Log 04 - Drowned World

I. Floodside thoughts

 Another road raising project is in progress in our area to mitigate the ever rising flood levels during the rainy seasons. Again, the houses and establishments on the roadside are left as the street rises higher.

If things continue like this and the government does not think of a more permanent, sustainable and future-proof solution to the rising water levels, I can imagine many years or decades from now a future where streets are very high like skycrapers winding up on the clouds while the old houses lay abandoned on the ground. Some innovative buildings standing on adjustable tall stone or metal stilts which they can increase height in a modular manner like a lego building where you add more and more blocks at the bottom. While some just add more and more floors above the water and just abandon the levels that get submerged underwater.

Song on the radio: Flood by Jars of Clay

II. Green Dystopian Future

We always think a green future is a good future. In fact we strive to have a green future for the next generations. 'Green' is a synonym for good. It is almost conflicting to have a green yet dystopian future. 

But just like any kind of technology or tool, 'Green' can be handled with the wrong hands and can lead to a dystopia. 

Where am I coming from with these thoughts? 

Well, these past few days I've been spending a lot of time cleaning up the plants that grow too fast in the garden around our house. Chinese bamboo grow very tall very quick and produces a lot of runners in just a few days of continuous rain. The two bougainvillea climbing on top of our gate quickly grows into a cluster of thorny and leafy and winding branches. The banaba and cherry trees quickly spread a wide canopy of leaves and branches. 

It has been a struggle to trim them to aesthetically good looking and manageable sizes. There is also a problem of caterpillars making the trees and plants their home and multiplying to scary numbers.

This was just after a few days to weeks of continuous rains.

In the movie 'Weathering with you', the ending scene sees a future where the rain continued with no end. The plants ultimately overgrow along the tall buildings and skyscrapers of the city  and soon dwarf the low houses and structures. The new landscape will be like an ocean with some concrete roads crawling up and down (after some road raising projects) and thick viny branches surrounding the tall buildings. It is a conglomerate of blue water, green plants and gray concrete with the blue and green dominating. And with the green comes the biodiversity, mostly bugs and crawling insects.