Today, the Mediterranean region is one of the best places in the world to live, with an amazing climate, developed economies, and some of the best beaches on Earth — but it wasn’t always like this.

Roughly six million years ago, shifting tectonic plates closed the Strait of Gibraltar — a narrow body of water connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean — turning the area into a desertic wasteland. About 700,000 years later, the strait burst open again, and a brutal megaflood filled the Mediterranean in a matter of months. 

Without that event, we wouldn’t have a Mediterranean Sea — and potentially no Roman Empire, no early European development, no Age of Discovery, no Industrial Revolution, and no United States. The world would be dramatically different.

There are several locations around the world that, with our current technology, we could perform a similar flooding. This could turn drought stricken areas into farming oasis's, tourist destinations, and bring life to areas it is current devoid of it. Some of the potential sites mentioned are:

• The Caspian Sea
• The Dead Sea
• The Salton Sea
• Several lakes around the United States, including the Great Salt Lake
• And more…

But one big question is, should we? For centuries, humans saw nature as what it was to them: brutal, cruel, something to conquer to eliminate pain. But when we did, we overplayed our power, leading to the destruction of nature. Now, the pendulum has swayed in the opposite direction: We fear touching anything. 

Of course we should be thoughtful with megaprojects. We should weigh the pros and cons and try to mitigate the cons. But that shouldn’t freeze us into inaction. 

What do you think? Do the pros of filling in some of these areas outweigh the cons?