
Ask HN: I want to work on combatting desertification – What's out there? - Yawanoc
Hi HN! I&#x27;m a long time reader, but only now have I felt the courage to post.<p>A few months ago YC posted a request for startups working on Carbon Removal Technology. One of those requested was &#x27;Desert Flooding&#x27; aimed at fighting ongoing desertification [1]. I&#x27;ve been keeping up with all the news related to that post and searching for startups working on anything close to desertification, but I&#x27;m at a loss at finding anything. As a recently graduated undergraduate, I really want to dive headfirst into this issue but have only been able to quench my thirst (haha) through the reading of papers.<p>Does HN know of any projects or startups that might be working at applying to YC in the future for this sort of tech?<p>Any leads would be very appreciated!<p>[1]:http:&#x2F;&#x2F;carbon.ycombinator.com
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Eoan
The unhelpful comment: unwanted environmental effects have been going on for a
long time, starting (possibly) with the Sahara Desert. People generally don't
effectively combat problems unless they affect them personally in a scary way.

Examples: we combatted the 'hole in the ozone' problem, but probably only
because skin cancer is scary. We sort of made hunting whales illegal, but some
countries still do it. Despite efforts to protect western black rhinos
starting in the 1930's, they still went extinct:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_black_rhinoceros#Popul...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_black_rhinoceros#Population_and_decline)

So rather than joining a company which is trying to 'hold back the tide'
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Canute_and_the_tide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Canute_and_the_tide)),
so to speak, you should try to get people to use a change that would lead to
society actually fixing problems effectively:
[https://i.imgur.com/ia2s7AM.png](https://i.imgur.com/ia2s7AM.png)

