Channels of Migration

Posted on July 30, 2015August 7, 2015 by Building The World

Eurotunnel estimates that 37,000 people may have attempted migration through the Channel Tunnel. Tragically, fatalities have occurred. People seeking a way out, a way forward, another way, are using the tunnel linking France and England. In a world challenged by climate migration, political migration, and employment migration, what kinds of channels can be safely provided to get from a troubled “here” to a better “there?”

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.

It’s All in the Timing

Posted on May 29, 2012August 28, 2012 by zoequinn001

The Canal des Deux Mers was not a new idea by Riquet’s time, although he perfected it. The Archbishop of Toulouse headed a special commission chartered by King Henry IV (1553-1610) to study feasibility of a canal linking the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Henry IV was following a line of similar visionaries. Even Charlemagne wanted to build the canal. There is evidence of ancient Roman emperors trying to engineer the route. Charlemagne, to be fair, didn’t have the technology. But Riquet was able to conquer a rocky patch near Beziers by blasting a tunnel – measuring 157 meters (515 feet) long, 6.7 meters (22 feet) wide and 8 meters (27 feet) high – with black powder. It was one of the earliest uses of explosives in subterranean construction.

The tunnel as it exists today, from canaldumidi.org

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.