Building the Future 1 – The Energy Solution
With world energy consumption forecast to grow 57 percent by 2025, it is predicted that all of our major fossil fuels will be exhausted in less than 200 years. Building the Future: The Energy Solution reveals how, in a race against time, we are planning, building and searching for remarkable new energy solutions to safeguard our future.
1.1) What are gas hydrates?
USGS Gas Hydrates Lab
1.2) What are the pros of gas hydrate?
Huge deposits
1.3) What are the cons of gas hydrate?
Deep underwater
Ecological concerns
1.4) Describe a North Sea wind farm.
Giants of the North Sea – offshore converter platform for wind farms, a pillar of energy transition
1.5) What are the pros of the North Sea wind farm?
Clean energy
1.6) What are the cons of the North Sea wind farm?
Expensive
North Sea weather is terrible
1.7) Describe the New York tidal turbines.
Tidal energy project makes waves in New York Video Reuters
1.8) What are the pros of the New York tidal turbines?
Fits New York water conditions very well
1.9) What are the cons of the New York tidal turbines?
Underwater installation tricky
Blades broke during trial!
1.10) Describe the Australian solar power tower.
1.11) What are the pros of the Australian solar power tower?
Australia has the land, and weather conditions to make this type of renewable energy
1.12) What are the cons of the Australian solar power tower?
Scale of the project may be impractical
1.13) Describe the ITER fusion reactor.
1.14) What are the pros of the ITER fusion reactor?
A small amount of water, which is plentiful, provides huge amounts of energy
1.15) What are the cons of the ITER fusion reactor?
The technical complexity of the project rivals that of the Space Station
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/fusion-energy-reactor_n_6438772.html
1.16) What if any of the sources of energy discussed would make sense for your country?
1.17) Which project has the largest scale (Gas hydrates, North Sea Wind farm, New York tidal turbines, Australian solar power tower, ITER fusion reactor)?
1.18) Which project has is the most complicated one (Gas hydrates, North Sea Wind farm, New York tidal turbines, Australian solar power tower, ITER fusion reactor)?
1.19) Which project has the greatest up front cost (Gas hydrates, North Sea Wind farm, New York tidal turbines, Australian solar power tower, ITER fusion reactor)?
Building the Future 2 – 21st Century Shelter.
The United Nations estimates that by 2050, there will be 3.3 billion households on the planet— nearly 2 billion more than present and a construction rate of over 66 houses per minute for 50 years. Not only will we need more shelter, but as the climate changes and space and natural resources run low, the structures in which we exist must protect us from even greater extremes and be environmentally sustainable. Building the Future: 21st-Century Shelter reveals how in a shrinking, changing world we are finding ways to build and create extraordinary structures to live and work in.
2.1) Describe an amphibious house.
Flood proof homes the Dutch way. BBC News
2.2) What are the pros of an amphibious house?
Good for a country running out of land
Good for flood prone areas
http://www.care2.com/causes/5-amphibious-houses-built-to-survive-the-coming-floods.html
2.3) What are the cons of an amphibious house?
http://www.idealhomegarden.com/outdoor-living/houseboat-maintenance/
2.4) Describe Taipei 101.
TAIPEI 101 – The World’s Tallest Green Building
2.5) What are the pros of Taipei 101?
2.6) What are the cons of Taipei 101?
Taiwan has both extreme earthquakes and typhoons!
2.7) Describe the Pyramid of Peace and Reconciliation in Kazakhstan.
Clip from Jonathan Newell’s Steppe Tales in Kazakhstan’s capital city, Astana
2.8) What are the pros of the Pyramid of Peace and Reconciliation?
2.9) What are the cons of the Pyramid of Peace and Reconciliation?
-Vanity project for Nazarbayev?
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/13/world/asia/eye-on-kazakhstan-astana/
2.10) What is the NEESWood Project?
World’s Largest Earthquake Test
2.11) What are the pros of the NEESWood Project?
2.12) What are the cons of the NEESWood Project?
2.13) Describe the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park.
Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park | Cook + Fox Architects [HD]
2.14) What are the pros of the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park?
Environmentally friendly
2.15) What are the cons of the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park?
2.16) What if any of the structures discussed would be appropriate for your country?
Building the Future 3 – Surviving Climate Change
At the start of the 21st century our ambition seems only matched by our ability to engineer the world around us. But our very success is putting us on a collision course with the forces of nature. Now, as we pump billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, we are potentially creating the most lethal man-made natural disaster in history. Global warming may be the greatest threat to our future survival.
3.1) What is a Near Earth Object (NEO)?
Discovery Channel – Large Asteroid Impact Simulation
3.2) what are the pros of NEO planetary defense?
The ESA’s Asteroid Intercept Mission Video
3.3) What are the cons of NEO planetary defense?
$$$$$$!
3.4) Describe the Edogawa River Project.
Cavernous Surge Tank Protects Tokyo From Floods
3.5) What the pros of the Edogawa River Project?
3.6) What are the cons of the Edogawa River project?
3.7) Describe the Torre Mayor.
Torre Mayor History
3.8) What are the pros of the Torre Mayor?
3.9) What are the cons of the Torre Mayor?
3.10) Describe the Thames Barrier?
3.11) What are the pros of the Thames Barrier?
3.12) What are the cons of the Thames Barrier?
3.13) What would be the best type of mega project for your own country?
Building the Future 4 – The Quest for Water
In the 21st century the demands on the earth’s water supplies have reached critical levels. In 2002, the world consumed 3 trillion gallons of freshwater every day, a sevenfold increase, and more than doubled the increase in population, in less than a century. The pressures of overpopulation, poor management and climate change are pushing our water reserves to — and beyond — their limits. Building the Future 4: The Quest for Water travels the world to reveal the remarkable ways we harness water from both past and present and how perhaps, more than any other, we must find new ways to protect and develop this vital natural resource if we are to survive the future.
4.1) Describe the Seymour-Capilano Project.
Seymour Capilano Filtration Project Tunnel Liners
4.2) What are the pros of the Seymour-Capilano Project?
4.3) What are the cons of the Seymour-Capilano Project?
4.4) Describe the South–North Water Transfer Project.
China Century Project 2400KM South–North Water Transfer Project HD南水北调全线航拍
4.5) What are the pros of the South-North Water Transfer Project?
4.6) What are the cons of the South-North Water Transfer Project?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South%E2%80%93North_Water_Transfer_Project#Project_controversy
4.7) Describe the MOSE Project.
Venice – Lagoon: The MOSE System for the Defence Against High Waters
4.8) What are the pros of the MOSE Project?
4.9) What are the cons of the MOSE Project?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSE_Project#Controversies
4.10) Describe the Oman falaj system.
See an Ancient Falaj (Water System) at Birkat Al Mauz (Oman)
Worksheet at:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/253283303/Discovery-Channel-Building-the-Future-Worksheet
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