From “BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | African sands ‘set for upheaval’”
“The investigation, reported in the journal Nature, warns that large areas of currently productive land could become engulfed by shifting sands.”
So many areas of the planet have become deserts. The middle east was forested. The Gobi desert is spreading. The Saharah has grown in recorded history. Deforestation, and now global warming, is a widespread foundation. The dust bowl in the midwest is another example, but let us not forget that the oceans are becoming wastelands as well, with the death of entire underwater regions.
Potable water is set to be a much fought over resourse. I recall that this was one conclusion of some strategic planning out of the Pentagon not too long ago. Further, water rights are a big part of the battles in Oregon and between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Some time ago, I printed out an article that pointed out something that I recalled seeing before. Many of the civilizations that have failed through history, have failed because of environmental collapse.