I got a notice of a lecture today that I thought others might find interesting. It's given at the DBG and co-sponsored by ASU - the topic is Greening the Desert: Israel's Strategy to Combat Desertification Speaker:Alon Tal, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben Gurion University of the Negev

7 p.m. : Desert Botanical Garden : 1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix

this event is made possible through a special grant from MASA

(copied from ASU's site)

Here's the blurb - I wish I could give you a link, but it was sent via e-mail as a .pdf

"Desertification - or land degradation in drylands- has been characterized as the global environmental problem which causes more human misery and damage than any other issue. Yet, the world has been largely unsuccessful in addressing this scourge and it continues to be manifested in lowered soil fertility, poverty famine, lost biodiversity and migration. Since its inception Israel has had a policy of aggressive land reclamation and development in its arid regions. A combination of water management and farming, afforestation and special desert livelihoods has produced results. While in its exuberance to "make the desert bloom" many mistakes were made, the Israeli experience in combating desertification has been unique and has showed that trends need not be destiny."