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7 Ancient Wonders of Green Design & Technology

Ancient Wind Power DesignsWe have come a long way since humans first used biomass fuels for their fires over 800,000 years ago. Green design, sustainable innovation, alternative energy – these are all recently-coined buzz-phrases for concepts that in some cases date back tens of thousands of years.  The ancient Chinese used concentrated solar power for heat energy and fire,  Native Americans used hot springs as renewable geothermal sources for cooking and healing, and some speculate the Egyptians used wind power to help build their pyramids. From Greece and Rome to Persia and North America, here are seven incredibly innovative uses of geothermal, water, wind and solar power from around the ancient world.

1) Wind for Power and Water: Ancient Persian Windmills

(Images via: Ullesthorpe, BluePlanet, DeutschesMuseum and WorldofEnergy)

The earliest known windmill design dates back 3000 years to ancient Persia where they were used to grind grain and pump water. Reeds were bundled together to create vertical paddles that spun around a central axis. Carefully placed exterior walls ensured that wind would primarily drive the potentially bidirectional system in the desired direction. Of course, the use of wind power in sailing predates the inventions of windmills but these are the first known use of wind to automate mechanical/manual everyday tasks.
2) Wind for Cooling and Heating: Ancient Persian Wind Towers

(Images via: Seier, Pileggi and FivePrime)

Persia is also the original home of one of the most complex passive ventilation and cooling systems that has ever existed – 2,000-year-old engineering that rival modern hi-tech equivalents with the simple and elegant effectiveness of their design. Using a combination of air pressure differentials, structural orientation and running water these windcatcher structures help regulate temperatures in the harshest of desert environments with cool nights and burning hot days.

Ancient Water Power Designs

3) Water Power: Ancient Roman Gravity Aqueducts

(Images via: ATPM, KMKZ and IWAR)

The Romans are well known for their many colossal and ingenious works of architecture and engineering but perhaps most of all for their gravity-driven water-distributing and waste-evacuating aqueducts – some of which are still in use today. More than a marvel of ancient plumbing, these aqueducts are also an early example of renewable water power for mines, forges, mills and baths. Water was used in hydraulic mining to prospect for, crush and wash ore and likely to operate hammers to crush ore and water wheels.
4) Water Reuse: Ancient Jerusalem Gray-Water Plumbing

(Images via: Rhedesium, Samos and Florilegium)

Located at high elevation and away from plentiful sources of surface water, the ancient city of Jerusalem has relied on underground rivers and other difficult-to-access subterranean sources of water for nearly 15,000 years and still has well tunnels that date back to the 12th Century BC. As the city grew and evolved so did its water use and reuse systems. Sink water was conserved in basins and used to flush waste much like modern sewers but also saved to water gardens while particulates were filtered to provide fertilizer for surrounding fields.

Ancient Geothermal Power Design

5) Renewable Geothermal Heat Energy: Ancient Roman Thermal Baths

(Images via: Yasan, ARP and BBC)

Ancient Romans used geothermal energy indirectly through the water it heated, particularly in cities like the infamous volcano-buried Pompeii (shown above) for their baths and to heat homes. These thermal energy projects were invariably limited by location and dependent on proximity to places like the area around Mount Vesuvius where hot magma was closer to the Earth’s surface. Romans also created ice using thermal differentials – carving pits, putting in water and covering them during the day so they would freeze at night.

Ancient Solar Power Designs

6) Passive Solar Orientation for Heating: Ancient Greek Cities

(Images via: ESNAthens and HotelGuide)

As the ancient Greeks ran into fuel shortages, much like the contemporary western world, they started to think more about how to design buildings to maximize heat gain and retention during winter months. They began orienting buildings and entire city grids such that houses had extra southern exposure to capture the suns rays from low in the sky in the coldest parts of the year. Romans eventually took things a step further by adding glass to their windows in order to retain more of the heat gathered from sunlight.
7) Passive Solar Shade for Cooling: Native American Cliff Dwellings

(Images via: About and Britannica)

The so-called Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado is the largest cliff dwelling of its kind in North America. The people who once lived there had lives that revolved around the sun in more ways than one. The passive solar (and other weather) protection provided by the monstrous overhanging cliff above the settlement is just one example. They also build structures in key positions to be solar indicators at particular times of the year, including solstices, for pragmatic and religious purposes.

Numerous Soldier Formations During First World War

Living Insignia of the 27th Division “New York’s Own”

Human American Eagle

Human Liberty Bell

Human Statue of Liberty

Human U.S. Shield

Living Uncle Sam

Machine Gun Insignia

Living Emblem of the United States Marines

Sincerely yours, Woodrow Wilson

Prison Fortress turned into Museum

The Patarei Prison Museum in Tallinn, Russia was built in the 19^th century. The prison was originally a sea fortress in 1840 and was turned into a prison in around 1919. This prison housed inmates until 2002 and was then turned into a museum. This museum is now an ideal location to experience the Soviet-era prison life in all its gloom. The prison has been left untouched since 2002 to give visitors a real-life feel of the dreariness of prison life.

The museum shows off cotton swabs in the prison operating rooms. The cells still have books and magazines that belonged to the inmates. The museum offers a range of long tours and guides. There is reportedly also a guided tour that is in fact a “prison adventure” and tourists who successfully escape get to have a picnic as a reward.

Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History

#1. Chernobyl $200 Billion

On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl, including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

#2. Space Shuttle Columbia $13 Billion

The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA’s orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today’s dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million.
In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

#3. Prestige Oil Spill $12 Billion

On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia, Spain. Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea.
According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.

#4. Challenger Explosion $5.5 Billion

The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today’s dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today’s dollars).

#5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig $3.4 Billion

The world’s worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world’s single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world’s most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion.
Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.

#6. Exxon Valdez $2.5 Billion

The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world’s biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship’s master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.

#7. B-2 Bomber Crash $1.4 Billion

Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we’re only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.

#8. MetroLink Crash $500 Million

On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles. It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.

#9. Tanker Truck vs Bridge $358 Million

On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany. The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

#10. Titanic $150 Million

The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today’s dollars).

Mysterious Sculptures of William Ricketts Sanctuary

Hidden deep in an Australian rain forest, the clay sculptures of William Ricketts express the Aborigines’ deep connection with Mother Nature.

Born in 1898, William Ricketts was an Australian sculptor and potter who developed a spiritual bond with the Aboriginal people of Central Australia. The time he spent with them, between 1949 and 1960 inspired his works in Potter’s Sanctuary (now known as William Ricketts Sanctuary).

The 92 intricate ceramic sculptures placed along the passageways seem as they are merging with the surrounding plant-life, thus expressing the strong bond Aborigines have always had with nature. Designed as a place where man’s spirit becomes one with nature, William Ricketts Sanctuary inspires us all to protect Mother Nature instead of constantly exploiting her.

William Ricketts spent most of his life in this sanctuary, located on Mount Dandenong, near Olinda, and died here, in 1993, at the age of 94.

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Mont Saint-Michel’s Early History

The Abby dates to c.709, when legend has the Archangel Michael appearing before, and directing bishop Aubert of Avranches to build a shrine on an islet called ‘Mount Tombe’. This islet lies at the southern most point off the Normandy coastline, just before Brittany to the west. This is the base of a Bay of Mont Saint-Michel that opens into La Manche [channel waterway between England and Northern France]. The islet consists of a nearly 80 meters high rock with a circumference of about .8 km. It is connected to the mainland by a very narrow and long causeway.
Bishop Aubert had an oratory constructed on the top of the rock. A monastery was started in 1017, with stones hauled at low tide from the mainland in Brittany. Blanche of Castile, regent of France, ordered the gothic cloister in 1211 added to the earlier Carolingian abbey. A town developed at the base. Both the abby and the town had fortified defenses. The Mont is half surrounded by water, except twice a day it is besieged by swift moving tides that leave only the causeway route for access. Defenders of this fortress abbey have the advantage of its Saint Aubert’s spring. Nearby is a smaller islet, called ‘Tombelaine Island’, which is very baren and was used to discpline individuals.
In 966, monks of the Benedictine order under abbot Maynard replaced the previous monks. They encouraged the cult of Saint Michael and received pilgrams. By the time of William the Conqueror, the abbey benefited from many noble protectors. The abbot Robert de Thorigny administered the abbey at its peak of fortune. The shrine has seen is number of miracles and fostered many legends. Site of early medieval religious feasts and ceremonies.
Mont Saint-Michel was besieged and taken as part of Philippe Auguste’s conquest of Normandy from the Plantangenets in 1214. The site continued to have an increased role in medieval European pilgrimages. Sometimes it was the destination, and at others it was only a stop for those traveling to sites further south. Lower class pilgrims were quartered in the town, but nobles were received by the abbot in the grand abbey.