Sunday, July 17, 2022

Building a new capital city

Washington D.C. is a city built from scratch to be our Nation's capital. Likewise, Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. Currently Indonesia has plans to move their capital from Jakarta on the island of Java to a new site on Borneo.   

In describing Jakarta's flooding problem the narrator alludes to 'climate change' driven rising sea levels. However, when he explains the process it is driven by other forces. Jakarta was built on swamp land and the rivers running through it have become so polluted that, to get drinking water, they need to pump out ground water. This causes the soil to compact so the problem is actually the city sinking below sea level rather than the sea level rising.

Hmm... a city built on a swamp sinking? Maybe we need to start drilling more wells in Washington D.C. to solve one of our problems. 

 

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