The formation reminds me of sand dunes, but they seem much more rigid. Anyone have any idea how they're formed?
I was doing a bit of research into the history of China when I came across an interesting figure which I tracked back to a piece written by Walter H. Mallory of the 1926 International Famine Relief commission. It states that, "[b]etween the years 108 B.C. and 1911 A.D. there were 1828 famines." (Link to Piece)
This number is striking to me, because when comparing this number to an article published in WIREs on famine in Europe, they only list "17 large-scale famines identified for Europe" (Link to Piece)
Its important to note that the WIREs timeframe only appears to go back to the mid 14th century, and the apparent criterion used to classify a famine as being "large scale" is likely far more strict than that used to classify famines in the 1926 IFRC's report, but nevertheless this difference in number is startling.
Why was China so much more famine prone than Europe when the region is home to some of the most fertile soil in the world?
To give some context on this inquiry, I come from a region of the midwest whose economy was heavily reliant on the discovery of a sizable oil field. The new jobs in the region spurred development, and at one point in time my hometown had a bustling commercial center with a decent tram based public transit system and a plethora of readily available community amenities. After about 30-40 years of flourishing economic development, a good chunk of the oil deposits had been tapped out, and the prosperity of the town began to suffer. Over the next few decades this trend would continue until the death blow came. The section of highway the town is situated on got bypassed, driving most passing commercial traffic away.
As you all can probably tell, this is a subject that is close to my heart, and ever since my famly and I left for greener pastures the question of what could have gone differently lingers on my mind. If anyone has any good examples of towns in a similar situation that managed to make the transition to a sustainable economy I would love to hear it.
At around 11:00 5/12/26 I was doing a bit of stargazing and happened to see a meteor burn up just to our north, curious if I was the only one to see it!