Greening the desert [Sustainability Desert Farming]

Fascinated by light and plant growth, Charlie Paton turned the conventional greenhouse concept on its head and developed what is now widely known as the `seawater greenhouse'. Put simply, instead of trapping heat, the seawater greenhouse acts as a cool house for growing crops while producing fresh water for irrigation. Ideally sited on flat, arid land close to the sea, seawater is pumped to the greenhouse and piped over honeycomb cardboard pads that provide a large surface area for evaporative cooling. Paton reckons a seawater greenhouse can cool the air by up to 15°C and raise humidity up to 90 per cent, providing the necessary conditions to grow food in the most inhospitable of climates. And 20 years on, his concept is being applied around the world.