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Saturday, August 1, 2015

Monuments to waste



There are bridges built during the time of the ancient Roman Empire that are still in operation. Here in New England there are perfectly functional wooden covered bridges that date back to Colonial times. Modern steel and concrete bridges are crumbling and and falling apart. Progress?

That's just one example. Did you know a lot of new buildings are being constructed with only a 15 year life expectancy? The thought is that at the end of that time it'll be torn down and something else built in its place. Sadly, a lot of those "temporary" buildings are still around past their disposal date, and getting uglier every year.

Strange to think how such shabbily constructed buildings have 30 year loans.. After the 2008 housing bubble burst there were a lot of unsold buildings. I watched one development in Florida fall apart, almost in front of my else. Not long after the air conditioning was turned off the humidity started working on the buildings. Within 6 months the siding fell off the houses. The wafer board walls absorbed water, got soft, and could not hold onto the siding fasteners. Those buildings went from new to garbage without anyone actually ever living in them.

So why all the waste? It's the way the economy is designed. It's been said that our economy works on a constant growth model. If the economy does not grow, the interest on debts cannot be paid. Everything collapses. A part of that growth is not really growth at all. It's money and energy used to replace all the shoddy crap that's falling apart.

It's an amazing system. In a relatively short period of time it's produced enough waste that the oceans are full of plastic junk. All that junk was produced using energy and materials from non renewable resources.

So we have a systems that must infinitely grow, using finite resources, and which produces much ugliness and trash along the way. It's obvious this can't go on, and anything that can't, won't. So why isn't anyone who's in charge doing anything about it? Why should they? The present system is what put them in power. Then don't want to change it. They want to keep it going, at all costs, for as long as possible.

So that's how we get crap bridges that fall apart, and a whole host of other ills. The problem isn't technical. We could easily build stainless steel or composite bridges that could last at least as long as Roman bridges. Instead of wasting resources fixing and replacing things we could move on to other projects. Our finite resources could be used for durable things rather than cheap short lived crap.

Great, but how do we get the people in power to all such a transformation to way things are done. Theoretically, in democratic societys they just get voted out of office and replaced by people who are not so vested in the old system. Otherwise things reach a point where the vast majority pay huge costs for a system that benefits a tiny few. When things get bad enough either one or two things happen.

Did you ever wonder why Central and South America are full such impressive ruins? Sure, some places fell victim to the invading Europeans. However, other cities were abandoned. It's entirely possible that things got so bad that people just wandered off into the jungle. That's a pretty reasonable response to a civilization that imposes huge costs to the general population and no benefits.

The second option ends violently for the tiny elite -strung up by their guts on lamp posts ugly.

So the next time you have to drive across a rickety pot holed bridge, think about how we got to where we are and to where we are going.

-Sixbears

12 comments:

  1. This is why we prepare it will not end pretty. When the can wont be kicked down the road. When the buck cant be passed. We got here through short sightedness and apathy.

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    1. It's only logical that there will be a day when all the bills are due.

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  2. Same with autos and everything else - they're BUILT to fall apart, so someone can make one to replace it. Consumers could end it if they would.

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    1. Exactly! Funny how we pay a lot of money for a car and it falls apart in less than 10 years. Yet a beer can that's made to use once lasts nearly forever.

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  3. maybe make cars out of beer cans?

    one good thing--if we become extinct whatever comes next won't be impeded by a lot of leftovers. it will all have crumbled by then.

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    1. It does not take long for the works of man to disappear.

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  4. I second, Warlock. Outstanding post indeed. The shop building here was constructed in 1949. It's as solid as a rock.

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    1. Thanks! My first house was over 100 years old. I suspect the "shed" used to be an outhouse. It's not all that hard to build well.

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  5. Another think that is attacking our superstructures is air pollution. Some pollution is so acidic it starts eating away metal structures, like bridges. Yes, I know it used to be way worse than it is now, but it could be a lot better, too, if we tried harder.

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    1. That could well be a major factor. The ancient statues of Rome really started to decay when air pollution became common.

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  6. Yeah, Sixbears. The new 2 million dollar office building where I work is only 6 years old, but the fancy plumbing is always having troubles, the automatic doors are jamming, and there is a thirty foot long crack in the marble floor. How come the marble roads in Crete are still being used after 2000 years? Better technology? I don't think so. Better materials - yep, you got it ...

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