Posts by rachelchabot
The Future
I’ve always been intrigued about homes hidden in trees and nature. In the future, this will be made simple and realistic while allowing humans to live intertwined with nature. These “tree houses” will be built/placed into natural surroundings using materials like the leaves and woods we saw in class yesterday. The walls will have the ability to be changed from transparent, so they can allow light in, to opaque, for privacy at night. The doors will be opened and closed with teleportation in which the particles from them will be moved to a specified box nearby. Beneath each home there will be vegetation, allowing for easy access to organic food for families. The same transparent materials will let sunlight in for these plants and humans can access them and take care of them by taking an elevator to the area below.
For transportation, there will either be underground tunnels that can be accessed from elevators by each home and driven on with electric cars, or there will be a flying monorail. The platform is held midair with magnetic fields and can be accessed by individuals with smaller magnetic type sky boards.
One Man’s Trash…
After reading about the current disposal options for solid waste in New York, a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. I’ve noticed how NY slowly had realized that waste could be harmful if not disposed of properly and that if disposed of in the most efficient way can even be useful. They have also recently tried to find ways to make it useful, like their waste to energy incineration facilities. This type of method is in my opinion the first step to a successful future for the waste in NYC. Although the technology only allows a small efficiency rate, investments in the technology may prove useful. The biggest issue is that, despite being less than more common energy producers, emissions from this process can be harmful. The more we use this method, the more harmful.. even if less harmful than other ways.
The best solution, though obviously extremely speculative, would be a way to completely transmit our waste into something useful without a negative effect on environments and neighborhoods, and too big of a strain on the government budget. Is there someway, somehow, a way to make all of this trash into a true resource?
Comments by rachelchabot
"The fact that people don't act until something has happened is truly scary. People in NYC seem to be very passive, and the planners (that noun describes them perfectly) of the city tend to hold the same characteristic. The planning is endless and the action is always eventually coming, but rarely does. Hurricane Sandy is what woke up the sleeping giant that is New York City, but it seems to me that most of the active response has simply attempted to bring NYC to the way it was before the storm hit rather than transform it into a city less vulnerable to storms.
To answer your final question, everyone has to take the first steps and they had to take those steps a couple of years ago if they planned to keep up with mother nature.
To calm the nerves though, the fact that we're discussing the steps that need to be taken is, yes, planning just like the Panel on Climate Change, but also spreads the information out and in a way takes the first steps needed for improvement. We're on the right path, but the next steps are actually the jumps of action and implementation."
--( posted on Feb 11, 2014, commenting on the post
Wake Up, NYC )
"Although the focus of this class and previous IDC classes are New York City, we seem to be forgetting that these climate changes, wether as dramatic as the article predicts or not, will affect surrounding areas as well. Not only is sea level predicted to rise, but the increased amount of rainfall, heat waves and storms would force the entire tri-state area to deal with extremity and intensity. These challenges are not something that the city will or should be solving alone. It would be more logical and efficient to work with other groups to find resolutions- despite the politics that seem like obstacles.
Another thing, when comparing NYC to Venice, where we can see the heavy resistance of people to leave their homes, it is hard to convince oneself that when the right storm comes, New Yorkers will brace themselves and relocate. When it comes down to it, people are stubborn. Perhaps the people on the first few floors will feel an urge to leave, but if New York begins to sink, I think the people here will find a way to float rather than abandon their homes."
--( posted on Feb 11, 2014, commenting on the post
New York City and Venice )
