Workers build reticular barriers along sand dunes in the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia. China Daily Lou Zhiping is working on a project to combat desertification in northwestern China, thousands of miles from his hometown in Shengzhou, Zhejiang province. The 72-year-old has invented a long reticular barrier fixed vertically along the top of a dune. The barrier is a screen made of two layers of mesh fastened by iron threads and supported by a wooden bracket. When the wind blows, sand sifts through the mesh and settles between the two layers, transforming the screen into sandbags that prevent the whole barrier from falling down and being removed by wind or sand. The development of the barrier has involved 12 years of research into desertification control in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Qinghai province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, areas severely affected by land degradation. I hope to provide a new way of combating desertification worldwide, reducing the cost of desertification control and gradually solving this serious environmental issue, Lou said. Once a farmer in his hometown, Lou is a proven inventor. Before he shifted his interest to desertification control, he spent 15 years focusing on gardening and landscaping. One of his previous inventions involved growing plants on vertical walls. In 2003, his involvement in landscaping and interest in ecological restoration inspired him to visit a desert in Inner Mongolia. I was shocked by the desert, a barren area where little precipitation occurred, in Dengkou county, he said. All of the pear trees, which were more than 10 meters tall, were buried under the sand. Few treetops could be seen in the dunes. Recalling the experience as thrilling and devastating, Lou has since devoted his time to developing simple and quick techniques to stop the moving dunes. He became a frequent traveler to the deserts in northwestern China in the years after his initial visit. Few, including his family, knew of his intentions. During his desert trips, he was asked the purpose of his visits. His answer was met with doubt and ridicule. wristband makeruv bracelethen party wristbands24hr wristbandrubber bracelets custom cheap
SEOUL - The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea was expected to be delayed as President Moon Jae-in ordered a legitimate environmental evaluation over the US missile shield installation. An unnamed South Korean Defense Ministry official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying Wednesday that though the massive assessment of an environmental effect would be conducted, the expected evaluation period of a year or so would be shortened significantly. Yonhap reported that the comments indicated the completion of the evaluation by the end of this year. However, the official said the assessment would require the hearings for residents living near the THAAD installation site, which would take several months. President Moon on Monday ordered a probe into who tried to avoid the "green audit" of the THAAD deployment site, or a golf course at Soseong-ri village in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province. South Koreans had held candlelit rallies to protest against THAAD since the deployment decision was made last July. Moon instructed officials to carry out the legitimate assessment of environmental effect, saying priority should be placed on the procedural legitimacy for the THAAD deployment. According to the presidential Blue House, its preliminary investigation results showed the Defense Ministry offered 328,799 square meters of the golf course to the US Forces Korea (USFK) in the first stage of land provision. The total land of the golf course is about 700,000 square meters. The remaining land was scheduled to be given to the USFK in the second stage after completing the green audit. It was aimed at avoiding the massive environmental evaluation. By domestic law, the provision of less than 330,000 square meters does not require the massive green audit, shortening the assessment period.
