Comments on: Bangkok In Ten Years Time

By: Chang Dek

Chang Dek — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:15:53 +0000

The sinking city – Bangkok’s Chao Praya River basin is top of the list for global sites to be affected by rising sea levels:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8266500.stm

By: Pete, frogblogger

Pete, frogblogger — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:19:41 +0000

Understand the sentiment Leosia, but what you say applies to any number of cities around the world, and the bulk of the world’s population is living in areas threatened by rising sea levels. So maybe saying “let it sink” is not a solution!

By: Leosia

Leosia — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:54:40 +0000

I live in Bangkok and personally think it would be a good thing if it went underwater. It’s a mess of a city – polluted by too much traffic and too many people, archaic development laws, zero land taxes which discourage responsible development, non-existent health and safety standards, high crime rates – the list is endless.

The other issue you mentioned, insularity, combined with a stream of short-term governments, political instability and corruption, will ensure that Bangkok sinks steadily into the sea.

By: expatudon08

expatudon08 — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:11:04 +0000

The dykes the Dutch built failed with catastrophic consequences and will again because nature can not be tamed in the long term.

Short term gains is all modern society is interested in hence the credit crunch.

By: Pete, frogblogger

Pete, frogblogger — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:23:03 +0000

Trouble is the politicians need votes today, not tomorrow. And today people will always vote for their pockets. It’s a vicious circle, we’ve been heading inexorably in that direction for decades, and with the explosive industrialization of the world’s two most populous nations China and India, with the rest of the developing world following rapidly behind, it’s hard to see the process being halted, forget reversed.

Human nature’s the problem, not the industrialists. They just service our insatiable demands. We’re a greedy lot, we always want more, and tomorrow never comes. Or so we pretend.

By: chang dek

chang dek — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:55:58 +0000

You can start by watching the movie – looks like you haven’t seen the film JJ – its free on YouTube, so there’s no excuse, or you can see it in its full grandeur at the Scala – highly recomended over the small screen. Rich countries like U.K., Holland or Italy can afford to build flood gates; they are also part of the 2% that own 80% of the global wealth.

By: JJ

JJ — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:33:58 +0000

Interesting, but what can I do?

Once read somewhere that a single hurricane produces more energy that mankind has ever produced since the “invention” of mankind’s use of electricity.

And then again, the whole beautiful country of the Netherlands (literally “low lands”) would have long ago disappeared without the construction of massive dams.

Dams, floodgates, watergates – we can continue to abuse the planet. For at least some more generations.