I read a fascinating article in the Miami Herald by Andres Oppenheimer about how all this talk about rebuilding Haiti is mistakenly solely focused on bricks and mortar. It certainly makes sense to me that a county with no natural resources is bound to be crippled by the effects. I was astounded to learn that Haitians have cut down nearly 99 percent of their trees. Without trees, their soil has lost its ability to retain water, crippling their agriculture; mud floods down the stripped bare mountains because there are no trees to impede the water flow, making hurricanes and heavy storms more disastrous than they really are. It is most interesting to read how the Dominican Republic, the neighboring country on the same little island of Hispaniola, dealt with that problem in the 1960s. To read the article, click here.
The border of Haiti (treeless) and the Dominican Republic. Photo courtesy of NASA.
thanks for sharing that article. that was really interesting to take in. if only something could be done.
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