God help these cute little man-made islands when a hurricane hits. And hurricanes will hit, eventually. There's no coastline so sheltered that a heavy storm can't reach it.
--Leslie Fish
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Ding! We have a winner...
Posted by JohnMcGrew@...
27th Aug
Just
In
In
Bad choice of location
Posted by pmshah@...
27th Aug
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+1
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A Disaster Waiting to Happen
Posted by Leslie Fish
27th Aug
+2
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Ding! We have a winner...
...for the "best exploitation of 'global warming' for the week". (And it's only Monday!)
The economy of the Maldives is completely dominated by tourism, and tourism is the only reason that the vast majority of people who live there get to live there and have anything above a stone-age standard of living.
The tourists who bring their money to support the economy of the Maldives and make grand schemes like this possible have to travel thousands of miles, usually by jet aircraft burning vast amounts of CO2-emitting fossil fuels. And then, most take fossil-fueled-powered boats the final miles to their ultimate destinations. For those who are fortunate enough to already live there, their CO2 impact isn't any better. Nearly everything they need to survive, including food and fuel is brought via aircraft or by diesel or oil-powered shipping.
If the residents of the Maldives honestly believe that CO2 is solely responsible for ultimately dooming their islands, then I think they have the moral obligation to either revert to a completely carbon-free existence, (which means giving up the tourist trade) or leave. Demanding that the rest of the world pay them money so that they can continue with nonsense like this unabated is simply self-serving and hypocritical. And shame on the rest of the world for falling for it.
The economy of the Maldives is completely dominated by tourism, and tourism is the only reason that the vast majority of people who live there get to live there and have anything above a stone-age standard of living.
The tourists who bring their money to support the economy of the Maldives and make grand schemes like this possible have to travel thousands of miles, usually by jet aircraft burning vast amounts of CO2-emitting fossil fuels. And then, most take fossil-fueled-powered boats the final miles to their ultimate destinations. For those who are fortunate enough to already live there, their CO2 impact isn't any better. Nearly everything they need to survive, including food and fuel is brought via aircraft or by diesel or oil-powered shipping.
If the residents of the Maldives honestly believe that CO2 is solely responsible for ultimately dooming their islands, then I think they have the moral obligation to either revert to a completely carbon-free existence, (which means giving up the tourist trade) or leave. Demanding that the rest of the world pay them money so that they can continue with nonsense like this unabated is simply self-serving and hypocritical. And shame on the rest of the world for falling for it.
Posted by JohnMcGrew@...
27th Aug
+1
Vote
Maldives
Why not just get rid of the Maldives. They are so low in the water that they are coming close to being a navigation hazard. Forget this silliness about making man made islands. Get real. Some people obviously have way too much time and money on their hands. You can do just about anything with those kinds of resources but the question is - is it worth it? Is it going to make the world a better place? Is it going to cause even more pollution? Pollution is already a major problem in the Maldives.
Posted by radiodog4@...
27th Aug
0
Votes
Compare & contrast?
There is and/or are planned to be artificial islands of very artificial shape off Dubai. What's Docklands doing that's different from those?
Posted by theotherwill
27th Aug
+1
Vote
Bad choice of location
Except for the fact that it happens to be tropical what are the plus points? It suffers from perpetual shortage of fresh water. Severe south-west monsoons are not helping either. Only access is by plane / helicopter from Kerala in south India. Are they also planning to raise the entire ground level of the island with air transport facility which otherwise will also be submerged ?
Posted by pmshah@...
27th Aug