The terraforming of Mars, however, is no trivial task that can be solved using either of these solutions. That’s because any effect would be short lived. Mars has no magnetic field to provide permanent protection for any changes we would create. The only way for humans to permanently alter the Martian environment would involve setting up operating plants capable of generating lots of greenhouse gas emissions continuously forever. Imagine putting 10,000 equivalents to coal-fired power plants here on Earth belching out CO2, aerosols, and other emissions on Mars and you get the idea. You wouldn’t ever want to turn them off because you would continuously need to replace what was lost to space.
A much more difficult technological strategy would be to ignite the inner core of Mars by placing thermonuclear bombs deep inside the planet to generate a Martian magnetic field. This too has been proposed as a terraforming scheme. But like the bombing of the Martian poles, blowing a bomb up inside Mars sounds too fantastic a scheme for even a Tony Stark let alone an Elon Musk.
Musk’s speculation got the scientific community talking. Michael Mann of the Earth System Science Center, Penn State University, told U.S. News, “There are so many things that could go wrong here it is difficult to know where to start.” He went on describing one scenario, a nuclear winter “wherein you generate so much dust and particles that they literally block out a significant portion of the incoming sunlight, cooling down the planet.”
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This week Israel and the World Bank announced a cooperative agreement to bring its drip irrigation and water conservation technology to Developing World markets. This latest success acknowledges Israel’s world leadership in drip irrigation and notably two home-grown companies, Netafim and NaanDanJain.
Drip irrigation is the answer to many of the problems farmers are facing in drought prone and freshwater scarce regions of the planet. With drip a farmer can water crops using a fraction of the water of conventional field “flood” irrigation, the most common practice today. Israel’s two leading drip irrigation companies are reaching out to countries in the Developing World and offering novel assistance such as “pay as you go” financing of installations.
Now Israel is formalizing a relationship with the World Bank’s Water Global Practice to spread the technology around the globe. The timing couldn’t be better. Today only 5% of the world’s farmers use drip irrigation. When you consider the numerous drought challenges the world faces brought about by changing climate it makes sense that freshwater conservation would be best facilitated by implementing a technology capable of delivering water precisely where it is needed and not anywhere else. Drip irrigation offers an added benefit, opening up marginal agricultural land for growing food crops. This should give Developing World farmers greater income helping them to lift their families out of poverty and their societies out of food shortages.
The program will have Israeli experts working with farmers across the Developing World on drip irrigation, desalination, water filtration and sanitation projects. Director for water at the World Bank, Jennifer Sara, states “Israel has had to manage water services while operating under extreme conditions of scarcity….it’s innovative practices are globally recognized — both from technological and institutional perspectives — and will undoubtedly carry lessons for many of the World Bank Group’s clients facing water-security challenges.”
The World Bank’s Water Global Practice today holds a portfolio of 181 projects worth $22 billion US. Most of these focus on freshwater supply and sanitation. Now the group can expand their investment in irrigation and agricultural water-resource management projects by bringing Israeli expertise to the global community.
