Drought Strands Boats in Canal

Posted on November 7, 2012November 25, 2012 by zoequinn001

3g dam — Aerial view of China’s Three Gorges Dam; photograph source, Mount Holyoke College, at mtholyoke.edu.

Water has played an important role in Chinese history and continues to be a vital resource today, as evidenced by the value placed on the Grand Canal throughout the dynasties and today. In 2011, however, a severe drought left many without water, particularly in the middle and lower Yangtze River areas. The drought reached as far east as Beijing, stranding boats along the Grand Canal with no water to travel upon. To alleviate some of the distress, water was released from the Three Gorges Dam, a hydroelectric plant in the Hubei province. for more information on the drought, its impact, and efforts to help its victims, please visit :
http://www.china-sd.com/News/2011-5/24_6363.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Fun in the Snowy Mountains

Posted on October 30, 2012November 13, 2012 by zoequinn001

learning — One of the visitor centers on the mountains, from snowymountains.com.au.

Hydroelectrics obviously need a source of water in order to perform the task of generating energy. As a result, these structures, such as the Snowy Mountain Hydroelectric Scheme or Hoover Dam, are located by nature’s water sources. Energy is not the only result of these projects, however. Tourism of these sites and the nature that surround them are major projects in their own right. Hoover Dam created Big Ridge Lake, a popular American vacation spot to this day. The Snowy Mountains themselves are a winter wonderland for Australians, while Snowy Mountain Hydro Discovery Center educates visitors to the role the Scheme played in history and how it impacts life in Australia today. For more information on tourism by the Snowy Mountain Hydroelectric, please see:
http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/discover/ and http://www.snowymountains.com.au/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Afghan Tunnel

Posted on October 23, 2012November 6, 2012 by zoequinn001

salang map — Map of the location of the Salang Tunnel from the BBC at bbc.co.uk.

When the Salang Tunnel, cutting through the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan opened in 1964, much like the Mont Blanc Tunnel cutting through the Alps, is was heralded as a major feat of engineering. Fast forward nearly 50 years, and lack of upkeep and overuse has led this modern marvel to a dangerous state of disrepair. The volume of cars and trucks has increased ten fold, the road at some points is a dirt path, and the tunnel itself is barely large enough to allow the passing of many shipping trucks. So why is this tunnel still used? Because Pakistan has closed its boarders to NATO and other travellers, leaving the Salang Tunnel as the only optionfor travel. For more information on the tunnel and its role in Afghanistan today, please visit: http://www.npr.org/2012/06/24/155302587/afghan-tunnel-decrepit-dangerous-yet-indispensible?sc=17&f=1001

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Road Trip!

Posted on October 16, 2012October 17, 2012 by zoequinn001

The Alaska Highway is the northern part of the unofficial Pan-American Highway, a drivable series of roads that begin at the top of Alaska and end at the southern tip of South America. The distance is nearly 30,000 continuous miles of roads, although there is a small break in the Colombian rainforest. Needless to say, it dwarfs most cross-country road trips.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Singing Stone

Posted on October 9, 2012October 9, 2012 by zoequinn001

When American composer Philip Glass received a commission from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to create a new work, the artist was looking for a way to contrast nature and technology. Friends mentioned Itaipú. Glass visited in 1988 and fell into a state of awe when he saw the massive structure, soaring in height more than 55 stories. He likened it to the Egyptian pyramids. Learning the name meant “singing stone,” Glass was inspired to create a work of four movements using the indigenous Guarani language and poetry in the libretto written by Daniela Thomas. Below listen to a clip from Glass’ “Itaipu”.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Drilling in the Arctic Questioned

Posted on October 3, 2012October 9, 2012 by zoequinn001

Drilling in the Arctic, from The Guardian/Associated Press, at guardian.co.uk.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline has made the transport of oil from the Alaskan interior to the shipping ports of the coast immeasurably more simple. Unfortunately for oil companies, spills like that of the Exxon Valdez, or more recently the BP Gulf of Mexico spill, have raised concern regarding extracting oil from and transporting oil across the Arctic. While more oil companies are looking to the Arctic as a resource, governments and committees are questioning safety, as it is very difficult to reach those places where drilling would occur should there be an accident. Britain is one of those questioning the situation as part of the Arctic Council where they have observer status and are being asked to use their influence to increase drilling safeguards.

For more on the battle for the Arctic, please see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19652326

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Boeing B-29 turns 70!

Posted on September 25, 2012October 9, 2012 by zoequinn001

On September 21, 2012 the B-29 bomber has its 70th birthday. One of the most famous of these planes, the Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, became part of the military in 1945 when it was accepted by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). While the debate still rages as to whether the use of the atomic bombs in the Pacific theater at the end of World War II was the right choice, it is clear that the Enola Gay is an important piece of American history. Starting in 1984 it has undergone bouts of restoration and exhibition, including a rather controversial show in 1995 at the Smithsonian. It now permanently resides in the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. For more information of the Enola Gay and the development of the B-29 Superfortress see:
http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19500100000

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

The Civilian Conservation Corps

Posted on September 18, 2012 by zoequinn001

CCC boys constructing a fence, from Library of Congress at loc.gov.

Big Ridge State Park in Tennessee is a 3,687 acre wooded vacation spot with cycling, hiking trails, boating, camp grounds, and historic sites. Its creation (completed in 1937) was a collaboration amongst the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Parks Service, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of FDR’s New Deal programs in which young men from around the country were recruited in order to help create what is now the National Trail and Park systems of the United States, as well as help to recover and restore land that had been over farmed. In exchange for their work these young men received a few dollars a month, three square meals, clothing, and housing, which at the time of the Great Depression was quite an appealing way of life. The CCC had far-reaching implications for the United States, not only in the form of the still beloved National Parks, but in the generation it helped to foster and the impact these men had.

To learn more about the CCC and its relevance to today, watch PBS’s “American Experience: The Civilian Conservation Corps”:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ccc/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Gambling with the Future of Casinos

Posted on September 11, 2012 by zoequinn001

mystic lake — Mystic Lake Casino in Minnesota, (discussed in article), from parsoncorp.com.

In the United States, Native American tribes are treated as sovereign nations. In the case of the Hoover Dam, supplier of the energy to run Las Vegas’ casinos’ lights, water rights for these sovereign nations differed greatly from those water rights received by the Upper and Lower Basin states involved in the construction and operation of the Hoover Dam and rest of the dam system. This status of sovereign nation also means that any revenue earned from the casinos so often found on reservations cannot be taxed by the state or federal government. Developments in the world of internet gambling, however, are threatening this income stream. Internet poker is daily becoming more popular, and there is a movement to legalize it under state and federal laws, which would allow it to be taxed. Should this come to fruition, it would threaten the livelihood of many tribes. For more on what this movement means for Native American casinos, please visit:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/us/more-casinos-and-internet-gambling-threaten-shakopee-tribe.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23_20120809

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

A Global Interstate

Posted on September 4, 2012September 10, 2012 by zoequinn001

The Federal Highway Administration, founded as it exists today in 1966, is part of the Department of Transportation. The FHWA helps state and local authorities “with the design, construction, and maintenance of the Nation’s highways” (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/about/). Their work doesn’t end there; the FHWA has within it a department called the “Office of International Programs” which acts as a point of contact between the FHWA and international communities with questions regarding transportation systems. In this manner a dialogue has been created to allow for improvements in the U.S. Interstate System and other roadways, as well as those around the world!

For more on the Office of International Programs, please see:
http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/outreach.cfm

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.