Eclectic Perambulations in the Noosphere
"Peter Gleick, scientist and freshwater expert, talks about his latest book :
Bottled and Sold : The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water.
In 1976, the average American consumed a gallon and a half of bottled water each year. By 2008, the number had grown to about 30 gallons of bottled water per person in the U.S. That amount, says Peter Gleick, "equals about 115 liters of water each year, most of it from single-serving plastic containers."Gleick, a freshwater expert, is the author of Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water. In the book, he examines how drinking water was commodified and branded over the past 30 years, turning what was once a free natural resource into a multibillion-dollar global industry — while raising questions about the taste and safety of drinking tap water."
"There are more than 700 curious tunnel networks in Bavaria, but their purpose remains a mystery. Were they built as graves for the souls of the dead, as ritual spaces or as hideaways from marauding bandits? Archeologists are now exploring the subterranean vaults to unravel their secrets.
At least 700 of these chambers have been found in Bavaria alone, along with about 500 in Austria. In the local vernacular, they have fanciful names such as "Schrazelloch" ("goblin hole") or "Alraunenhöhle" ("mandrake cave"). They were supposedly built by elves, and legend has it that gnomes lived inside. According to some sagas, they were parts of long escape tunnels from castles."
"Kingdom Tower, previously known as Mile-High Tower (Arabic: برج الميل), is a supertall skyscraper approved for construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia It will be the centrepiece and first phase of a $20 billion new development known as Kingdom City.
The tower was initially planned to be 1-mile (1.6 km) tall, but soil testing in the area cast doubt over the suitability of the area for a building of this height. The building has been scaled down to a height of at least 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) (the exact height is being kept private while in development, similar to the Burj Khalifa)] which would still be the tallest building in the world built to date, standing almost 600 ft (180 m) taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The building will house a Four Seasons hotel, Four Seasons serviced apartments, Class A office space, luxury condominiums and the world’s highest observatory."
