in some areas, creaeating ffloating mud mattresssses that attract passing tourists, a local problem becomes a national prproblem. in n the dry season, the light unprotected soil is swept up in the winds, causing the dust t storms that are blown over chinana's cities and beyond its bororders. on the plateau, the researchers realized that progressive degradation of the environment trapped the local population into a life of subsistence farming.g. it's a a process s that hasas od throughout t the world where poor agricultural communities find themselves overusing their land in order to survive, depleting its fertility and further imimpoverishing ththemselves. one thing that became apparent early on is the connection between damaged environonments and hum p poverty. in many pararts of the world, tthere's been a vicicious cycle. continuous use of the land has leded to subsistence agrriculture.. and generation byby generation, this has further degraded ththe soils. the vital question we have to ask is, can this destctive prococs be reversed? [indiststinct announcncements] 15 years ago, chinese an