Noah Redux and a bright, floating future

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Russian architect Alexander Remizov has designed a futuristic energy-saving hotel project called “The Ark.”

It is time for a new dream, the dream of winning $355 million and paying $130 million in taxes has floated off into space.  Well, maybe not space, two winning tickets were sold, one in Idaho and one in Washington state.  And just when I was feeling really depressed about losing all of that money to some unknown and probably unworthy person, I discovered another chance to float into a wondrous future, a Noah’s Ark.  However, this one is not the legendary ark said to be firmly lodged high up on Mount Ararat.  The new ark has yet to float and is being designed for the next flood, not the last one.

If there is one truly international story, one story that has remained in the public eye for decades, it is global warming.  Wars come and go, the economy goes up and down and new teams and different sports are always lined up for the title of the best in the world; but global warming stays constant – although the details change – holes in the o-zone have been replaced with green house gases as the primary threat to the planet and the survival of our species – but a looming threat based on a change in the earth’s atmospheric temperature remains firmly in place.  I have no intent, nor do I have the requist knowledge, to weigh in on the debate.  But, I have found a fascinating story of a modern day Noah ready to build an ark – actually a hotel – for the time when the major ocean front cities of the world will be under water.

Der Spiegel has a story of a Russian architect who has designed a hotel that will float.  The story gets better, it can be build on land or on the sea, it can be build in a matter of months and of course is very, very friendly to the environment.  The concept could solve many problems, instead of constantly building higher and higher buildings to fit a global population headed toward 8 million people, double what it was 50 years ago, we could build floating buildings, no land required.  We could have entire cities floating around the oceans, leaving the land for agriculture, giving us greater access to wind, solar and water energy sources.  Once you get over being sea sick, figure out a way to deal with truly fluid borders and governments the idea gets really exciting.

Sadly, the concept doesn’t really work for me, I am from the desert; I love my environment and have even become physically ill when forced to live for extended periods of time in places that are too green, have too many tress or too much water; but when all of those Californians and other non-desert people have a nice ocean going home, my deserts will be once again quiet, beautiful and safe from destruction by encroaching human society.  Bon Voyage!