Ship Breaker

Paolo Bacigalupi, Author . Little, Brown $17.99 (326p) ISBN 978-0-316-05621-2

SF novelist Bacigalupi (The Windup Girl ) makes a stellar YA debut with this futuristic tale of class imbalance on the Gulf Coast. Teenage Nailer scavenges ships with his crewmates, eking out a poverty-filled existence while avoiding dangers that range from giant “city killer” hurricanes to his vicious, drug-addicted father. When a storm strands a beautiful shipping heiress on the beach (earning her the nickname “Lucky Girl”), Nailer manages both to infuriate members of his camp (including his father) and to become embroiled in upper-class trade disputes that he barely comprehends. As Nailer and Lucky Girl escape toward the drowned ruins of New Orleans, they witness rampant class disparity on individual and international levels (tribes whose lands were flooded have taken to the seas as pirates, attacking multinational shipping firms). Bacigalupi's cast is ethnically and morally diverse, and the book's message never overshadows the storytelling, action-packed pacing, or intricate world-building. At its core, the novel is an exploration of Nailer's discovery of the nature of the world around him and his ability to transcend that world's expectations. Ages 12–up. (May)

-----Original Message-----
From: Kitty Morrissy <1018@rewrite.hort.net>
Sent: Oct 14, 2018 1:20 PM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: RE: [CHAT] Holland bulb production

Climate changes affects everything in a myriad of ways. I see where they’ve developed a new way to make coral grow 10x faster to replace the vast amount we are losing.

 

From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [mailto:owner-gardenchat@hort.net] On Behalf Of Pam Evans
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2018 1:29 PM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Holland bulb production

 

I know there is great concern in the Northeast about the sugar maples being affected by warming temps. They have got to have cold to survive and produce

 

On Sun, Oct 14, 2018 at 10:01 AM Kitty Morrissy <1*@rewrite.hort.net> wrote:

Daryl,

 

Thanks for such a thorough, knowledgeable, first-hand-experience response.  I wasn’t worried, just curious.

The article was quite interesting while the last paragraph, troubling.

 

I would like to see our country get more serious on this subject with planning ahead like these countries do instead of just responding after the fact and rebuilding. Some municipalities are starting to, but nothing on a national level.

 

Kitty

 

From: o*@hort.net [mailto:o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of DARYL PULIS
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2018 10:20 AM
To: g*@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Holland bulb production

 

Kitty, as you probably know, much of the Netherlands is below sea level. For centuries, they've been building dikes to create polders (reclaimed land) and the building and strengthening of dikes continues.

 

My grandmother's family lost family members and friends in the great flood of 1953. I remember the tears falling and ears glued to the radio when I was a little girl, because even though my grandmother was born in Wisconsin, they kept up with family "back home". 

 

It was after the 1953 flood that serious engineering skill was called into action by law, and the dikes are truly amazing. I was in Holland in the 90s and they were incredible then, and one that we looked at was still under construction. I was told by one of the young Dutch men I know (a friend of a semi-cousin) that extreme engineering was continuing. The Dutch have also used large quantities of sand to give extra protection, and they created a complicated water gate system to manage water when it gets high. I went looking for more information and found this short article that might interest you. https://www.euronews.com/2017/11/16/dutch-show-the-way-to-deal-with-rising-sea-levels   There is much more out there if you Google Netherlands climate change, dikes, polders and the like.

 

By the way, if you're ever in the Netherlands, don't be surprised to be driving down a country road and seeing a ship above you. It's the weirdest feeling to be looking up at it instead of down.

 

Will the dikes hold? I don't know. How high will the seas go? A meter? More? How strong will the storms be? Will the dikes hold? Probably, though they might be overtopped by waves as some of the earlier ones were. 

 

The bulb fields, as you probably know, are not far from the sea. They are raised fields with drainage ditches every little bit. Water collects there and is pumped out to sea.  There is land farther inland that is higher. Bulb production might be moved there, though that would lose them the advantage of being so close to shipping points.

 

daryl

 

 

On October 14, 2018 at 8:32 AM Kitty Morrissy <1*@rewrite.hort.net> wrote:

This is not a political question.

 

60 minutes had a segment a few weeks ago about our escalating hurricanes and other oceanic troubles attributing the increase in strength to global warming. Whether or not you agree w the concept/reality, I was just starting to think about the bulb production in the Netherlands and how it might be affected. 

 

The show demonstrated how Denmark is protecting itself and their expert is helping here in the States.  The expense is enormous, but Denmark admitted quickly that  such drastic measures had to be taken or they’d be swallowed up.

 

Sure, Holland is further south but still, to my eye looking at the map, in a possible similar situation. Has anyone heard, or have their own thoughts on, what could happen in future to the huge commercial bulb production there? Or what they might be doing to protect it?

 

Kitty

 

--

Pam Evans
Kemp TX
zone 8A