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San Francisco, 3:28 PM
Tue Nov 10
27 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #geohacking more →

    Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline

    Moscow Mayor's Climate-Hacking Plot: a Winter Without Snow

    Geohackers Want to Transform the Sahara into a Forest

    Could Overpopulation Save The Earth From Global Warming?

    Top 5 Ways to Hack the Surface of the Earth
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of NotChoinski NotChoinski
    02:08 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    I wonder what the carbon footprint of this project would be. #theberg
     Reply
    NotChoinski was starred NotChoinski was unstarred
    Image of TheGreenRanger TheGreenRanger
    01:47 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    I wanna move out west. Who's with me! #theberg
     Reply
    TheGreenRanger was starred TheGreenRanger was unstarred
    Image of Chip Skylark of Space Chip Skylark of Space
    01:18 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    Wow. This triggers so many responses...

    1) Berlin was built on a marsh. Nice soft ground; it's been filled in for 750 years now, but a swamp is still a swamp. If these people were to dump 1000 meters of fill into a flat area, there will be a greater subsidence, and foundations around the area will crack as the ground sinks. The areas that were covered by glaciers during the last ice age are still rebounding- this is the obverse of that.

    2) If you build a 1000 meter mountain, will you get avalanches? Once again, if you live down the road from the newly minted Tempelhofberg, keep aware of where you children are, during the winter.

    3) Does it rain much? Landslides could be a joy as well. Landslides are more deadly then the avalanches. The rubble and debris from each landslide could be added to the new mountain. Hugh Grant might be able to explain what it's like to walk up a hill but come down a mountain.

    Doesn't this seem like something they'd be doing in Dubai? #theberg
     Reply
    Chip Skylark of Space was starred Chip Skylark of Space was unstarred
    Image of CSX321 CSX321
    12:31 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    Okay, so the unasked question... We have man-made mountains? What's the world's largest man-made mountain now? #theberg
     Reply
    CSX321 was starred CSX321 was unstarred
    Image of snaboobaly snaboobaly
    12:52 PM

    @CSX321: Right here. (kisses biceps) #theberg
     Reply
    CSX321 promoted this comment snaboobaly was starred snaboobaly was unstarred
    Image of Skunky Skunky
    01:13 PM

    @CSX321: I thought Disney's "Matterhorn" was the current tallest man-made mountain, but I'm likely wrong. #theberg
     Reply
    Skunky was starred Skunky was unstarred
    Image of PhDelish PhDelish
    01:29 PM

    @CSX321: Better question - WHY do we have man-made mountains? Who is like...you know what? My city needs a big fucking mountain. #theberg
     Reply
    tetracycloide promoted this comment PhDelish was starred PhDelish was unstarred
    Image of CSX321 CSX321
    01:31 PM

    @snaboobaly: At least nobody's posted a link to Fleshbot. #theberg
     Reply
    CSX321 was starred CSX321 was unstarred
    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    02:27 PM

    @PhDelish: well, just judging from the information available here, germans and walt disney corp. to name a few. #theberg
     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Image of jenndavo jenndavo
    03:17 PM

    @PhDelish: You underestimate the power and lunacy of your average tourism board. First Berlin, then Orlando -- a full set of Floridian Alps, staffed by twirling animatronic Julie Andrews(es?). #theberg
     Reply
    jenndavo was starred jenndavo was unstarred
    Image of Bill-Lee Bill-Lee
    12:30 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    Ooooh ooooh oooh...This gives me a great idea for the empty lot that was the former site of Mervyn's department store in San Lorenzo, CA. Oh...no, wait our gimmick is the liquor store with ample parking.
     Reply
    Edited by Bill-Lee at 11/10/09 12:31 PM Bill-Lee was starred Bill-Lee was unstarred
    Image of Daveinva Daveinva
    12:30 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    "Piker."

    -- Albert Speer #theberg
     Reply
    Daveinva was starred Daveinva was unstarred
    Image of goldfarb goldfarb
    12:23 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    I love mountains, but this is just stupid.
    the environmental impact will be huge, the loss of usable space, changes to the weather, the giant shadow, where are they going to get the material? will they also promote the "Giant Hole in the Ground" just outside of town?
    why not make super efficient housing? using cutting edge materials and methods? make the area a model of future urban design?...with a big park in the middle...
    or just make a huge go-kart track/paint ball park? #theberg
     Reply
    goldfarb was starred goldfarb was unstarred
    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    12:35 PM

    @goldfarb: make the area a model of future urban design sounds an awful lot like replacing a massively expensive earth works project with a urban construction project at least as costly and massive. furthermore the mountain could be a kick ass pain ball park in the summer. #theberg
     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Image of goldfarb goldfarb
    01:05 PM

    @tetracycloide: yeah, the housing thing could turn out terrible...but it has fewer down sides than a mountain...er, you know what I mean. #theberg
     Reply
    goldfarb was starred goldfarb was unstarred
    Image of RandomFrequentFlierDent RandomFrequentFlierDent
    01:20 PM

    @goldfarb: "Where are they going to get the material" made me think of this. Heritage moments deserve their own heitage moment.

    Now I'm not saying I'd offer Montreal as a source for building material, but I would offer Toronto. And Calgary if they really needed it. #theberg
     Reply
    RandomFrequentFlierDent was starred RandomFrequentFlierDent was unstarred
    Image of goldfarb goldfarb
    01:30 PM

    @RandomFrequentFlierDent: haha...Toronto yes, Calgary no - everything there is only 30 years old.
    although if Calgary built a subway (and junked that damn C-Train) then I'm with you. #theberg
     Reply
    goldfarb was starred goldfarb was unstarred
    Image of strideo strideo
    12:22 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    Has this "increasingly vocal group" been very vocal about who would pay for such an enormous project? #theberg
     Reply
    strideo was starred strideo was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Space Hippy! Anekanta - Space Hippy!
    12:21 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    That just seems silly. Expensive, very difficult to pull off, environmentally questionable, and silly.

    But I guess if you can't make Berlin go to the mountain, you can try to make the mountain come to Berlin.

    But they'll have to install a big red dragon, to guard the mountain against the dwarves who come to claim it as their ancestral home. #theberg
     Reply
    Anekanta - Space Hippy! was starred Anekanta - Space Hippy! was unstarred
    Image of Pessimippopotamus Pessimippopotamus
    12:35 PM

    @Anekanta - Space Hippy!: I see. The mountain is no doubt a huge vault for forgotten Nazi treasures. #theberg
     Reply
    Pessimippopotamus was starred Pessimippopotamus was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Space Hippy! Anekanta - Space Hippy!
    12:55 PM

    @Pessimippopotamus: And there's a secret entrance, with a riddle to get in:

    Five feet high the door, and three may walk abreast! #theberg
     Reply
    Anekanta - Space Hippy! was starred Anekanta - Space Hippy! was unstarred
    Image of Pessimippopotamus Pessimippopotamus
    01:10 PM


    @Anekanta - Space Hippy!: Only when the sun is this high. #theberg
     Reply
    Pessimippopotamus was starred Pessimippopotamus was unstarred
    Image of ManchuCandidate ManchuCandidate
    12:18 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    Give the guy credit for whimsy, but the no-fun engineer in me asks:
    1) who is going to pay for it?
    2) where is Berlin going to get the millions upon millions of metric tons of rock to build it? #theberg
     Reply
    ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred
    Image of Pessimippopotamus Pessimippopotamus
    12:17 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline

    Fun trivia about the Tempelhof Airport: It was the site of the Nazi rally in the Last Crusade in which Indiana Jones meets Hitler. #theberg
     Reply
    Pessimippopotamus was starred Pessimippopotamus was unstarred
    Image of Pessimippopotamus Pessimippopotamus
    12:14 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    It's all fine and dandy until one really rainy day.

    Seriously, having such a large geological feature installed will change the local climate and the economies of the surrounding areas. Will the land prices go up? Go down? What about the huge shadow that it's going to cast on towns? The locals' lives won't be the same. It's such a radical idea. And they want wild life and snow? How will they contain wildlife from getting out into the metropolitan area? What about the water run off?

    I'm sure the Germans will consider everything before they put it into plan though. They are Germans afterall. #theberg
     Reply
    Pessimippopotamus was starred Pessimippopotamus was unstarred
    Image of Gann Gann
    12:26 PM

    @Pessimippopotamus: The biggest problem I see is erosion. Mountains stay mountains because they're made of rock. It's going to take a whole lotta engineering to keep this thing from slumping over onto the surrounding city. #theberg
     Reply
    Gann was starred Gann was unstarred
    Image of ManchuCandidate ManchuCandidate
    12:30 PM

    @Pessimippopotamus:
    Even Germans miss those pesky details like:
    1) No winter gear for Operation Barbarossa
    2) Not reinforcing right flank for the Schlieffen Plan. #theberg
     Reply
    ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred
    Image of Pessimippopotamus Pessimippopotamus
    12:37 PM

    @ManchuCandidate: We should always be thankful for the German overconfidence. #theberg
     Reply
    Pessimippopotamus was starred Pessimippopotamus was unstarred
    Image of acrobatic rabbit acrobatic rabbit
    12:59 PM

    @Gann: i was thinking the same thing. much like the man-made islands in Dubai, who's to say this won't crumble down in the slightest inclement weather without massive amounts of funding to maintain it? #theberg
     Reply
    acrobatic rabbit was starred acrobatic rabbit was unstarred
    Image of TheGreenRanger TheGreenRanger
    01:46 PM

    @ManchuCandidate: They actually didn't follow the Schlieffen plan to exact detail, originally they were supposed to spread further out and come around surrounding paris and enveloping the french. Which might be what you just said. Good thing they got caught in a stalemate tho right! If they had originally gone to the sea then it'd be a pain for the Brits to get their ass in there. Either way, when 15 million die and 20 mill are wounded...nobody wins. I just love giving history lessons, it just makes me look so darn smart. #theberg
     Reply
    TheGreenRanger was starred TheGreenRanger was unstarred
    Image of Jeremy Tapsell Jeremy Tapsell
    12:07 PM

    In reply to Largest Man-Made Mountain Could Rise Above Berlin's Skyline
    thats a really cool idea! Photo #4 is amazing! #theberg
     Reply
    Jeremy Tapsell was starred Jeremy Tapsell was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Space Hippy! Anekanta - Space Hippy!
    10/20/09

    In reply to Moscow Mayor's Climate-Hacking Plot: a Winter Without Snow
    This is why we can't have nice things. #science
     Reply
    Anekanta - Space Hippy! was starred Anekanta - Space Hippy! was unstarred
    Image of TheGreenRanger TheGreenRanger
    10/20/09

    In reply to Moscow Mayor's Climate-Hacking Plot: a Winter Without Snow
    am i the only person who loves snow? then again, i guess they get a lot of it in moscow, but still! keep this away from me, i like all my 4 seasons thank you very much. #science
     Reply
    TheGreenRanger was starred TheGreenRanger was unstarred
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