If it was my home...

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been an important media event for some time now. Whether it's about the inapt measures by either the USA or BP, or the actual effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Basically, the environmental damage is terrifying both in scale and effect.

But, truth be told, even though I knew that the oil spill was big, I never really got my head around how big it actually is. Because, in the long run, it's just another big environmental disaster, and the sheer magnitude doesn't always speak for itself. How much is one million gallons of oil a day? Or how much is 26.000 square kilometer? To me, those figures imply that it's big, but not exactly how big.

That's where the website ifitwasmyhome.com comes in handy. This website enables you to drop the oil spill anywhere on the world map, to give you some reference of the size of it. In the image above, I put the centre of the spill on my home town (Amsterdam). And then, by reference, I start to really comprehend the vast size (and corresponding damage). Sometimes, quite a simple method of reference can give you more insight than numbers ever could...

The complex history of sustainability

After all is said and done, a lot has been said about sustainability. Almost every single designer claims to be "sustainable" - even though it doesn't extend beyond the "green" image in many pieces of architecture. Exactly the complex matter of sustainability, the many face it entails, the rich history of ideologies - this all seems to be swept away in a storm of sexy wind turbines, spectacular photovoltaic cells and a strategically placed comment about the cradle to cradle principles inherent in the design process.

But there's so much more than this contemporary - relatively superficial - approach to sustainability. This inspired Amir Djalali, with Piet Vollaard, to compile "The complex history of sustainability". Originally, it was intended for a publication in "Volume #18 - After Zero" only, but the timeline has been transformed into an interactive website, based on a mash-up of the google earth software by CASA.

On this web-interface, on can browse through the history of sustainability. Sure, one might doubt some of the -isms as used. And the selective nature of the people captured in this timeline. And the speculative connections between peoples and issues.
But all in all, it gives a nice insight in the complexities and contradictions within the single term "sustainability". From the 18th century romantics, the eco-anarchists and the global warming denialists to bio-mimicry, cybernetics and nazi eugenetics, all is portrayed in this timeline. Linked to the key figures on every stage. As a nice bonus, books, movies, games and architectural projects are added on the time-line.
It might not all be 100% accurate and complete, but at least it doesn't simplify the true meaning(s) of sustainability.

1S 36E - Google Earth (6)

Have you ever wondered about local preferences in car colour selection? Well, judging by this image, it's pretty clear what colour the people of Nairobi prefer for their cars...

52N 4E - Google Earth (6)

A little bit south of the city centre of Den Haag (The Hague) in the Netherlands lies a pretty non-descript housing area. Nothing noteworthy, to write about, one might say. True. True. But not in google earth. Just zoom in on the corner of the Westenbergstraat and the Boekhorststraat. What appears to be a normal housing area is, in fact, an area with a pretty remarkable solution for parking: some smart engineers probably found an impressive way to turn off gravity, so that cars can park on the side of buildings. It's either that, or a funnily stitched picture...

56N 3E - google earth (5)

The two professional football teams in Dundee (Scotland) give a whole new meaning to the term 'local derby': the two stadiums of Dundee United and Dundee FC are located less than 200 metres apart...

44N 26E - google earth (4)

When Nicolae Ceaucescu ordered the construction of a palace in his honour (ironically dubbed "Casa Poporului", meaning "house of the people"), it was going to be the second largest building in the world. It measures 270 m by 240 m, is 86 m high, and 92 m under ground, adding up to 1100 rooms.
However, this wasn't enough: to make sure that there were suitable streets for parades and that there were suitable houses for the high members of the party - and to ensure Ceaucescu had a nice view from his balcony, a large part of the historical centre of Bucharest was destroyed. about one sixth of the city, to be exact...

32N 110W - google earth (3)

In the US, in Tucson (Arizona) to be exact, there's a place called AMARC (aerospace maintenance and regeneration center). This place is called 'The Boneyard' by some, since this is where unused aircrafts are left behind - to undergo "a continual process of anti-corrosion and re-preservation work"...

21N 40E - google earth (2)

Gotta love google-earth. It is not only useful to get some better perspective for specific sites from, but it is also the source of many spectacular images. Images that you'd normally wouldn't even consider. Like this one...

Upon first look, this just looks like a part of a city that just happens to use one monochrome colour in building materials. A closer inspection shows that these are tents. The tents are located in a town called Mina, near Mecca (in Saoudi-Arabia), and they provide accomodation for the thousands of pilgrims that come to the region for the Hajj each year. The sheer size of this camp-site (if that is the correct word in this case) is astonishing.

21N 17W - google earth (1)

Where do boats go to die? Well, for years they went to the bay of Nouadhibou in Mauritania. Just take a closer look at the image above: all those funny looking things in the harbour are abandoned boats. All the brownish dots in the sea are rusty boats. And scattered on the shore: even more boats.

The reason is quite simple: apparently it was known all around the globe that the port authority of this place was rather corrupt. In most cities, it costs a load of money to properly discard a ship, but in Nouadhibou they'd look away if you left your decaying boat in their harbour (for some dollars, of course).

There are great things to be found on google earth...