Monday, February 6, 2017

As Climate Change Accelerates, Floating Cities Look Like Less of a Pipe Dream


Ives, Mike. "As Climate Change Accelerates, Floating Cities Look Like Less of a Pipe Dream." New York Times. N.p., 27 Jan. 2017. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/world/australia/climate-change-floating-islands.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

French Polynesia is agreeing to a plan to build a city of islands in the South Pacific.  This is a response to climate change and is organized by Seasteading, a California nonprofit.  They have raised about $2.5 million and say that they can start the project as soon as next year.  Mr. Hencken, the executive director of the group says the goal of the project is to "'create an industry that provides floating islands to people who are threatened by rising sea levels.'"  He also said that the island would cost $10-50 million dollars and be able to have a few dozen residents.  The islands would have renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines.  In addition, he states the initial resident would be "middle-income buyers from the developed world."  There are some problems, though.  For example, the issue of waste management, and getting people to buy since the land in untested.  This project shows that the increase of climate change has lead to innovative solutions.  Some are skeptical and don't know whether this will be convenient and wonder if the money is better spent somewhere else.  Some don't think that residents in poorer areas will be able to use the islands.  One expert stated the project shows that "the developed world is both responsible for climate change, and better able to cope with it."  Although there are challenges, many are optimistic that the French Polynesia project will succeed and help people all over the world.

This article was very interesting.  Climate change is discussed a lot, and many solutions are brought up, but I have never heard anything like the French Polynesia project.  It would be a very good solution to climate change and the rising sea levels.  Although this is a good idea, I think that there are still a lot of challenges and parts that need to be better thought through.  If experts figure out more details about the project and test it out, then I think this can be a very good thing for the world.

Overall, this article was very good.  The summary was short and to the point.  There were a lot of opinions that were discussed throughout the article, so all perspectives on the project were heard.  There were also a lot of quotes from experts.  To improve the article, the author could have stated ways that people were going to figure out solutions to the problems, like who was going to get to use the island.    

2 comments:

  1. Ives, Mike. "As Climate Change Accelerates, Floating Cities Look Like Less of a Pipe Dream." New York Times. N.p., 27 Jan. 2017. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/world/australia/climate-change-floating-islands.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

    Emily did a good job on her review! I enjoyed reading it a lot and thought that it was very well written. The first aspect that I liked about it was her use of quotes in the first paragraph giving some sort of connection to the article in her summary. Another part that I liked was how she used an example in her summary to further explain her topic. This made what she was talking about much easier to understand and much more interesting. And lastly, I like how she contradicted the opinion she was initially talking about by saying, "some don't think that residents in poorer areas...". This shows that there are varying opinions in regards to this topic.
    Although I believe that she did a very nice job, there are a few things in which she could improve upon. She made some minor grammar mistakes, making some sentences a bit confusing at times. And second, I wish that she could have included the names of more experts in her summary, giving it more depth and detail.
    Prior to reading this article, I had never heard of the French Polynesia project but after reading it I believe that it would be a good improvement to prevent global warming. Overall, I believe that Emily did a very nice job with her review.

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  2. Isabel Caton
    February 15, 2017

    Ives, Mike. "As Climate Change Accelerates, Floating Cities Look Like Less of a Pipe Dream." New York Times. N.p., 27 Jan. 2017. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/world/australia/climate-change-floating-islands.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

    I read Emily’s review on the article “As Climate Changes Accelerates, Floating Cities Look Like Less of a Pipe Dream,” by Mike Ives and I think Emily did a really good job. I really like how she incorporated quotes from the article into her paragraphs. I also really liked how she explained the topic further by adding examples, by including both of these it made her review easier to understand. Lastly I like how she included more than one side of her argument.
    Overall I think Emily did a very good on her review but I think she could have gone into a little more detail in some of her paragraphs. By including a few more interviews and perspectives of other professionals the review would have been stronger and in more detail.
    Emily did a very good job reviewing this article, before reading it I had not heard of the French Polynesia project but now I think that is a good way to prevent global warming.

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