 

Read the ABC News story by Tony Rinaudo - “What I learnt about the Australian bushfires living on the edge of the Sahara Desert."

World's largest solar plant in Sahara Desert switched on

Yesterday, Morocco switched on the first section of its new Ouarzazate solar power plant. The new installation already creates 160 megawatts of power and is expected to grow to cover 6,000 acres by 2018—making it the largest in the world.

The first wave of power production is known as Noor 1. Situated in the Sahara Desert, its crescent-shaped solar mirrors follow the sun to soak up sunlight all day long. The mirrors, each of which is 40 feet tall, focus light onto a steel pipeline that carries a synthetic thermal oil solution. The oil in those pipes can reach 740℉, and that’s what’s used to create electricity: The heat is used to create steam which drives turbines. The hot oil can be stored to create energy overnight, too.

Read the story by Jamie Condliffe on GIZMODO - “Morocco Switches on First Phase of the World's Largest Solar Plant.”