Percival Lowell, Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Aetherius Society were able to come up with all sorts of reasons why the non-existent Martian canals should exist. I suggest that we build similar canals here.
Find level ground between large bodies of water such as the Great Lakes, the Caspian and Black Seas, Lake Victoria and the oceans, then dig diagonal (e.g. NW to SE) canals between them pointing in the appropriate direction, around a kilometre wide. Grow strips of crops next to them for maybe forty or so kilometres either side and allow salt or fresh water to move along them, powered partly by the Coriolis Effect. Use the salt in the water as a source of mineral resources, the water for arid areas and give them their own ecosystem to provide sea food far from the sea. Put turbines in them to provide power - Coriolis Effect again. Use them as a means of transport. Desalinate the water completely when it reaches the lakes.
Build them big enough to be seen through a telescope from Mars.-- nineteenthly, Dec 28 2010 Coriolis Lake Power Coriolis_20Lake_20PowerSpinney thing make lights work [marklar, Dec 29 2010] Coriolis-effect power generation sounds pretty interesting.
(stuff edited out)-- FlyingToaster, Dec 28 2010 Thanks, nice of you. It wasn't just the Great Lakes i had in mind. Victoria would in particular seem to have useful properties due to its location.-- nineteenthly, Dec 28 2010 // sounds pretty interesting //
Yes, particularly in the way it will slow your planet's rotation, change axial precession, affect the biosphere, render your existing clock and calendar systems useless, and more than likely bring about the unexpected extinction of life on your planet.
Go on, do it, you know you want to.-- 8th of 7, Dec 28 2010 Well, then it would resemble Mars more closely, so that'd be great.-- nineteenthly, Dec 28 2010 //Coriolis-effect power generation sounds pretty interesting.//
Indeed it does [link]. See annotations for how much energy it takes to get 25-hour days.-- marklar, Dec 29 2010 We've already copied the pyramids at Cydonia.... may as well copy the canals too.-- xenzag, Dec 29 2010 random, halfbakery