Friday, 7 November 2014

River Deep, Mountain High?

The Chinese, and to a lesser extent the US have embarked on a series of civil engineering projects, the like of which the world has never seen before .... levelling mountains, using the rubble to fill up the valleys, and thus create new level land for building on.

The example below, shows what's happened to mountains in western Shiyan province, between the first picture taken in 2010, and second from 2013 ... with work still ongoing.

Western Shiyan Province Mountain Flattening

... but this is just one of many such developments in China.

Now putting aside all the obvious ecological concerns (water and air pollution, landslides, subsidence and environmental degradation ... all of which the Americans, if not the Chinese, believe that they will overcome if they happen), the sheer bravado of these ventures, especially in China, shows that while Europe subsides ever further in to a Health and Safety led quagmire, with a 100 'risk assessments' required for every development. The Chinese new world order, and to a less extent the old 'new' world of the USA, are unhindered in their civil engineering and development plans, and are forging ahead ... The sweep of human progress, if such it is, apparently continues without us ....

.... leaving the real 'old world' of Europe behind, like a sclerotic, retired old incontinent.
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6 comments:

  1. Vroomfondel8 November 2014 at 17:18

    That's amazing, and frightening! I already worry about the unchecked consumption of our very limited reserves of fuel and this story does nothing to belay that concern. When it's all burned in our cars, factories and power stations future generations will wonder why we didn't ensure a replacement power source and ration the old ones before it was all gone.
    Brian Cox commented recently that America spends 10 times more on pet grooming than they do on nuclear fusion research, the cleanest and most efficient form of power generation.
    Humanity is walking in the middle of a long tunnel with powerful torch and the battery won't last to the other end : it must find a solution before it runs out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No PC9 November 2014 at 12:37

      While I agree whole heartedly with you old man, altruism is not a natural human characteristic. Tony Blair didn't build the only proven 'green' fuel source (nuclear power) and put his faith in wind and tidal power. That was stupid and irresponsible at best ... as for 'Fusion'. Well its almost a post in itself, but all of my life 'fusion power' has been described as 'thirty years away', and its still described as 'thirty years away', more than 30 years later.

      I strongly suspect that fusion is a 'will o'the wisp' that will never materialise outside of very expensive laboratory conditions.

      Delete
    2. Vroomfondel9 November 2014 at 13:13

      Fusion is just an example, the point is that we should be rationing our available resources until a sustainable power source can replace them. Even before rationing, we should just be using the minimum for our needs; heating, electricity, manufacture, etc. I dispair when I see motor racing, cruise ships, leaf-blowers, etc.

      "If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world." -Claude Pepper, senator and representative (1900-1989)

      Delete
    3. No PC9 November 2014 at 17:23

      Well, while I still agree whole heartedly with you, I also repeat that altruism is not a natural human characteristic ... we won't stop breeding until we start suffering starvation. Similarly we wont stop using fossil fuels until they run out or are too expensive to acquire.

      Delete
    4. Vroomfondel10 November 2014 at 08:00

      Altruism doesn't come naturally but self preservation does and I hope against hope that that will translate into some starvation-avoiding preventative action.

      Delete
    5. No PC11 November 2014 at 22:17

      I doubt it, but we may live long enough to see ....

      Delete

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