To fight desertification and the expansion of the Sahel, I suggest the radical harvesting of the Typha infestations in Lake Chad and in the rivers that should feed it and drain it. Typha, and all the other aquatic weeds that plague you, is a powerful dessicating factor, removing both the visible water and the ground water. It can be readily brewed into ethanol. Some of it, perhaps most, is fit for human consumption. Typha can be made into food in many ways if uncontaminated. With the vampire gone, and KEPT gone, Lake Chad (and its associated ground water) will recover with even poor rains, and will soon become again a barrier to the desert to the North of it. The ongoing effort to keep the lake and rivers clean can be sustained profitably by exploiting the plant as a crop in restricted areas. This is the sane man's ethanol plant. It costs nothing to grow, can grow on land that is other wise useless, and drastically outproduces its competition. Grown in clean conditions, it is one of the most productive food plants in the world.