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Below you can find the archive of this site's old blog. It will no longer be updated.
Catastrophe Creep
You are probably familiar with science fiction narratives set in a future in which humanity calamitous events have forced humanity to live underground. A recent news story about the expanding tunnel system in Houston shows this fiction to be creeping toward reality.
Downtown Houston now has seven color-coded miles of tunnels connecting 77 buildings. The system is extensive enough to support Discover Houston Tours, a business run by Sandra Lord. Corporations pay Ms. Lord to orient new employees below ground, and she has led nearly 45,000 souls through the labyrinth.
The reason for the tunnels is the increasingly harsh environment above ground. August. The thermometer hit 101 or higher August 12, 13 and 14, and last Thursday Tropical Storm Erin flooded many streets. No problem: the tunnels are air-conditioned, and after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, submarine-type doors with inflatable rubber insulation for airtight seals were installed.
True to many sci-fi scenarios, most of the tunnels are privately owned. “Each segment is controlled by the individual building owner who deigns to allow the public access during business hours — and then locks the doors on nights and weekends. Some parts, like those belonging to the former Enron buildings now leased by Chevron, are closed to outsiders altogether.”
The most striking element in the story is the bit about the YMCA camp counselor taking his 21 campers hiking in the tunnels because it was too hot outside to do the real-world hike they had planned.
*
In sci-fi scenarios, catastrophe generally comes suddenly and announces itself with cinematic sweep, like the viral epidemic that forced humanity rapidly underground in 12 Monkeys. In real history, catastrophe arrives gradually over many years, slow enough for most steps along the route to appear insignificant, as recently documented by scholars such as Jared Diamond and others.
see the original story here
Downtown Houston now has seven color-coded miles of tunnels connecting 77 buildings. The system is extensive enough to support Discover Houston Tours, a business run by Sandra Lord. Corporations pay Ms. Lord to orient new employees below ground, and she has led nearly 45,000 souls through the labyrinth.
The reason for the tunnels is the increasingly harsh environment above ground. August. The thermometer hit 101 or higher August 12, 13 and 14, and last Thursday Tropical Storm Erin flooded many streets. No problem: the tunnels are air-conditioned, and after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, submarine-type doors with inflatable rubber insulation for airtight seals were installed.
True to many sci-fi scenarios, most of the tunnels are privately owned. “Each segment is controlled by the individual building owner who deigns to allow the public access during business hours — and then locks the doors on nights and weekends. Some parts, like those belonging to the former Enron buildings now leased by Chevron, are closed to outsiders altogether.”
The most striking element in the story is the bit about the YMCA camp counselor taking his 21 campers hiking in the tunnels because it was too hot outside to do the real-world hike they had planned.
*
In sci-fi scenarios, catastrophe generally comes suddenly and announces itself with cinematic sweep, like the viral epidemic that forced humanity rapidly underground in 12 Monkeys. In real history, catastrophe arrives gradually over many years, slow enough for most steps along the route to appear insignificant, as recently documented by scholars such as Jared Diamond and others.
see the original story here
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Posted on 23 Aug 2007 by bobostertag
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