Posted on 07/23/2004 6:53:52 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Cities across China are sinking, including the capital Beijing, which has set up a warning system that state media said would act as an alert to ensure Olympics venues were not affected.
According to Beijing vice-mayor Lu Hao, subsidence poses "a major threat" to the host of the 2008 Games, where infrastructure is being built at a rapid rate.
To date, more than 1 800km² in Beijing have been hit, with about 50 places destroyed, including factories, buildings and ground pipelines, said Wei Lianwei, director of Beijing Institute of Geological Survey.
The biggest drop was 722mm, the China Daily reported.
It cited one incident in 1998 where a crack caused by sinking ground had forced a rubber factory in the capital's Shunyi district to stop production. The crack is now about 800m-wide and 25km-long.
Experts cited by the newspaper said it would eventually threaten the safety of the nearby Beijing Capital International Airport, where a $2,3-billion expansion project is under way in preparation for the Olympics.
To counter the threat, a warning system was set up in Beijing on Thursday to monitor, research and control ground sinking.
The newspaper said its purpose was "to ensure security for the city and the 2008 Olympic Games". A geological survey has also been launched. - Sapa-AFP
Ping!
Maybe it's all those baby girls they've tossed into the Yangtze and buried alive.
I fail to see why. A little learning is a dangerous thing.
I can see every fruitcake from Toledo to Timbuktu going off their meds long enough to claim that it's global warming... or CO2 emmisions... or too much silica... or deforestation in South America... the usual litany of tiny people without a clue of the magnitude of geologic and solar system precesses, never mind cosmic ones.
China has no more control over this type of Gaia hissy fits than the U.S.A. does. I can think of other reasons that will be screamed out incoherently and in the usual panic, but suffice to say we are sharing a curious and unexpected phenomenon. I am looking forward to discussing it with the more rational members of the human race.
karst topography ?
Chinese may end up keep moving the construction site for Olympic venues, running up construction cost and further and further behind schedule. That was what I was referring to.
The article doesn't seem to go into the cause of it. Is it because they're overpumping the ground water?
LQ
Cities sinking due to excessive pumping of groundwater
An excerpt:
Surface subsidence picked up speed over the last two decades as a result of an increasing demand for groundwater caused by fast economic growth and urbanization, pollution of surface water and the construction of skyscrapers, analysts note.
I questioned that as well...the article at that site has links to global warming causes, but I did the research...see #9.
That should be...see #8...not enough coffeeeeeeeee....
Thanks, I thought it might be that. Either that or they're building it all on fill...
LQ
Interesting.
It seems that Beijing has a number of problems.
I read an article awhile back that stated if the Chicom government fails to stop the desertification process that is taking place to the north, they may have to end up relocating the capital city.
The desertification is the cause of the horrible brown cloud (dust cloud) that engulfs Beijing from time to time. If I remember right, I think I read something about it crossing the Pacific last year and hitting parts of the Western United States.
Yeah, deforestation is another problem they have to worry about. Having 1.3 billion under you may make Chinese leaders feel good in front of other world leaders. However,it sure is a source of big headache. All these could go out of control. In China, social and environmental problem tend to take a life of its own, frequently interacting with one another, and become unstoppable even with bullets.
"It cited one incident in 1998 where a crack caused by sinking ground had forced a rubber factory in the capital's Shunyi district to stop production. The crack is now about 800m-wide and 25km-long."
Anyone else call BS on this. A chasm 800 meters wide?? that's half a mile lol.
I think it is a typo. It probably meant to be 800mm, which is about 32 inches.
If I remember correctly I think the Chicom governments response to the problem was to require every citizen to plant like 12 trees a year.
What a nut-job idea.
Thats what I thought, but that also seems like a long crack too!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.