Comments on: Small harbours can become great cities. Great cities can be desertifed

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:04:47 +0000

We have a remarkable system in the UK for (1) subsidising sheep farmers who prevent the growth of trees in upland areas (2) subsidising foresters to plant conifers on hills which have been denuded by sheep farmers.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:08:13 +0000

You are right Tom much more attention needs to be given to the processes which lead to environmental degradation and climate disasters.[ http://www.wild-again.org/UKsite/Erosion-flooding-UK.html ]

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:14:15 +0000

Ruins have romantic charm in high degree and this is, I suppose, the most likely fate of the Gulf cities. English 'Grand Tourists' used to return home with chunks of Roman ruins so I guess the day will dawn when patinated gold taps will decorate the living rooms of Europe. See Wiki on Ghost Towns for a list of the deserted and abandonned cities in which Dubai can be expected to appear at some point in the not-too-distant future. If the pessimists are right about climate change and global warming then these phenomena will make substantial additions to the list of deserted cities. An OECD report on the cities most at risk from global warming gave the following Top Ten cities at risk: Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Bangkok, Rangoon, Miami, Hai Phong. But this list is only of cities at risk from coastal flooding. Desertification is another landscape problem which demands planning. "The greatest risk of desertification (7.6 out of 10 on a scale produced using various desertification indicators) is in the subtropical desert regions - North Africa, the countries of the Middle East, Australia, South West China and the western edge of South America". The UK is thought be one of the regions least at risk so the choices for the UK population may be (1) ring the coasts with guns to keep out climate change refugees (2) convert the British Isles into a single megacity, like Hong Kong but bigger. If this is to be done, I would like to support John Claudius Loudon's 1829 proposal for planning the long-term expansion of London 'until' it meets the seas. There is going to be a lot of work for landscape planners, landscape architects, garden designers and others who can help plan the 'new landscapes for our new lives' (in Nan Fairbrother's famous phrase).

By: christine

christine — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:04:13 +0000

One of my very favourite spaces for a while was an abandoned resort on an island where peacocks used to wander through the gardens, weaving dreamily between palm trees. I was a little disappointed when I eventually heard it was being redeveloped.

Perhaps they could begin Indiana Jones style adventure tourism tours to the Gulf City?

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:18:47 +0000

At present landfill sites are managed to (1) take up as little space as possible, so they crush the materials with heavy-duty sheepsfoot rollers (2) try to compost organic material to generate methane.
I would like to see rubbish dumps with archaeological layers of un-crushed waste – with water-proof layers above and below. Far more interesting than the occasional time capsules that are burried, they would have complete sets of detritus: foodstuffs, newspapers, books, toiletries, computers, iPods, cameras, clothing, medical equipment, furniture, EVERYTHING.
It would also make sense to treat a discarded Gulf City as an archaeological reserve. Lots of them will become available for this purpose when the oil runs out.

By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:35:57 +0000

Interesting idea…how would you go about that?

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:49:26 +0000

I would also like to see municipal dumps managed as future archaeological sites. So much has been learned from burials of humans and their refuse.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:06:47 +0000

It is amazing what a bit of planetary wobble can do to the climate!
[ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080815101317.htm ]