Green Energy “Oasis” to Bloom in Desert

A recent National Geographic article discusses renewable-energy research centers scheduled to be built in 2010. Selected sites will be located in Australia, Africa, the United States and Middle East. These centers, collectively known as the Sahara Forest Project (Sahara an Arabic term for desert), will be a proving ground for new technologies designed to bring green living to the deserts.

An example is the use of specially designed greenhouses to collect hot desert air and seawater to make fresh water for growing crops, solar panels to generate power, and lab grown algae pools for renewable and easily transportable fuel supplies (the algae’s fatty oils can be used as energy-rich biofuel )

According to Frederick Hauge, founder and president of the Norwegian environmental nonprofit the Bellona Foundation: “The Sahara Forest Project is a holistic approach for creation of local jobs, food, water, and energy, utilizing relatively simple solutions mimicking design and principles from nature."

For more information go to:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100122-green-desert-oasis-sahara-forest/

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