Are we covering the world over with concrete?

Originally posted by Susquehanna
Your other question, can abused land be reclaimed? The answer is yes. But, as others have said, it takes money, time and effort. The federal government does spend some money towrds this effort, but sadly not enough to recover what we have abused. IMHO, the government should impose harsher penalties on individuals and/or corporations that leave an adverse impact on the land, and use these resources to recover them.

I sure agree with you here. I would even go so far as to say that any company applying for a permit to use the resources on, above or under the land should have to post a security deposit just like you and I do to rent a house or an apartment.

At the end of their land use, the government should come in and inspect the used area and if it is not returned to as close to unused condition as is possible the security deposit would be used to do it. If the deposit isn't enough to cover the costs, the government would have the same recourse as any landlord (suit, garnishment of income, seizure of physical property, etc.)

wow!

this is reminding me of the city of Trantor. (from Issac Azimov's Foundation books). that planet was nothing but steel and concrete.

and the movie Silent Running. Future Earth is nothing but a huge city. its so overpopulated and polluted that we've either ripped up or choked out all the green... the only place forest exist are in orbit on these huge ships... but after awhile the powers that be let them loose as well. they destroy all but one ship and the last survivor programs these robots to tend to the plants as the last of all plantlife from earth drifts thru space. leaving earth nothing but a concrete tomb...




[edit on 9/18/2004 by Assassin]

That would never happenAssasin, also, some people make movies to teach as well as entertain, that one was apparently both, same goes for the Teminators, we learn from that that you should make machines only so smart.

Never though of that Montana, its a good idea. The government does fix some now but they should fix all of them.

and I was that one who said "let some of the native plants die", its just how life goes, things get extinct and things get created, If Dinosoars never became extinct we would not exist.

Ah! well in that case, my apologies to shbaz on that point.

I guess i'm one of those people who feel that humans CAN use the resources of the earth without ruining it. We just have to be careful not to abuse it. I realize this is an unpopular concept in some circles, but it is realistic, isn't it?

Originally posted by Montana
Ah! well in that case, my apologies to shbaz on that point.

I guess i'm one of those people who feel that humans CAN use the resources of the earth without ruining it. We just have to be careful not to abuse it. I realize this is an unpopular concept in some circles, but it is realistic, isn't it?

I don't think just some cirlces...more like most. We'll, at least when your talking about the people that make the decisions about all this stuff in the first place.

Originally posted by Montana
I guess i'm one of those people who feel that humans CAN use the resources of the earth without ruining it. We just have to be careful not to abuse it. I realize this is an unpopular concept in some circles, but it is realistic, isn't it?

Not just realistic, but reasonable, and preferred. Unless you'd rather be naked, living in caves and mud huts, and foraging for berries and hunting wild game with spears again...

P.S. -- If you oppose any human modification of the natural world, get off this computer, take off your clothes, get rid of your car, and get out of your apartment or house!

Originally posted by Montana
Ah! well in that case, my apologies to shbaz on that point.

I guess i'm one of those people who feel that humans CAN use the resources of the earth without ruining it. We just have to be careful not to abuse it. I realize this is an unpopular concept in some circles, but it is realistic, isn't it?

And reasonable, too!

Well, all things considered, the U.S. is actually sparsely populated compared to the three largest collections of humanity -- China, India, and Europe. Since we've established that about 3% of the land in the U.S. is covered over in concrete, does anyone know what percentage of the land in China, India, and Europe are covered over in concrete? After all, those three are comparable in physical area to the U.S., but has a lot more people.

U.S. -- 285 million people;
3% of land covered over in concrete

Europe -- 500 million people;
(?)% of land covered over in concrete

India -- 1 billion people;
(?)% of land covered over in concrete

China -- 1.5 billion people;
(?)% of land covered over in concrete

Originally posted by ArMaP
Its obvious that humans are animals. Why should humans be classified as anything else?
As for the point that animals don't drive cars that is true, but animals do make some sort of buildings, just think of the castors. Not only they make constructions as their constructions change the surrounding area.

Rubbish. No other species in the history of life on earth has been able to alter the planet to the degreee that man kind has. Why should we be classified as anything else? Becuase as far as I know no other species is able to mass produce dioxins, concentrate nitrates, emit massive greenhouse gases, destroy natural habitats, deforestation, mass construction, radiation, genetic manipulation, mass species introduction or relocations... need I go on?

You are right, Twitchy.

Every animal on Earth lives within it's enviroment.

Man destroys the enviroment and then rebuilds it to suit his needs.

once the damage is done, is it done forever?

Mother nature has a great way of healing herself,youll always see greenery pushing its way through cracks in the concrete+in time through the wear of the elements a few man made materials break down into their basic elements again,id hate to see a world of concrete-but as some one else mentioned theres still so much space left that man hasnt even touched with his destructive hands!

Cant find the Factoid on % of land thats been paved or concreted over?

Maybe a math solution?

land area of USA (DIVIDED BY) [population (TIMES) 400 sq ft each (PLUS) road surface area]


its doable! my guess, 3% of all U.S. land has been 'subdued' for 'progress'

Originally posted by St Udio
Maybe a math solution?

land area of USA (DIVIDED BY) [population (TIMES) 400 sq ft each (PLUS) road surface area]

its doable! my guess, 3%...

Interesting formula. You tried it and it worked for the U.S.? Well, I wonder if it will be accurate for other countries. Is 400 sq. ft. per person a U.S. average or a global average? Also, finding the surface area of all the roads in a given country may not be an easy statistic to find.

Another country I'm curious about is Japan -- Japan is about the size of Montana, but the country has over 150 million people! One would think that Japan would be a very urbanized country, and a crowded one too, in its urban centers...