Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
I think, therefore I am thinking.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


         

Greenpeace Island

Build an island and help save the world
  (+1)
(+1)
  [vote for,
against]

The media has been raising awareness of issue of global warming and its dire consequence including causing the sea level to rise. Now, here is your chance to save the world and reward yourself with an island of your own. Dig into the ocean floor to pile up the earth high enough to form an island. The excess water will fill the hole and keep the sea water level at bay. Ridiculous? Maybe, if you are thinking about Pacific Ocean. Well, but not so far fetched considering the arctic ocean is the shallowest of all. The shallowest depth is just 607 meter above the Lomonosov Ridge in the central Arctic Ocean. This part is unclaimed, right ? To give you some idea, Empire State Building is 448 meter. The tallest building in the world is 508 meter
cocobk, Apr 16 2004

[link]






       Waaaaaaait a minute.....doesn't the amount of dirt you pile up displace an amount of water equal to what would fill the hole ? At least until you get above sea level ?   

       Would the amount of energy consumed building the island add to global warming sufficiently to worsen the problem being addressed?
normzone, Apr 16 2004
  

       //The shallowest depth is just 607 meter above the Lomonosov Ridge //   

       The shallowest depth in the Pacific Ocean, by contrast, is 0 meters, at any point on the 135,000 km shoreline of the entire body of water.   

       As I understand it, the Arctic Ocean has a shoreline of about 45,000 kilometers, or 28,000 miles.
UnaBubba, Apr 16 2004
  

       Save the world = Build an island   

       Am I missing something here?
yabba do yabba dabba, Apr 19 2004
  

       Yep. It's an idea, albeit a dumb one. If the ice cap on Antarctica were to melt then the world's ocean depth would rise by a substantial distance. At the same time, the weight of 11,000 feet of ice on the twin land mass of Antarctica (There appear to two, rather than one, land masses comprising the continent) would rise quite a way, relieved of the massive burden of the ice sheet.   

       If you piled enough dirt up on a continent then it would sink a certain way, negating about 40% of the effect of your efforts, as I understand it. Erosion would undo most of your work, over the next few centuries, putting the loose soil back into the ocean in the form of river deltas.
UnaBubba, Apr 19 2004
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle