Beetles and Reclaiming Land from the Desert

in life •  6 years ago 

I’ve been trying to take a good picture of these interesting little beetles that like to eat the blackberries this time of year. They move pretty slowly but don’t always hold still enough or are in the right place to get a good picture.

There is a lot of good macro photography of insects on Steemit and sometimes it feels like my efforts aren’t coming out as well a I would like. Grabbing a blackberry branch I cheat a little by holding the branch in one hand and turning it around so that I can get a better angle on the bug. It kind of works but the pictures turn out blurred a bit from my hands shaking. It is hard enough just holding the camera but when you factor in the wind and bug movement it can be difficult to get good results.

bugSide.jpg
A beetle on the blackberries, taken on 9/17/2018 – click for viewing full screen

I like bugs and beetles and all the wonderful green plants that grow in my backyard. It is a nice place to live and very different from the desert areas to the Southeast in the central part of the country.

I’ve always liked the desert areas too and like to go on vacation there for a change but the hot air always reminds me of how nice it is back home. So much of the planet now is getting hot and dry, most glaciers are receding and forests of trees are turning to grass land from being burning down by fires.

I saw a very interesting video about how efforts are have been made in China to reclaim land from the desert sand dunes and turn it into productive areas for agriculture. To me this is such a good idea. Good agricultural practices lock up carbon dioxide from the air and return it into food to feed people.

I hope that in my country we can do such things as well. Proper land management can help build a lasting abundance for everyone.

Solar panels in the Desert

If we put solar panels out in the desert areas we could use these panels to generate electricity to use in creating water. There is always some moisture in the air and systems could be made to provide shade and increased moisture in places just for growing plants and increasing habit for insects. Rainwater could be collected in cisterns and gradually used to water plants or other methods like collecting water from condensation on cooler surfaces might be used.

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A beetle upside down on the blackberries, taken on 9/17/2018 – click for viewing full screen

People would need to leave the panels alone and not steal them though. Many people might feel like it would be a waste of taxpayer money. If there were too much rainwater and evaporative water collection from the panels there might be a problem with too many insects. People might start spraying poisons all over the place in that case. I think we need to start talking about all these different things and really do some soul searching about what is most important for us in the world right now.

Reclaiming land from the desert might not lead to immediate profit and benefits but it very quickly could pay off by providing work for people once the soil gets to the point where commercial crops could be grown on it.

I think there are always solutions to any problem out there but sometimes we ignore the problems and don’t always go to our scientists to find solutions. Additionally, our politicians aren’t always up to the task of providing good guidance or even identifying the needs of the population imho.

"Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do." U.S. President Ronald Reagan

Well, okay something seems fundamentally off about the above statement, lol.

Some people can be great leaders and have many talents in different areas but be not so good in thinking critically and logically. We all have different ways of being and life experiences that can be wonderful contributions and things can change very quickly if they need to with everyones combined efforts and understanding.

The Space Beetle

I looked at Google Photos latest attempt at making my photos artistic looking. Wow, nice – that doesn’t even look like plant Earth, I thought to myself.

The upside down beetle clung to the withered odd colored fruit like some type of space creature.

bugDown.jpg
The space beetle by Google Photos, taken on 9/17/2018 – click for viewing full screen

Somehow I liked the picture. This fall everything looks like it is wasting away with the winter coming up and food becoming scarce. It is kind of the way of things. In the spring things will look differently and the blackberry flowers will come out feeding a host of hummingbirds and bees.

Our wonderful new technologies could be used to enhance the processes of nature or make things look much differently. I think it is up to us to find out how we want the future Earth to look.


Thanks for reading! I always value your support and comments. The pictures were taken by me with my Galaxy S9+.

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Solar technology to make use of the desert sunshine to reclaim it is a good way to rehabilitate and make an Oasis for both animals and humans.
But it needs a political will to do so @lightsplasher for it to get a reality. Maybe in the future when population grows and people just needs extra land to cultivate crops then they can use such solar panels to do a sustainable farming.

My hope is that the political will to do such things will happen as the economy changes. Solar power generation and extra land to cultivate crops would be nice for people to have. As more people see the importance of such things I think things will change.

Yes Sir @lightsplasher renewable energy source like solar power is getting affordable and will impact the lives of many people in many fronts of their lives.
I am also planning to go off-grid because electricity prices in my country is really terrible.

I'm lucky because the power here is really not too expensive and there is lots of hydroelectric power being generated. If I lived somewhere with more sunlight I would be very tempted to go off-grid with solar. The last time I looked into this batteries and panel costs were the big issue, but newer battery technologies were in the works and costs have been lowering.

I hope your country can get some less costly electricity from renewable sources. Sounds nice that your are planning to go off-grid with solar.

Yes Sir I really have a lot of plans despite my situation and some of it is just for my parents.
So that they would live comfortably after I have left. This world that is.

Wow excellent photography and valuable article .

Wow. What a picture all of this. Love all.your pictures are so crystal clear. Love Samsung s9+
Lighty please feel free visit ur brother

Thank you, I'm glad you liked the pictures.

Wonderful!
Very good job my friend.
I love your photography...

The photography that is very interesting to my friend @lightsplasher I really like, and this beetle from an attractive body size to the part of the color is quite unique, for me this is an amazing show from my friend @lightsplasher.

The patterns on the beetle were what attracted me to try to get some photos of it. It seems like it might be fun to copy the design of the patterns in other art work.

Your postigan is very interesting. I like your postigan. I will share your blog and I thank you because you can make a very interesting postigan. I will continue to share your blog with my blog. Hopefully your day will be fun tomorrow @lightsplasher

Thank your for sharing in your blog. I'm glad you found the post interesting.

Good post my love @lightsplasher

Awesome!

Wow amazing dear, perfect photoshot
It's mean you a perfect photographer

Posted using Partiko Android

Excellent photography dear brother.
I think ur a great photographer.
Hey if u feel free visit my account. Please

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