UP, PLEASE! One national capital city is sinking. Do you know which one might that be?
You might think it could be Venice with all that water and ooze, but, then, just in time you realize, just in time, it is not a national capital.
The city was built on an old island in a large lake area and it is now sinking at rate of about six to eight inches per year.
How, I wonder, do they manage to keep so many buildings upright with such a drastic change as that? It may be that the loss is rather uniform and gradual so that walls simply settle without coming part from any irregular stress or strain, I should think that the knowledge that such a thing is taking place would be enough to make dwellers therein to, at least, inquire about seeking a firmer spot elsewhere - sunny Cancun in Ole Mexico, perhaps?
As I recall, Mexico has been subjected to many earthquake and middle of what is called The Federal District,a great city have been growing for centuries. That's right - a national capital and sinking steadily. Some residents must live in constant fear that an earthquake will hasten the process whereby the city sinks six feet every ten years,and they will be living in a Sunken Garden city need of a second level to be appended.
This city, too, was originally, build as an island sanctuary in a large lake. It was done for safety reasons which made good sense at the time. The water barrier - a moat of sorts - must have deterred potential enemies and provided a better life for the island dwellers - a sanctuary in any time of need. Will the trait which served them so well in their early days, now be a part of their ruin?
The best opportunity the Mexican people have is to plan to build to build a totally new national city as Brazil did. Brazil set the example! It can be done and even improved,too, because fully warned, Mexico could avoid the creation of instant slum on the outskirts of their new capital city built on a firmer found foundation and a safer one as they learn to play the role that those nations must undertake to play in the new centuries ahead.
Certainly, there must be an adequate supply of "Yankee ingenuity" kicking around in Ole Mexico. They have shown some very clever ways in making strong inroads into the American labormarkets. Much of Rome's art, that of Greece, can be seen London and Paris; London Bridge is in Arizona. Brazil operates quite well from its new federal district. Mexico can do as well, or better.
A.L.M. October 5, 2005 [c462wds]
