Charles Mingus - TheViewfromLakeComo

Subject:

KICK THEIR ASS..the right wing has spoken

Date:

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:55:12 -0700 (PDT)

From:

clayton

Reply-To:

To:

> From:
> Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2008 02:06:00 +0000
> To: > Subject: Fw: Jill Nelson's Column
>
> My good friend, novelist and columnist Jill Nelson, has written a column for www.niaonline.com.
I was particularly moved by it and thought you might relate to it in your own way
>
> --
> Bill

Pictured: The floating cities that could one day house climate change refugees By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 2:13 AM
on 04th July 2008 At first glance, they look like a couple of giant inflatable garden chairs that have washed out to sea But they
are, apparently, the ultimate solution to rapidly rising sea levels. This computer-generated image shows two floating cities,
each with enough room for 50,000 inhabitants.

Enlarge
The 'Lilypad' cities would be powered by renewable energy
sources Based on the design of a lilypad, they could be used
as a permanent refuge for those whose homes have been
covered in water.

Major cities including London, New York and Tokyo are seen as
being at huge risk from oceans which could rise by as much as
3ft by the end of this century.

This solution, by the award-winning Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut, is designed to be a new place to live for
those whose homelands have been wiped out. The 'Lilypad City' would float around the world as an independent
and fully self-sustainable home. With a lake at its centre to collect and purify rainwater, it would be accessed by
three separate marinas and feature artificial mountains to offer the inhabitants a change of scenery from the
seascape. Power for the central accommodation hub is provided through a series of renewable energy sources
including solar panels on the mountain sides, wind turbines and a power station to harness the energy of the waves.
Mr Callebaut said: 'The design of the city is inspired by the shape of the great Amazonia Victoria Regia lilypad.
Some countries spend billions of pounds working on making their beaches and dams bigger and stronger. 'But the
lilypad project is actually a long-term solution to the problem of the water rising.' The architect, who has yet to
estimate a cost for his design, added: 'It's an amphibious city without any roads or any cars. The whole city is
covered by plants housed in suspended gardens. 'The goal is to create a harmonious coexistence of humans and
nature.' 'Some countries spend billions of pounds working on making their beaches and dams bigger and stronger.
'But the Lilypad project is actually a long term solution to the problem of the water rising.'And it has the other
objective of providing housing for refugees from islands that have been submerged.'

Enlarge

The Lilypad city would house climate change refugees Centred around a lake which collects and then purifies rain
water, the Lilypad will drift around the world following the ocean currents and streams.It will be accessed by three
marinas and will also feature three 'mountains' to offer the inhabitants a change of scenery.Power will be provide
through a series of renewable energy sources including solar, thermal, wind energy, hydraulic and a tidal power
station.The city will actually produce much more energy than it consumes and be entirely 'zero-emission' as all the
carbon-dioxide and the waste will be recycled.
Mr Callebaut added: 'It's an amphibious city without any roads or any cars.The whole city is covered by plants housed in
suspended gardens. The goal is to create a harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.'I think trying to accomodate the
millions of people left homeless by environmental changes will prove to be one of the great challenges of the 21st century.'
Neither the cost of building the city or the cost of living there have been revealed.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global sea level is expected to rise between
nine and 88 centimetres by 2100, with a 'best estimate' of 50 centimetres.This is due to global warming which is causing
the ice caps to melt.

In many places, 50 centimetres would see entire beaches being washed away, together with a significant chunk of the
coastline.

On low-lying Pacific islands such as Tuvalu, Kiribati or the Maldives, the highest point is only two or three
metres above current sea levels.If the sea level was to rise by 50cm, significant portions of these islands would be
washed away by erosion or covered by water. Even if they remain above the sea, many island nations will have
their supplies of drinking water reduced because sea water will invade their freshwater stocks.There are also tens
of millions of people living in low-level coastal areas of southern Asia, such as the coastlines of Pakistan, India,
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Burma, who would be in danger.

Comments (9)

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?
The credibility of the IPCC sinks lower and lower as their wild claims about the future get sillier and sillier.
There is no evidence that sea levels will rise by more than about 10cm (four inches) by 2100.

They have been on the rise slowly ever since the end of the Little Ice Age, and there is no sign of any acceleration
of the rate in recent times. If anything, the rate of rise is likely to decrease in coming years. The IPCC is ignoring the
facts and relying on faulty computer models. There are currently no 'climate change refugees', and that is unlikely to
change in the foreseeable future.

- Peter Warlow, Brentwood, UK, 03/7/2008 15:33
It makes perfect sense to take to the water - I think it looks beautiful, thank heavens there are people out there who
have the intelligence to think "outside the box".

- Mary, Greensboro, NC, USA, 03/7/2008 15:32
I think these 'lily pads' are a great idea, they would make ideal 'prisons' thereby freeing up our land prisons ready to house
all those young people who will be sentenced for carrying a knife/weapon.

- Mrs Sue Morgan, Dover, England, 03/7/2008 14:48
http://www.pddnet.com/scripts/ShowPR.asp?RID=22891&CommonCount=0

Salman Rushdie - Satanic Verses
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2500355/Salman-Rushdie-Satanic-Verses

Three-Gram 'Dragonfly' Takes Flight

TU Delft recently presented the minute DelFly Micro air vehicle. This successor to the DelFly I and II weighs barely 3 grams, and with
its flapping wings is very similar to a dragonfly.

Ultra-small, remote-controlled micro aircraft with cameras, such as this DelFly, may well be used in the future for observation flights in
difficult-to-reach or dangerous areas.

The DelFly Micro is a 'Micro Air Vehicle' (MAV), an exceptionally small remote-controlled aircraft with camera and image recognition software.
The Micro, weighing just 3 grams and measuring 10 cm (wingtip to wingtip) is the considerably smaller successor to the successful DelFly I
(2005) and DelFly II (2006).

The DelFly Micro, with its minuscule battery weighing just 1 gram, can fly for approximately three minutes and has a maximum speed of
5 m/s. Ultra-small remote-controlled, camera-equipped aircraft are potentially of great interest because they could eventually be used
for observation flights in difficult-to-reach or dangerous areas.

Nature

The basic principle of the DelFly is derived from nature. The 'dragonfly' has a tiny camera (about 0.5 grams) on board that transmits its
signals to a ground station.

With software developed by TU Delft itself, objects can then be recognized independently. The camera transmits TV quality images,
and therefore allows the DelFly II to be operated from the computer. It can be maneuvered using a joystick as if the operator was
actually in the cockpit of the aircraft. The aim is to be able to do this with the DelFly Micro too.

Miniaturization

The development of the DelFly is above all the story of continuing miniaturisation of all the parts, from the DelFly I (23 grams and 50 cm)
via the DelFly II (16 grams and 30 cm) to the present DelFly Micro (3 grams and 10 cm).

The DelFly II drew huge attention in 2006 because it could fly horizontally (21 km/hr) as well as hover, just like a hummingbird, and also
fly backwards. The DelFly Micro, incidentally, cannot do this just yet.

In a few years time, the new objective of the project, the DelFly NaNo (5 cm, 1 gram) will have been developed. The Micro is an
important intermediate step in this development process. A second objective for the future is for the DelFly to be able to fly entirely
independently thanks to image recognition software.

For more information on the Delfly, click here

http://www.pddnet.com/scripts/ShowPR.asp?RID=22891&CommonCount=0

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