Deserts. Global Environments

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Description

Global warming is bad news - unless, of course, you're accustomed to life in the desert. Arid environments, which already cover one third of the Earth's land mass, are growing at an alarming rate, which means that they could conceivably become the new normal. In the next few decades, up to 35 percent of the world's terrain faces desertification with the lives and livelihoods of millions, if not billions, in jeopardy. Examining the dramatic changes in store for our planet, this program looks at what the global community should be doing to prepare, what actions are currently being taken, and how cultures which have thrived for centuries in extremely dry locations are passing on a range of skills and traditions designed to help cope with the "arid" life. Can this undervalued knowledge enable the rest of us to survive?