One time, I created an artificial pond by myself... and it gave me an idea (Belated Earth Day post) · 4:52pm Apr 28th, 2022

So, as the title of the post would suggest, there was a time when I did something that resulted in the formation of a new pond. One time when I was younger, we were on a camping trip in the Rocky Mountains (won't say the state), and the campground was right next to a wide creek. A little ways downstream, there was this large depression in the ground, with nothing but dry grass and a bunch of rocks, a short distance away from the creek and downhill.

An idea hatched in my head: what if that area was filled with water from the creek? So, once we got ourselves established in the campground, and we all had some free reign, I borrowed one of our survival shovels and dug a small channel that acted as an outlet from the creek into the small basin. Water began flowing in, where it was quickly absorbed by the dry ground. Figuring that was good enough, I went back to the campground, and fortunately, nobody saw what I did.

A few days later, when we were about to leave, I decided to take another look, seeing that the area was a bit boggy and muddy, but not quite what one would call a true pond. Water was still coming in from the creek, though, and nobody seemed to have tried to block the outlet flow.

So, fast forward a few years, we return to the same campground, and for the first day there, my mind is on other things, and on day two, I suddenly recall what I did the last time we visited, and go to take a look. Lo and behold, the basin was completely filled, and now had its own outflow channel on the downhill end. There was even a crude stick-bridge over the inflow I made, which was now much wider (possibly due to erosion), and even some people casting fishing lines into it. So, it took a while for me to process that this body of water only existed because of me.

Now... why exactly am I telling you about this? Because I feel that what I did is something the world should be considering as a means of fixing our world and controlling climate change. So it turns out, while I didn't know it at the time, diverting water into dry basins was not a new idea, and has been around since the Industrial Revolution. It's a process officially known as "interbasin transfer." By diverting water from regions where it is abundant to other regions where it is scarce, the ecosystem would benefit immensely, given that water is quite necessary for all life on earth. Take my small-scale project, for instance; the area was dry and lifeless before I intervened, and years later, it is green and filled with much more diverse flora. And before you ask, no, there was no infrastructure down that particular valley that was under the risk of being flooded, so I was lucky in that regard.

My point is, with more surface water available across the various continental watersheds, it will help the natural environment; greater evaporation means more precipitation, which will revitalize dry areas. More water will result in greater plant growth, particularly certain species that will aid in removing hydrocarbons from the atmosphere (some of which may require volunteer effort to plant in the wild, but only in areas where it is safe and feasible). This, in particular, could be the first steps in turning, say, the Sahara from a dusty waste into a habitable savanna, in particular the Lake Chad Restoration and Qattara Depression projects. I feel the US and Canada need to do away with the Great Lakes Compact, given both countries could really benefit from diverting some of that water to their dry regions, particularly the midwestern US.

Not to mention, something like this might provide various opportunities for cleaner energy, namely hydroelectric. This would serve to benefit developed, First World societies as a supplement, and help developing, Third World societies to catch up with their own tech capacity.

So, I implore all of you, in addition to seeking out cleaner energy sources, such as solar, wind, nuclear, etc., do your part for the environment directly, and give the planet more surface water (safely, of course, so that there is no vital infrastructure or fauna habitats that end up flooded). It's these kinds of steps we need to do to let our world heal and make life better for all species on earth.

And yeah... I know I'm a little late, given Earth Day is already past.