h a l f b a k e r yWhy not imagine it in a way that works?
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If the ozone is supposed to be depleting, why don't we start building structures that are stable underwater. I see Large skyscrapers that seem to be a regular nice structured building from the ground up. But, once there's diaster (flood, hurricanes, sudden icecap breakage) there's a safe haven to seek
shelter. It may be able to withstand high pressures. Also, it has to be assesible to other buildings nearby (As if a connected hallway passage or a network of streets) ...etc. - what ever it takes. I'm an engineer, I've though about the specifics. If we start now then by the time something disasterous happens - at least our children won't be rushing to build arcs and running to mountain tops. I have a dream - and when I wake up, I'll make plans.
Milutin Milankovitch
http://earthobserva...iants/Milankovitch/
Famous Serbian scientist on climatic changes, especially in regards to why we have Ice Ages [Qualiall, Nov 29 2000]
OTEC
http://en.wikipedia...l_energy_conversion
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion [Selky, Jan 06 2010]
[link]
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Earthquakes and volcanoes occur underwater as well, you know, not to mention sudden releases of gas trapped under the ocean floor. |
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Aside from that, there's no real reason it can't work, though there's no reason to make actual skyscrapers (surfacescrapers?) rather than something more suited to an underwater environment. As an added bonus, the dangers and hassles of such a workplace might give us more experience on how to live in space. |
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I've lived all but a few years of my life at about 500 ft elevation relative to sea level, but here's my hillbilly view on this. All of the seawalls, piers and other waterfront infrastructure is presumably unuseable after a sea level rise of a couple of meters. Why not, then, begin by establishing some smooth masonry slabs well inland of a projected high tide line?
These could serve as temporary foundations for 'floataway' high rise buildings, or causeway arches. As water rises higher, the slabs could be used for staging tow lines for the efficient relocation of floating houses, livestock barges, and ocean liners. At still higher tide the slabs could be capped with towers for navigation lights, and strung between with snare lines for to gather the accumulating flotsam of the gradually submerging continents. We'd at least be attempting to keep shipping lanes passable. |
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Well, the cities are full of freeway overpasses; the supports *look* strong enough to moor to. I'll have to ask a civil engineer. |
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Build the underwater skyscrapers with open walls and have dolphins live in them instead of people. Dolphins can be trained to perform office tasks, pay taxes, vote, shop, join the military Whatever. |
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Learn to grow gills and eat plankton...it worked for the whales. |
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Trained dolphins? So that's what the paperless office push is about! |
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Hear hear, ravenswood. I wonder what it would take to put the entire global population onto cruise ships, and just forget about land as a place to live. Just visit land for short term holidays to look at the animals there.. On cruise ships we can move to where the season is sunny, all the time.. |
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// Dolphins can be trained to... join the military // |
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I thought dolphins were supposed to be intelligent? Besides, they need regular oxygen from the surface, so a boxed-in office environment wouldn't be very suitable for them. |
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That aside, I now have this wonderful image of a skyscraper's towering glass walls plunging into the depths; of glancing out my window and seeing shoals of fish darting past; of being grateful the structure is so solid when a shark bashes itself against the window. |
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Even better, the structure could be raised or lowered with various light and heavy buoys. So the skyscraper could stand out of the water in nice weather, and then almost submerge when a hurricane comes along. |
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Or maybe I'm just in a phallic mood. |
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i think that the temperature controls would go horribly wrong and we would all die in a submerged helltrap. Actually, i think the heating of the buildings would eat so much energy that we would ravage the environment even more than we already do. Ending in a submerged helltrap. nothing intrinsically wrong with that, of course. mmmm....helltrap *drool* |
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To design the building as strong as possible to resist compression, it should be cylindrical. |
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If you're envisioning a network of these floating buildings, then the connecting tubes and tunnels should have plenty of flexibility, which could come as a design challenge. |
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There would need to be an active buoyancy system running from a terribly reliable power system, so as to prevent the thing from sinking too far. The buoyancy system would be there to deal with the daily fluctuations in weight, as people came and went en mass. |
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What to do about power and fresh water? |
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OTEC [see linky]. It might be useful to moor your
ships and boats to the top of the tower, as well as
have a heliport there for emergencies. |
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why isnt it called an ocean scraper? |
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