97% of water on the Earth is salt water, and only 3% is fresh water of which two thirds is frozen in glaciers or ice caps. With over 884 million people still using unsafe drinking water sources, finding a remedy to the world's water issues is a top priority. Designed by YoungWan Kim, SueHwan Kwun, JunYoung Park, JoongHa Park, this incredible concept seeks to transform the worlds off-shore oil platforms into a collection of sustainable seascrapers that will be able to produce and store fresh water straight from the ocean. The project also contains a research facility, housing pods for workers, and each platform is transformed into green spaces for recreation and even agriculture. The team's incredible design has just received an honorable mention in the 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition.
Um, according to another article about the advancing of northern forests in Canada into open tundra, global warming would increase. This article now says that more trees will lessen global warming.
Make up your minds, please and stick with just one story.
Hi caeman, With a little scientific knowledge it’s not a contradiction. Permafrost contains captured carbon dioxide, trees are just an indicator that permafrost is warming releasing that carbon dioxide. So, it’s not the trees that cause global warming, as a matter of fact, the trees themselves reduce the effect of the permafrost decomposition. In general, however, as we all learned in second grade, plants turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into oxygen which is not a green house gas. At the same time the cell structure of plants sequester carbon until decomposition. Since trees are relatively long lived, and wood is relatively slow to decompose, it is a very good way to sequester carbon.
This is an awesome concept that will result in a sustainable water supply to 3rd world countries who have underdeveloped water supply and sanitation facilities. Another benefit of this idea is to maintain sea-levels, as the extra water from the melting ice caps will be consumed and also salination levels in the ocean will be kept in equilibruim which will also positively affect weather, etc. Well done to those geniuses who came up with this brilliant idea, they deserve a nobel prize in my opinion!