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  • Book
  • © 1985

Desert Development

Man and Technology in Sparselands

Editors:

  1. Yehuda Gradus

    1. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

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Part of the book series: GeoJournal Library (GEJL, volume 4)

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Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
    PDF

  3. The Built Environment

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 39-39
      PDF

    3. Planning for Comfort in Hot Dry Climatic Regions

      • Baruch Givoni, Lisa Orlick
      Pages 60-80

  4. Provision of Services in Sparselands

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 39-39
      PDF

    3. Health Services in Sparsely Settled Areas

      • Jonathan D. Mayer
      Pages 118-131

  5. High Technology in Desert Areas

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 165-165
      PDF

    2. Desert Agriculture — Past and Future

      • Amos Richmond
      Pages 167-183

    4. Remote Sensing for Arid Zone Developing

      • Charles F. Hutchinson
      Pages 201-217

  6. Economic Potential and Development

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 233-233
      PDF
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About this book

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.
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Keywords

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Editors and Affiliations

  • Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    Yehuda Gradus

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Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Desert Development

  • Book Subtitle: Man and Technology in Sparselands

  • Editors: Yehuda Gradus

  • Series Title: GeoJournal Library

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5396-3

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature B.V. 1985

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-90-277-2043-6Due: 31 October 1985

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-94-010-8882-4Published: 21 January 2012

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-009-5396-3Published: 06 December 2012

  • Series ISSN: 0924-5499

  • Series E-ISSN: 2215-0072

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: 340

  • Topics: Geography, general

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Buy it now

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

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