Carl Hodges has a plan that may sound too good to be true.
He wants to grow millions of acres of plants in the middle of the desert using seawater — a plan that he says ultimately would lower rising sea levels, halt global warming and provide jobs for millions of people in developing countries.
It might sound like a pipe dream, but the Tucsonan's concept is very real. In fact, it's sprouting in Sonora, Mexico, right now.
Near Kino Bay, almost 600 acres of arid, coastal land have turned into lush, green fields using irrigated water from the Sea of Cortez.
Built by locals, a series of canals bring in water from the ocean, greening the desert land with crops of mangrove trees and salcornia.
Hodges, 72, says those crops are just the beginning — though others have doubts.
People are also reading…
He has devoted much of his life to promoting the potential of the crops, but his vision has yet to become a full-fledged reality, as he works to convince the rest of the world of seawater farming's potential.
"Either I'm slow, or world is stupid. I haven't figured out which," he said half-jokingly in a recent interview.
He envisions salt-tolerant crops growing along coasts around the world, solving environmental and socioeconomic problems in the process.
"When people first hear of seawater agriculture, it doesn't make sense. Their first response is, 'How do you desalt the water?' " said Howard Weiss, who has worked with Hodges for 30 years.
But the process doesn't involve desalination, he said.
"It's salt water. Water out of the ocean. And it's using desert land not used for anything else."
It's the work of the Arizona-based Seawater Foundation, started by Hodges in 1977 as a spinoff of the University of Arizona's Environmental Research Laboratory, also founded by Hodges a decade earlier.
"It's a triangle of opportunity. We're going to produce power with biofuels. We're going to produce food with biology and seawater irrigation. In the process we make more fresh water available," Hodges said confidently.
Although he has been actively working on the project for 30 years, the idea goes back much further, to 1955, when he was a freshman at the UA and took an atmospheric science class.
There, he learned how increasing populations affect the environment. So he decided to dedicate his life to conserving the planet and began a career in environmental research.
The seawater crops Hodges would like to see covering coasts around the world work just like most other plants do — taking carbon out of the atmosphere and putting oxygen in.
But their benefits don't stop there, Hodges said.
The crops can be used to produce biodiesel, offering an alternative to oil-based fuels.
But not everyone is on board.
"In theory, it all sounds good until you get down to the nuts and bolts," said Carolyn Keiffer, an associate professor at Miami University's (Ohio) Department of Botany, who earned much of her Ph.D. working with and studying salt-tolerant plants.
"Most salt-tolerant plants are small in size. On a good day salcornia will grow 12 to 18 inches tall. It would take an awful lot of crops and space for little fuel," she said.
Keiffer said that although coastal deserts may not be used for agriculture, there are still native plants and ecosystems that need to be considered before the areas are taken over by crops.
"It would limit biodiversity," she said.
But as demand for alternative fuel grows, Hodges said he thinks his vision may get the support it needs to take root.
"The only way it's going to work is if it's done by business and it makes a lot of money. The more money, the faster it grows," said Hodges, who travels to Mexico frequently for meetings with potential investors.
Ultimately, he envisions nearly 62 million acres of crops — the size of the Michigan — along coasts within 10 years.
This, he said, would create 100 million jobs in the developing world and help bring the atmosphere to a healthy balance.
Although it sounds like a tall order,, Hodges' vision has caught the attention of some big names including Martin Sheen, the late Marlon Brando, Al Gore and former Mexican President Vicente Fox.
"It definitely helps," Hodges said, but added that he's not taken by celebrities.
And why should he be? He's becoming one himself.
Hodges and his foundation have been featured in media outlets including Vanity Fair and CNN International.
Despite the attention, his crops have yet to sprout on a commercial scale. Still, he's optimistic.
Quoting Winston Churchill, Hodges said that you can always rely on Americans to do the right thing after they have exhausted every other possibility.
"I think we're now at takeoff," he said.
More Specifics
Carl Hodges wants to plant crops on nearly 62 million acres along coasts within the next decade.
That would be about equal to the size of Michigan.
Hodges said seawater farming on that scale would require more than 240 cubic miles of seawater yearly for irrigation.
That's more than double the amount of water in Lake Erie.
It's estimated that the oceans are rising about 48 cubic miles per year.
"We hope to catch up," Hodges said.
