This is slightly off my usual set of topics, but I do remember when I first got to China in the late 90s that many folks were quite worried about the encroaching desert. Every time we had a sandstorm in Beijing, the discussions would ensue, with a lot of people bemoaning the possibility that some day the city would be consumed by the desert. Didn't that happen in Raiders of the Lost Ark?
If we can believe the State Forestry Administration, progress has been made on this problem, which would be welcome news.
China's desert area is shrinking as a result of years of forest restoration efforts, but it still accounts for more than a quarter of the country's territory, the government said Tuesday.
Desertified area decreases by 1,283 square kilometres (510 square miles) a year now, compared with an annual expansion of 3,436 square kilometres in the late 1990s, said Zhu Lieke, vice minister of the State Forestry Administration.
The government is investing two billion dollars a year in key projects to build a green belt in the north and convert some farmland to forests as part of efforts to stem the growth of the desert.
By the way, the weather in Beijing today is, for the fourth straight day I think, clear with blue skies. Damn creepy.