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The Coming Atlantic Mega-Tsunami
rbrander writes "It's not news at all that scientists predict an eventual "mega-tsunami" that will sweep across the Atlantic that will still be anything from 60 to 150 ft high when it hits the U.S. Eastern seaboard. This Old News, however, suddenly seems fresh. Like an asteroid hit, it could be millenia away, or tomorrow, that a volcano in the Canary Islands just off Africa drops half a trillion tons of rock into the Atlantic.
A short description of the problem from BBC News and some more graphic descriptions (of up to 100 million dead) and shrewd commentary on the politics of warning from journalist Gwynne Dyer."
Now that everyones attention is on natural disasters rather than terrorism, let us take this opportunity to combine them....
Could a terrorist set off a bomb large enough to trigger the slide? Seems like this would be an easier target and do more damage than any nuke a typical terrorist could make.
one has to wonder if we could defuse the problem by putting that mass in the water now, in a controlled manner. couldnt we start blowing off chunks of the island now and minimize the impact of any possible eruption?
clearly you would have to be very careful and the cost would be very high, but if everyone is certain that this mega tsunami is going to happen wouldnt it make sense to spend the money up front rather than on disaster relief?
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
Imagine a terrorist organization that detonates a bomb in the fissure. It is the stuff movies are made about. (Indecentlally if you are a movie maker you can buy that idea off me) You'd nail every country you hate and then some. But the problem is it only works once, so it is not good for terrorism per se.
The solution is the same as the problem. I would fracture the land mass and incrementally slide it in to the ocean. Several planned tsunamis are better than one big unplanned one.
I do not know if it is possible, but with that death toll and desvistation, it looks like we should get some geologists down there to see if it can't be done. It is resy though, you don't want to trigger the whole thing. Perhaps, it could be divided horizontally to remove the downward stress, rather than splitting slices off vertically?
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
This is only insightful if you believe in fate. I still believe that some things in the universe are random, or at least that they are affected by the viewer, and thus free will can still exist. Therefore, the idea of dying when it's "your time" is flatly ridiculous to me. I'd rather try to mitigate my risk. That does not, however, include moving, at least as it applies to natural disasters. Getting away from a government inherently hostile to its citizens, on the other hand...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Because everyone decided to not worry about an Indian Ocean tsunami
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http://slashdot.org/articles/04/12/28/0120240.s
Uh, actually, plenty of people worried. Arthur C Clarke was there researching the possibility.
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The purpose of Project Warn is combine enhanced communications and IT systems to provide warning of impending natural or man-made disasters and to provide on-going communications and remote sensing and GIS support during disaster relief operations. The Clarke Foundation is working with the Pacific Disaster Center, the Asian Disaster Mitigation Organization, the United Nations, and the US and Japanese Governments as coordinated through the JUSTSAP organization to carry out a suitable test and demonstration in this area.In particular a simulation and test is being planned in the Pacific Region in 2005 to determine to how to use the latest information and sensing technology more effectively in the advent of that a major Tsunami might impact an Asian country or island. Clarke Foundation personnel are providing technical advice and support on a volunteer basis to this project.
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Too late though.
no
Without randomness everything is predetermined. It's possible to influence seemingly random events, although perhaps not in the way you'd expect or hope for. An event which is predetermined cannot be affected.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Sorry, I live with a number of birds and assume everyone is up on peculiarities of avian biochemistry.
Parrots have a much higher metabolic rate than humans. So the CO level that will kill a parrot is far lower than the level that will kill a human. Non-digital readout smoke detectors go off long after all the birds in the house are dead. With the digital ones, at least there's a chance I'll notice the readout before tragedy strikes, or at least figure out sooner why birds are dying. [shudder]
A friend and his wife and children were saved by the death of their parrot. The bird screamed, died, waking the father. He figured things out and got everyone out of the house in time. I think the kids only stayed in the hospital overnight as a precaution.
I should Ask Slashdot - is there a CO detector available or one that I could home-brew (would only be used as a backup - I've seen my soldering joints) that would alarm at a level I set?
(The non-digital readout CO detectors are cheaper, btw.)
This sig seemed like a good idea at the time....
There is no direct warning system in place, but the fact is that Africa will be hit first - giving Spain an hour or two notice, and giving the US about ten hours notice to evacuate.
Of course, does anyone think New York could be evacuated in 10 hours?
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