暖化危機 . 極地城市 . 未雨綢繆

2008-03-16T04:44:00.000-07:00

Dan Bloom and Deng Cheng-hong

暖化危機 . 極地城市 . 未雨綢繆

Deng Cheng-hong, polar cities visionary, Taiwan

Polar Cities Envisioned for Survivors of Global Warming

By Irma Yueh, Liberty Times
( 記者余雪蘭 / 嘉市報導 )
March 16, 2008
Chiayi news section,
Local news page

CHIAYI NEWS BUREAU
〔記者余雪蘭／嘉市報導〕

英國氣象科學家 Dr.．James Lovelock 預言本世紀人類會因地球暖化大量死亡，且逃到北極求生存，美籍人士丹布隆在憂心之餘，創造虛擬極地城市 ( POLAR CITY )，並請嘉義市民鄧承閎用三Ｄ[ 3-D ] 把極地城市藍圖立體化，在網路傳播後引發世界各地環保人士的討論。

住在嘉義市從事寫作及美語教學的丹布隆 ( Dan Bloom )，提出的極地城市構想，雖然很科幻，但過去從來沒有人提出，新鮮且充滿幻想，引起大家的興趣，甚至是科學家的討論。

丹表示，有人認同，有人覺得無稽，但不管虛擬的極地城市會不會變成真實的，他的目的只是希望引起大家來關心地球暖化問題，希望能未雨綢繆，為解救地球盡一己之力。

丹說，八十八歲 (88 years old) 的 Dr.．James Lovelock是世界氣象科學權威，他在去年對世界提出警訊時指稱，從現在已發生的許多地球暖化的科學研究，顯示地球暖化的速度遠遠超過預期，他預言在本世紀，超過十億人會因地球暖化的災難而死亡，人類須逃到北極求生、繁衍，甚至明言指稱 [二０二０年] (2020 A.D.) 就會發生氣候大災難。

他看到這則預言時，初始感到憂心、沮喪，後來扭轉態度，認為應該為挽救地球做點什麼，﹁極地城市﹂的構想就這樣誕生。

丹布隆創造了 [POLAR CITY (極地城市)] ，但初始只用文字描述，雖將這個構想寄給一些科學家及媒體，但石沈大海，於是尋找建築學者、專家，為他繪製極地城市藍圖，但沒人願意幫忙，後來巧遇也喜歡幻想的多媒體設計工作者鄧承閎，他一口氣答應，花了一個多月的時間，加入自己的想像，把丹布隆的極地城市藍圖立體化。

丹說，他構想的極地城市是在造近北極的地區，如加拿大、挪威、俄羅斯、阿拉斯加等建造可以提供讓人類生存的環境的地下城市。

這個極地城市藍圖透過美國 www.gizmodo.com 網站報導，並被翻譯成日、韓、法、西班牙文，而引發世界各地人士的討論。

丹布隆也把藍圖寄給啟發他虛擬極地城市的 Dr.．James Lovelock，結果 Dr.．James Lovelock 回覆他說：
[ "它可能不久就會發生" ]。

IMAGES: http://pcillu101.blogspot.com

===============================
TRANSLATION

Polar city "plan" might provide a solution for global warming before things get really bad in the distant future

[Translation by Babelfish Computer Program]

by Irma Yueh
Liberty Times staff reporter,
Chiayi City bureau

British climate scientist Dr James Lovelock has predicted that during
this 21st century humanity might face mass deaths due to the impacts
of global warming, and according to American expat in Taiwan, Dan
Bloom, "polar cities" that he has envisioned (and illustrated in 3D
format by Chiayi artist Deng Cheng-hong) might be a means for survival
if worst comes to worst.

Bloom, a native of Boston and a graduate of Tufts University, asked
Chiayi illustrator Deng to make a series of colorful pictures with a
special a computer program called SketchUp, and the results are
stimulating and provocative.

Dan Bloom has been blogging about the concept of polar cities as a
possible adaptation strategy for survivors of global warming in the
far distant future -- perhaps the year 2500, he says -- and although
Deng's illustrations look like science fiction artwork, his pictures
of such polar cities might inspire scientists and engineers in the
future to plan and design such northern communities in places like
Alaska, Canada, Russia and Norway.

Bloom says he has sent Deng's images to many scientists in Taiwan,
Britain, Canada and the USA, and many of them have responded by email,
saying such things as "interesting" and "provocative" and
"pioneering". Other scientists have responded in a negative way,
saying such things as "such polar cities will never come to be" and
"it's impossible for such cities to ever exist."

Nevertheless, Bloom says that the main purpose of this Polar Cities
project, which he started a year ago in Chiayi and using the Internet
to reach out around the world to over 25 countries, is just to try to
wake people up about the serious nature of the climate change problem.

Lovelock, who is 88, is an internationall-acclaimed climate scientist
who has written several books warning about the perils of global
warming. Lovelock believes that as the Earth gets warmer, more and
more people from many countries will have to migrate northward toward
Alaska and Norway and Britain and Canada and Russia, leaving many
countries in Africa, Asia and North America without any people in
them, as many people will die from lack of food and perhaps even "Mad
Max"-type civil wars due to lack of food and resources.

According to Lovelock, this will happen by the year 2020 AD, so time
is running out. Bloom says that he is not as pessimistic as Dr
Lovelock, but that he thinks in 500 years, humanity might need to live
in northern communities much like Deng's drawings indicate.
But he says his ideas and Deng's artworks are just mere speculation,
not a prediction of what will be. "Nobody can see the future," Bloom
says.

The polar cities project began as a blog with text only and for
several months Bloom tried to contact newspapers overseas about his
project, with little response. But when he met Mr Deng in Chiayi in a
chance encounter on the street one day, he says he found the genius
who could put his words into amazing pictures.

Now, with his blog filled with a series of illustrations that Deng
made on a computer in his studio in Chiayi City, Bloom says more and
more editors and reporters overseas are becoming interested in the
polar city idea. There are now translations of the captions for Deng's
pictures in Spanish, Korean, Japan and French, according to Bloom. And
a google search on the Internet under the term "polar cities" will
lead to over 5,000 blogs and websites discussing the ideas with
passion and committment, both pro and con.

"Deng is the genius who took my simple idea and turned it into a
visual image that people around can think about and ponder," Bloom
says. "Without him, this project would still be stuck in limbo. But
now, because of the images, hundreds, thousands of people around the
world are being introduced to these ideas. Their own decision about
global warming will be a personal one."

Gizmondo.com was one of the first news site in the Internet to post a
report about polar cities, with Deng's pictures being displayed
prominently. That led to more websites picking up the Gizmodo story
and sharing it worldwide via blogs and emails.

The Liberty Times is the first newspaper anywhere in the world to
publish a news story in print about Bloom and Deng, and Bloom says he
hopes this will lead to future reports in such prestigious newspapers
as the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Times of London and Le
Monde, among other newspapers.

Bloom also sent Deng's images last month to Dr Lovelock in the UK and
received a reply by email from the scientist himself: "Thanks for
showing me Mr Deng's illustratioons of polar cities. It may very well
happen and soon".