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Katie Day

Instant Architecture for China's Earthquake Victims - 0 views

  • This May, a massive earthquake rocked Sichuan Province in China. Reaching a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale, it claimed the lives of 400,000 people. Half a year later, though the destruction seems to have lost its newsworthiness, the reconstruction is still very much a reality. However, it doesn’t have to be hopeless! How about a temporary shelter made of paper? In Chengdu city in Sichuan, students from Japanese banlab, architect Shigeru Ban’s research center, and the Hironori Matsubara Lab at Keio University used cardboard tubes to build temporary school buildings. Today, PingMag talks with Wataru Doi, the director of this student project, about the role of architecture after disasters.
jack parker

Rainforest Destruction - 0 views

  • The immediate causes of rainforest destruction are clear. The main causes of total clearance are agriculture and in drier areas, fuelwood collection. The main cause of forest degradation is logging. Mining, industrial development and large dams also have a serious impact. Tourism is becoming a larger threat to the forests.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      A little useful for my Q4
    • jack parker
       
      useful for my exibition
    • Shaian R
       
      How can we save the rainforest from destrution
  • The creation of national parks has undoubtedly helped to protect rainforests. Yet, as national parks are open to the public, tourism is damaging some of these areas. Often, national parks are advertised to tourists before adequate management plans have been developed and implemented. Inadequate funding is allocated for preservation of forests by government departments. Governments see tourism as an easy way to make money, and therefore tourism is encouraged whilst strict management strategies are given far less government support. Ecotourism, or environmentally friendly tourism, should educate the tourists to be environmentally aware. It should also be of low impact to its environment. Unfortunately, many companies and resorts who advertise themselves as eco-tourist establishments are in fact exploiting the environment for profit. In Cape Tribulation, Australia, for example, the rainforest is being threatened by excessive tourism. Clearing for roads and pollution of waterways are two of the major problems in this area. The Wet Tropics Management Authority which oversees the surrounding World Heritage Area is promoting tourism to the area before any management plans have been formulated, before any effective waste management strategy has been devised and before any ecofriendly power alternatives have been fully explored.
    • Gurupranav G
       
      Possibly useful for my Q4
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • The immediate causes of rainforest destruction are clear. The main causes of total clearance are agriculture and in drier areas, fuelwood collection. The main cause of forest degradation is logging. Mining, industrial development and large dams also have a serious impact. Tourism is becoming a larger threat to the forests.
  • 5 Large Dams In India and South America, hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests have been destroyed by the building of hydro-electric dams. It was the dominant view that new dams had to be built or otherwise these countries would suffer an energy crisis. However, a recent study by the World Bank in Brazil has shown that 'sufficient generating capacity already exists to satisfy the expected rise in demand for power over the medium term, provided that the energy is used more efficiently' (WRM). The construction of dams not only destroys the forest but often uproots tens of thousands of people, destroying both their land and their culture. The rates of waterborne diseases increase rapidly. Downstream ecosystems are damaged by dams which trap silt, holding back valuable nutrients. Reduced silt leads to coastal erosion. The sheer weight of water in dams has in Chile, Zimbabwe, and Greece led to earthquakes. The irrigation and industrial projects powered by dams lead to further environmental damage. Irrigation leads to salination of soils and industry leads to pollution. Solutions: Aid organisations like the World Bank have traditionally favoured spectacular large-scale irrigation and hydro-electric projects. In all cases when such projects are proposed, there has been massive opposition from local people. Reform of the World Bank and other such organisations, and support for campaigns against large-scale dams is needed.
Thomas C

Borneo - 0 views

  • Hornbills are important to the tropical rainforest of Borneo. Their bills help them eat large fruits and carry seeds to new areas of the forest
    • Thomas C
       
      Look at the size of that things nose
  • The island of Borneo started as a single volcano beneath the sea. Millions of years ago, it erupted. Over time, smaller eruptions and earthquakes joined land together to form an island. Today, Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It is twice the size of Japan. Three countries share the island: Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.
    • Thomas C
       
      A volcanic island? Intresting.
  • Over 16 million people live on Borneo. Borneo’s landscape and wildlife are diverse and include high mountains and rugged coastlines. Most of the island is covered with dense, ancient tropical rainforest. Borneo’s rare and endangered wildlife includes the orangutan, Asian elephant, proboscis monkey, flying frog, and many species of rare plants.
    • Thomas C
       
      With so many rare species, Borneo shoud be saved!
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Borneo’s rainforests are home to thousands of endemic species of animal, reptile, and insect. These include rhinos, hornbills, macaques, gibbons, tarsiers, and slow lorises. It also has some of the world’s strangest creatures, like flying lizards and frogs (they actually glide using webs of skin). New creatures are still being discovered. In 2005, for example, scientists discovered a large cat-fox mammal in Borneo’s rainforest. Orangutans: Borneo’s Most Famous Animal
  • Borneo’s hilly terrain, rivers, and thick forests have made it difficult to develop until recently. But in the late 1940’s, machines, trucks, and chainsaws were brought to Borneo. These made it possible for settlers from the coastal areas to cut their way into the interior of the island.
    • Thomas C
       
      Boo! no more deforestation
  •  
    more new species? Borneo must be pretty big.
  •  
    Brill website! come here!
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