Is human history every bit as important and worth saving as natural history? William Cronon explained that the 1964 Wilderness Act and National Park Service policy separates "nature" and "culture" as two very distinct things. This attitude means that, in lots of places, the Park Service has actually torn down historic buildings and removed traces of past human habitation in order to make National Parks more "natural."
The Apostle Islands, the northernmost part of Wisconsin, appears to be totally wild. But less than 100 years ago, it was thriving stone quarry that supplied building materials to NY, Chicago and other major metropolitan cities.
posted by Kokopuff
on Aug 11, 2011 -
91 comments
The
pitch was
extravagent: a
man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed to approximate the land masses of Earth, located 4 kilometers off the coast of Dubai. Claim part of The World for your own, or as an investment.
Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt bought Ethiopia,
Tommy Lee bought Greece for ex-wife Pamela Anderson,
David Beckham and Rod Stewart were each rumored to have bought an island, joining
other celebrities who had purchased part of The World. The
environmental impact of World-creation was raised, and
Sir Richard Branson warned that the islands would be submerged in 50 years if global governments did not address climate change. The warning in 2007 did not dissuade the developers, and
the final rock was placed in the breakwater in January 2008. The end of The World has not been brought about by rising tides, but
financial woes have put the development on long-term hold, potentially ending the project.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Oct 2, 2009 -
47 comments
Surtsey was first observed on November 14, 1963, as
a pillar of smoke on the water some ways south of Iceland. The very next day lava and tephra broke the surface of the Atlantic and by May, 1964 the formation had grown to 2.4 km². Over the next three years lava eruptions continued, coating the loose debris in a hard shell and protecting it from erosion.
An island born. Naturally, Surtsey has been under close scientific observation since its emergence, and courtesy
The Surtsey Research Society you can read published reports on the
geology and
biological colonization of this new earth.
posted by carsonb
on Jul 17, 2008 -
9 comments
New Kiribati "...will future climate change refugees become a new caste of service sector workers inhabiting a sort of Floating Hotel & Duty Free Mall ... ?"
Small island states are on the front line.
posted by nthdegx
on Jun 19, 2008 -
3 comments
Chaffee,
White,
Grissom &
Freeman are the names of four artificial islands immediately off the Southern California port of Long Beach.
From the shore, they each look like an inhabited island
paradise, complete with waterfalls, interesting buildings, many palm trees and
crazy nighttime party lighting. In fact,
they are offshore oil wells, built on 10 acre Dubai-esque
man-made islands created for the purpose of housing the oil wells, and disguised so as to comply with local aesthetic standards.
posted by jonson
on Apr 11, 2007 -
25 comments
Vatu Vara Thinking of using that spare $75mil. to purchase that apartment on top of the Pierre hotel? Wouldn't you really be happier here...
posted by vronsky
on Sep 29, 2006 -
27 comments
The tiny island nation of
Nauru (pop 12,329) once had one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world. Recently, though, the "
poor little rich kid of the Pacific" has dissolved into political chaos. In an address three weeks ago, just before the country's telecommunications network collapsed, President Bernard Dowiyogo said, “You are all aware and conscious of our critical situation.” Since then –
silence.
(via boingboing)
posted by gottabefunky
on Feb 21, 2003 -
28 comments
Do you dream of living on a secluded island surrounded by all of the
ice cream you could eat? Here is your
chance! And have you ever heard of anyone actually winning one of these essay contests?
posted by Dinzie
on Dec 13, 2001 -
13 comments
Barry Weaver from the University of Oklahoma has a neat Web site on the islands
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. These islands belong to Britain and are in the South Atlantic, a few thousand miles from Africa. Weaver's pages may not be the prettiest, but the content is interesting, especially the photo-tour of each island.
posted by tdecius
on Nov 2, 1999 -
0 comments
