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**inownsuipsy** · 06-13-2011, 04:59 PM

If you can terraform a bit of desert:

1. There's still not going to be a lot of water, you'd think that many other less water intensive crops would be a good choice, even if you are fully efficient and never lose any water it's a lot of water to be tied up in a field.
2. There's technology around or being designed to fully automate rice production. If you have the technology to terraform a desert you'd be able to automate so much you'd only need a couple of people to run it probably.
3. If you did need bulk labour I can't see how making and training clones could be cheaper than either automation or shipping in ready made peasants with the skills you need.

With a hydroponics system you have very little wastage of water and can recover most of it so it would be perfect for farming in desert regions. I also recall a French experiment around 2000 or so where they tried to use architecture to create buildings that helped generate their own water. Basically they tried to capture the fog and condensation which happens in coastal desert regions so that the water droplets condense on the building but then drain into cisterns so that you could get cheap energy free water even in the driest deserts. The buildings would also be cheap to build using mostly materials found in the region so native people's could afford to construct them while solar or wind power would provide electricity (but unfortunately doubled the cost of construction). Even sewage could be recycled via different hydroponic systems and protein could be produced via carp living in the hydroponic water or, less efficiently, live stock which require little water like chickens or goats.

06-13-2011, 04:59 PM	#15
inownsuipsy Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 414 Senior Member	If you can terraform a bit of desert: 1. There's still not going to be a lot of water, you'd think that many other less water intensive crops would be a good choice, even if you are fully efficient and never lose any water it's a lot of water to be tied up in a field. 2. There's technology around or being designed to fully automate rice production. If you have the technology to terraform a desert you'd be able to automate so much you'd only need a couple of people to run it probably. 3. If you did need bulk labour I can't see how making and training clones could be cheaper than either automation or shipping in ready made peasants with the skills you need. With a hydroponics system you have very little wastage of water and can recover most of it so it would be perfect for farming in desert regions. I also recall a French experiment around 2000 or so where they tried to use architecture to create buildings that helped generate their own water. Basically they tried to capture the fog and condensation which happens in coastal desert regions so that the water droplets condense on the building but then drain into cisterns so that you could get cheap energy free water even in the driest deserts. The buildings would also be cheap to build using mostly materials found in the region so native people's could afford to construct them while solar or wind power would provide electricity (but unfortunately doubled the cost of construction). Even sewage could be recycled via different hydroponic systems and protein could be produced via carp living in the hydroponic water or, less efficiently, live stock which require little water like chickens or goats.
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