Human anti-drought weapons are here

Cactus, a species that often lives in arid deserts, may be the solution to the prolonged drought in California, USA.

New solution to prevent drought

California is suffering the worst drought in history, when there have been few raindrops in the state for three years. According to information from the government, 2014 was one of the three worst years in the past 119 years, also the hottest year in history.

Therefore, the urgent need for California is to find a solution to store water as soon as possible. Local authorities are trying to reduce the state of evaporation, even using the sea to fight drought. And the recently proposed idea is thanks to the support of the oldest water-holding plant - the cactus.

Grassroots Cactivism idea model.

This idea is called "Grassroots Cactivism" , winning the first prize in a search for California anti-drought solution organized by Archinect. However, this idea is in the "theoretical" category of the competition, so it will take a long time to apply the cactus to the fight against drought. When put into practice, cacti will take on two main functions: water treatment and animal feed.

According to statistics, up to 80% of California state water is currently used for agricultural activities. Because of this reason, the most effective solution to fight drought is to minimize the amount of water that farmers use, through the cultivation of cacti. Part of the cacti field can be sold to markets, supermarkets and restaurants, another part is used as a natural water purifier , and the rest can be used as animal feed. This is a versatile field model that consumes relatively little water.

Cactus - "Savior" against drought.

"At the cactus farms, we intend to use natural solutions to solve the problem of wastewater treatment, as well as reduce the amount of agricultural water when cultivating living plants without consuming much. water " , designer Ali Chen, who proposed this idea, presented in the report. "This is a plant that is well tolerated and grows in every part of California. However, the most ideal location for cacti farms is near cisterns to facilitate water treatment. dirty ".

In fact, we have used cactus for many different purposes - Mexicans often pour cactus broths into polluted rivers to filter water, or use cacti pulp to clean up the oil slicks. . And while still on paper, "Grassroots Cactivism" is not a difficult idea to implement. What this project needs is enthusiastic organizations and individuals that can help turn cacti into an effective "weapon" against drought in California.