Desert Development: Man and Technology in SparselandsYehuda Gradus Springer Science & Business Media, 6 בדצמ׳ 2012 - 340 עמודים The fact that approximately one-third of the world's land mass is arid desert may be congenial for the camel and the cactus, but not for people. Nevertheless, well over half a billion people, or 15% of the world's population live in arid desert areas. If the world's population were distributed evenly over the land surface, we would expect to find about 30% of the population inhabiting arid desert areas. Does the fact that 'only' 15% of the world's population live in an arid desert environment reflect the harshness of the environment? Or is it a testimony to the adaptability and ingenuity of mankind? Do we view the glass as half-full? Or half-empty? The contributors to Desert Development: Man and Technology in Sparselands adopt the position that the cup is half-full and, in fact, could be filled much more. Indeed, many arid desert zones do thrive with life, and given appropriate technological develop ment, such areas could support even greater popUlations. While the dire Malthusian prediction that rapid world population growth exceeds the carrying capacity of existent resource systems has gained popularity (typified by the 1972 Club of Rome book, Limits to Growth), there is a growing body of serious work which rejects such pessimistic 'depletion' models, in favor of models which are mildly optimistic. |
תוכן
3 | |
MICHAEL J WATTSSocial Theory Environmental Degradation | 33 |
YEHUDA GRADUS and ELIAHU STERN From Preconceived to Responsive | 40 |
BARUCH GIVONI and LISA ORLICK Planning for Comfort in Hot | 60 |
YAIR ETZIONDesert Architecture | 81 |
Environment | 105 |
MAYER Health Services in Sparsely Settled Areas | 128 |
SHABTAY DOVER and YITZHAK KHAYUTMAN High Technology | 150 |
HAIM TSOAR and YEHUDA zohar Desert Dune Sand and Its Potential | 184 |
CHARLES F HUTCHINSON Remote Sensing for Arid Zone Development | 218 |
STUART GABRIEL MOSHE JUSTMAN and AMNON LEVY The Development | 234 |
vii | 250 |
EITHAN HOCHMAN GIDEAN VITKON RICHARD E JUST and DAVID | 256 |
SHAUL KRAKOVER Development of Tourism Resort Areas in Arid | 271 |
JOEL SCHECHTERNew Frontiers in Desert Research | 287 |
About the Authors | 310 |
מהדורות אחרות - הצג הכל
מונחים וביטויים נפוצים
agricultural Arad Arava architecture arid and semi-arid arid areas arid lands arid zone attraction Bedouin Beer-Sheva Ben-Gurion University building central centres climate comfort cooling cost crops cultivation cultural Dead Sea density desert areas desert environment desertification Dimona drip irrigation ecological economic Eilat employment energy environmental especially evaporation example factors Geographical Givoni growth health services heat important improved increase industrial infrastructure Institute irrigation Israel Israeli Kiryat Gat major migration Mitzpe Ramon natural needs Negev development towns Netivot nomads Ofakim pastoral pattern planning plants potential problem production rainfall relatively remote sensing rural areas Sahel sand dunes Sderot sedentarization settlement social soil space sparselands sparsely populated areas spatial strategy surface Tel Aviv telecommunications temperature thermal thermal comfort tourism transportation units urban utilized vegetation wind Yehuda Gradus Yeruham Yotvata