one more reason to like the LA Times
No, I'm not being sarcastic.
An Alert Unlike Any Other:
A nuclear waste vault in New Mexico will long outlive our society. Experts are working on elaborate ways to warn future civilizations.
Oil and gas deposits lie thousands of feet below the plant. In 100 or 5,000 years, an energy-poor government, company or gasoline-addicted tribe in a ruined society, like those depicted in the film "The Road Warrior," could adopt a "drill first, ask questions later" policy — piercing the repository and pulling death to the surface.
That's worth writing about.
posted by Jessica @ 8:16 PM
8 Comments:
A rather pessimistic view, that our (or was it the Mexican) society will not outlive the next 100 years intact.
But then 5000 is more the optimistic point of view.
Wow, when I was a kid I always wanted to live in a world like The Road Warrior (of course I would have been a badass like Mad Max) so it's kind of bittersweet to learn that that might be 5000 years off.
I watched a thing on the discovery channel about yellowstone. Aparently, it erupts every 600,000 years and we're due. The entire west coast will be destroyed. Good luck. If there's a warning in advance, you can always stay with us!-)
if those societies are that impoverished, I doubt they would have the technology infrastructure to tap those old formations. The deeper the formation, the more demanding the technology. Rotary bits, diamonds tips, circulating mud and somewhere in excess of 1000 horse power to run it all
Funny how that "waste" sat in the earth for a billion years and didn't bother anybody.
It's as bad as the PCBs scare, when it would take a human drinking the equivalent of a dump truck per day for a year before a genetic abnormality is probable. We're perfectly safe, and it's New Jersey we should be moving to.
I've become such an eco-terrorist. :)
i'm sorry, this is very serious, but i couldn't help but snicker a bit when i read
"experts are working on elaborate ways to warn future civilizations"
not sure why. just think it is funny
mmmmmm, Colleen makes a good point. How can some one be an "expert" on future civilizations? Clairvoyance? *L*
Yellowstone will shortly blow the west coast of the US off the map. The geologically iminent island shear in the Canaries will create a tsunami that will wipe out the east coast. Sea rise & increased huricane activity caused by Global warming will take out the gulf states. So the only really safe place in the US looks like its above that nuclear vault in New Mexico. So flee for your lives. But best not take digging equipment with you, or at least hide it from the kids. And if a future civilisation happens along you might want to mention that its best not to build a house with an over deep cellar...
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