Time Magazine unintentionally tells a good chunk of the truth
Paris Buried a River 100 Years Ago. Now The City Needs To Resurface It to Combat Climate Change
In 1899, a writer for French newspaper Le Figaro surveyed the damage Parisians had done to the Bièvre, a river that for hundreds of years had snaked up through southern Paris, joining the Seine near the Jardin des Plantes. “It flows slowly, oily and black, streaked with acids, dotted with soapy and putrid pustules,” the writer observed. “In the sparse and sordid grass, peeled like the back of a worn-out horse, parasitic plants grow in abundance.” (snip)
Paris’ last stretch of the Bièvre was sealed up in 1912. Since then, a deep-rooted cultural fascination with the lost river has powered several heritage campaigns to reopen it. But none have succeeded: its waters no longer even run under the city, having been cut off at towns closer to its source, 13 miles southwest of Paris.
Today, though, the Bièvre has an unlikely ally: climate change. The same industrial activity that destroyed the river has helped drive global warming, with Paris’ average temperature already 4.1°F (2.3°C) higher than in Rabelais’ day. The urban heat-island effect, in which buildings and paved roads absorb more heat than vegetation and water do, is making matters worse, driving Paris’ temperature up by as much as 14.4°F (8°C) than nearby rural areas during heatwaves. By the mid-21st century, according to local government estimates, Paris could have a climate resembling the much hotter city of Seville in southern Spain.
UHI, eh? Which is the reality, along with land use, for the majority of the effect mankind is having on the climate. Not global, local.
Bodies of water, just like trees and plants, help to cool down their surrounding areas: water absorbs heat from the air, and when water particles evaporate, they carry the heat away with them, lowering the ground-level temperature. They can also mitigate floods by giving excess rainwater somewhere to go, and make cities a more pleasant place to live. So it makes sense that Parisians would welcome the return of a long-lost waterway. Paris’ Green Party proposed “the rebirth of la Bièvre” during the campaign for elections last year, and Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s Socialist Party agreed to pursue it as part of a coalition deal. A feasibility study is underway and Lert expects to complete the first section within city limits by the end of the mayor’s current term in 2026. It will join several stretches of the Bièvre uncovered over the last few years in smaller towns, in parks and other underdeveloped areas.
Land use. This is not man-caused global warming, it’s simply artificially increasing the localized temperature. But, hey, why not jack up taxes and give your freedom to government for a scam, right?
So??? Humans are causing the Temps to go up? Can we think of any other ways?
Hairy: “So??? Humans are causing the Temps to go up? Can we think of any other ways?”
You comment as if you are surprised that humans clustered in urban areas with all the habitats, vehicles and concrete would cause urban heating. We aren’t. You actually question this? Then you ask if we can think of other ways. Like what? Driving our car? Making plastic cell phones? Building Tesla manufacturing facilities?
Hairy, what temperature should a city be? What temperature should our “climate” be? Should the be those temperatures all over and all year round?
If scientists know the temp earth should be what is it?
Let’s go Brandon, there’s still trillions to steal from the people with fear porn. Go get it!