Thai Tea
by David Atkins
As flooding worsens in Thailand, causing tens of thousands to flee their homes and damaging auto and electronics supply chains as well as 6 million tons of rice paddy yields, it’s worth remembering this from September 13 of this year:
Bangkok at risk of sinking into the sea
Parts of Thailand’s capital could be underwater by 2030 unless the government takes steps to prevent disaster, say experts
Among the pressing challenges facing the new government of Thailand, brought to power by the July elections, is the fact that Bangkok is steadily sinking. The gloomiest forecasts suggest parts of the Thai capital may be underwater by 2030, but experts are also critical of the lack of any clear policy to prevent impending disaster.
Several factors – climate change, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, shifting clay soil – are threatening the great city on the Chao Phraya delta, founded in 1782 by the first monarch belonging to the Chakri dynasty, which is still ruling today.
The population has greatly increased, with about 10 million people now living in the city and its suburbs. Even the weight of the skyscrapers, constantly on the rise in a conurbation in the throes of perpetual change, is contributing to Bangkok’s gradual immersion. Much of the metropolis is now below sea level and the ground is subsiding by 1.5 to 5cm a year.
In the medium to long term more than 1m buildings, 90% of which are residential, are under threat from the rising sea level. In due course the ground floors of buildings could be awash with 10cm of water for part of the year, according to the Asian Institute of Technology.
In the port of Samunt Prakan, about 15 km downstream from the capital, the residents of detached houses along the river already spend several months a year up to their ankles in water.
It seems to me that this is a problem that could totally be solved by tax cuts for the wealthy, more economic growth from development of available natural resources, and looser environmental regulations instead of listening to those parasite government employee engineers, and those scientist freaks who keep warning about climate change.
If Bangkok sinks to the sea, no problem. The Thai people should listen to good men like Dennis Hastert and bulldoze Bangkok and New Orleans, if spending government tax money for public works and doing something about climate change are the only “solutions” that could save the cities. Crazy talk. The poor who are being flooded out in Bangkok are underprivileged anyway, so moving to a new city should work out very well for them.
Besides, that Grand Palace is a waste of good real estate. It should be sold off to private owners. The New Bangkok located farther from the water’s reach would be better off with luxury condos and a WalMart SuperCenter downtown than some gaudy, useless piece of government property.
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