Chinese People Try To Prevent The Spread Of The Maowusu Desert

LINGWU, CHINA - JULY 22: Chinese workers rest as they sow the seeds in the hay grids to prevent the sand from floating with the wind at the edge of the expanding Maowusu Desert in Baijitan Conservation Area on July 22, 2014 near Lingwu, China. China has 2.64 million square kilometers of land eaten up by desertification, accounting for 27 percent of its land territory. Direct economic losses are estimated at 120 billion RMB yuan (US$ 19 billion) a year. (Photo by Hong Wu/Getty Images)