Could Agriculture Bloom in the Desert? Qatar Works to Invent an Innovative Oasis (June 11, 2013)
Synopsis
Thanks to Qatar's harsh desert environment and growing population, researchers have embraced the tiny country as a laboratory to address global concerns. As part of the NewsHour's series "Food for 9 Billion," special correspondent Jon Miller reports on their inventive efforts to ensure water and food security for the future.
Source: PBS NewsHour
Length: 8:39
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Watch the video and answer the following questions:
Qatar (pronounced Cutter) is a small Middle Eastern nation.
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Qatar currently processes saltwater from the sea into potable freshwater, but this comes at very high costs in terms of energy and money.
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The nation of Qatar has very a limited amount of
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With a quickly growing population, Qatar faces which of the following challenges related to food production?
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Watch the video and answer the following questions:
Chapter 14 of your text discusses storages of groundwater, and the underground regions of permeable soil or porous rock saturated with water, caller aquifers, which we often tap into to extract freshwater. Water from Qatar’s aquifers has been withdrawn at a much higher rate than it is being replaced. Based on your understanding of “sustainable development”, is the growth of the nation of Qatar sustainable?
The population of Qatar is growing quickly. Is the lack of available freshwater evidence that the population of Qatar is already above carrying capacity or below it (recall the concept of carry capacity described in Chapter 1)? Can an environment’s carrying capacity vary over time? If so, what factors may play a role in increasing the carrying capacity of an environment? What factors may drive the carrying capacity downward?
Qatar has the highest per capita income in the world, largely a result of their fossil fuel resources. However, these resources will not last indefinitely, and the video points to ongoing research investigating the potential of solar energy replacing their reliance on fossil fuels. Why is Qatar currently in an excellent position to investigate an increased use of solar energy? Based on benefits of solar power as discussed in chapter 23, list 3 ways that solar energy can help solve problems of sustainability in Qatar.
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