ladymetroland:

savedforslaughter:

Folks, deserts are not “empty” or “lifeless” they are often teeming with beautiful and incredible life adapted to conditions of extreme dryness. The widespread idea that deserts are lifeless or that the wildlife there isn’t important is something that businesses of all types (mining companies, housing developers— especially true here in AZ— and even commercial farmers) take advantage of this in order to continue exploiting desert habitats.

I don’t know if this is true for America, but in Australia this is absolutely also tied to the repeated disenfranchisement of aboriginal people. Example: when we’re taught about the Maralinga nuclear tests the area is described as barren and devoid of life. It was not. There had been a mission there, and there was still a large aboriginal community living in the area, but playing on the idea that everything inland of Mount Gambier is a barren wasteland made it easier to pretend that, if it hadn’t been for two men giving the people living there about an hour’s notice, this country would have vapourised an entire community of people.

Everyone knows nothing can live in the desert, ergo the large groups of people who still live there can’t exist. So we can sell it for mining rights and none of the white people living on the coast will even hear about it.