Tell that to the desert-dwelling species that rely on that habitat for survival. Deserts aren't empty wastelands that are valueless without human development.

Maybe I saw too many Disney movies as a kid, but it took me a very long time to consider, “There’s absolutely nothing inherently good or right about what would have happened in the absence of people.”

It makes those kinds of situations much harder to evaluate than the more simplistic worldview, but I think it’s more honest.

It’s not taking back historical desserts but rather reclaiming more recent desertification or simply stopping the advance of desertification.