BEIJING - Western sections of the Great Wall of China are being reduced to "mounds of dirt" by sandstorms and may disappear entirely in 20 years, a report said Wednesday.

The reasons for the deterioration are entirely manmade, the official Xinhua News Agency said, pointing to destructive farming methods in the 1950s that desertified areas of northern China, causing sandstorms.

"Frequent storms not only eroded the mud, but also cracked the wall and caused it to collapse or break down," Xinhua quoted archaeologist Zhou Shengrui as saying.

One of the most threatened sections of the wall runs through Minqin county in Gansu province along the ancient Silk Road trade route. Unlike the better-known stone and brick sections around Beijing, the wall in Gansu is made of less-resilient packed earth that easily erodes.

"Similar erosion happened to the Great Wall in other places, but the situation is much worse here," Zhou was quoted as saying.

More than 25 miles of wall in Minqin have disappeared in the past 20 years, Xinhua said.

Lookout towers have vanished and the wall's height has been worn down from 16 feet to less than seven feet, it said.

Tourism, neglect and sometimes willful destruction by developers have also taken their toll on the wall, designed to defend against foreign invaders. The earliest sections date back more than 20 centuries and its total length has been estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 miles.

Xinhua said Minqin conservationists hoped to protect the remaining sections in their county from wind and sandstorms by covering them with dirt. Eventually, they hope to replant enough vegetation to prevent future sandstorms, it said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20492488

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards told a labor group Tuesday that he would ask Americans to make a big sacrifice: their sport utility vehicles.

“I think Americans are actually willing to sacrifice,” Edwards said during a forum held by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. “One of the things they should be asked to do is drive more fuel efficient vehicles.”

The former North Carolina senator was asked specifically if he would tell them to give up their SUVS, he said, “Yes.”

Longshot candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio also spoke to the group and said he had a Machinists union flag hanging outside his congressional office and that he is a strong supporter of workers.

Standing ovations
Edwards was clearly popular with the group, several times drawing standing ovations, including once when he said weapons and equipment used by America’s military needs to be made in the United States. He said now tanks and ammunition for M16 rifles are being made in other countries.

“If your tax dollars are being used to produce the products that keep America safe, that provide defense for the American people, those jobs should remain in the United States of America,” Edwards said.

He also said as president he would ask residents to conserve energy and said the nation needs to focus on being a leader in creating alternative energy. He said he wants a national cap on carbon dioxide emissions that is lowered each year.

“We are the worst polluter on the planet. We are 4 percent of the world’s population, we’re putting out 25 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas,” Edwards said. “America’s going to have to change.”

Edwards was asked during his appearance how he explained the contradiction of asking Americans to sacrifice while he’s living in a 28,000-square-foot mansion.

‘I have no apologies’
He said he came from nothing, worked hard all his life, has always supported workers and fought big corporations as a lawyer.

“I have no apologies whatsoever for what I’ve done with my life,” he said to loud cheers. “My entire life has been about the same cause, which is making sure wherever you come from, whatever your family is, whatever the color of your skin, you get a real chance to do something great in this country.”

Kucinich was also well received at the convention, and played up his reputation for being against the Washington establishment.

The machinists conference was held at a Walt Disney World convention center, and he told the crowd, “I come from a place you can call Disney World on the Potomac.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20487065