Asbestos, QC CanadaThree Gorges Dam, Yichang, China

Precedent 1:

The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest and most powerful hydroelectric dam. Located on the Yangtze River, and straddling Hubei and Sichuan provinces, the dam stretches 2 km across and stands 185 meters high. Its completion will result in the creation of an adjacent 600 km lake. The dam’s primary functions will be to generate electricity, control floods and provide for inland shipping. In full operation, this dam will generate 18,200 megawatts of electricity from 26 turbines. Construction, which began in 1993, is slated for completion by 2012. Budgeted investment is nearly $25 billion U.S. dollars, but some dam watchers say costs could rise to as much as $75 billion by completion.

To make room for the Three Gorges Dam, approximately 1.5 million people must be relocated and their livelihoods challenged (largest peacetime evacuation in history). Fertile agricultural lands and important cultural/historic sites will be found submerged under a vast reservoir. By 2009, 13 major cities, 140 towns and over 1,300 villages, along with 1,600 factories and mines and an unknown number of farms will have vanished beneath its surface.

Engineers and geologists suspect that the strong earthquakes which have been China since 2003 are linked to the Three Gorges dam. The gigantic new artificial lakes made by the dam are sitting right above the fault lines of the earth’s crust.

In October 2006, just as the reservoir reached 156 metres (out of its 175 capacity) above sea level, the strongest earthquake to hit China's Hubei province in two decades shook an area near the Three Gorges dam, reaching a magnitude of 4.7. The tremor damaged thousands of houses and forced 5,860 people to leave their homes.

Some members of the international scientific community have called this the “First man-made earthquake.”.

Tiffany L. Barry, Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University (Milton Keynes)

Paul R. Bown, Department of Earth Sciences, University College London (London)

Patrick Brenchley, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Liverpool (Liverpool)

Andrew Cale, Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum (London)

David Cantrill, Royal Botanic Gardens (Melbourne)

Angela L. Coe, Department of Earth Sciences, The Open Univeristy (Milton Keynes)

Philip Gibbard, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge (Cambridge)

F. John Gregory, Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum (London)

Mark W. Hounslow, Center for Environmental Magnetism and Palaeomagnetism, Lancaster University (Lancaster)

Andrew C. Kerr, School of Earth Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University (Cardiff)

Robert Knox, British Geological Survey (Nottinghamshire)

John Marshall, National Oceanography Center, University of Southampton (Southampton)

Micheal Oates, BG Group (Reading)

Paul Pearson, School of Earth Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University (Cardiff)

John Powell, British Geological Survey (Nottinghamshire)

Peter Rawson, Scarborough Center for Environmental and Marine Sciences, Univeristy of Hull (Scarborough)

Alan Smith, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge (Cambridge)

Philip Stone, British Geological Survey (Edinburgh)

Colin Waters, British Geological Survey (Nottinghamshire)

Mark Williams, Department of Geology, University of Leicester (Leicester)

Jan Zalasiewicz, Department of Geology, University of Leicester (Leicester)

Stratigraphy Commission of the Geological Society of London, 2008

Are

we

now

livi

ng in

the

Ant

hrop

ocen

e?ne

w g

eolo

gica

l epo

ch to

be

form

ally

acc

epte

d in

the

Geo

logi

cal t

ime

scal

e

Serpentine rock / asbestos formation2.5 billion to 540 million years ago

Geological time scale4.6 billion years ago to present

Grasses / trees become common38 to 24 million years ago

Homo Sapiens accidentally discover fire and survive the last ice age11 000 years ago

First books of the old testament are written2 500 years ago

Late 18th century ?Anthropocene epoch

Eon:

Era:

Period:

Epoch

"Roc

kles

s Eo

n"; S

olid

ifyin

g of

Ear

th's

con

tinen

tal a

nd o

cean

ic c

rust

s

Hadean eon4.6 to 3.9 billion years ago

Archeozoic eon3.9 to 2.5 billion years ago

Vendian/Ediacaran period600 to 540 million years ago

Proterozoic eon2.5 billion to 540 million years ago

Cambrian period540 to 500 million years ago

Phanerozoic eon

Paleozoic era540 to 248 million years ago

540 million years ago through today

The

first

life

form

s ev

olve

(one

-cel

led

orga

nism

s); B

lue-

gree

n al

gae,

arc

haea

ns, a

nd b

acte

ria a

ppea

r in

the

sea

(this

beg

ins

to fr

ee o

xyge

n in

to a

tmos

pher

e)

Firs

t mul

ticel

lula

r life

, mul

ti-ce

lled

anim

als

appe

ar; M

ass

extin

ctio

n oc

curr

s; C

ontin

ents

mer

ge in

to s

ingl

e su

perc

ontin

ent (

Rodi

nia)

Man

y m

arin

e in

vert

ebra

tes,

firs

t ver

tebr

ates

; Sup

erco

ntin

ent R

odin

ia b

egin

s to

bre

ak in

to s

mal

ler c

ontin

ents

(no

corr

espo

nden

ce to

mod

ern-

day

land

mas

ses)

; Mas

s ex

tinct

ions

(50

% o

f all

anim

al fa

mili

es) c

ause

d by

gla

ciat

ion

Triassic period248 to 208 million years ago

Mesozoic era248 to 65 million years ago

Firs

t din

osau

rs a

nd m

amm

als;

End

s w

ith m

inor

ext

inct

ion

(35

% o

f all

anim

al fa

mili

es)

Firs

t lar

ge m

amm

als

and

prim

itive

prim

ates

Jurassic period208 to 146 million years ago

Man

y di

nosa

urs;

Firs

t bird

s, fl

ower

ing

plan

ts e

volv

e; E

nds

with

min

or e

xtin

ctio

n

Lower epoch

Cretaceous period146 to 65 million years ago

146 to 98 million years ago

Hey

day

of th

e di

nosa

urs;

Ear

liest

-kno

wn

butt

erfli

es, s

nake

s, a

nts,

bee

s; E

nds

with

min

or e

xtin

ctio

n

Upper epoch98 to 65 million years ago

Tertiary period65 to 1.8 million years ago

Cenozoic era65 million years ago to today

Paleocene epoch65 to 54 million years ago

Firs

t hum

ans

(Hom

o sa

pien

s) e

volv

e; M

ass

extin

ctio

n of

larg

e m

amm

als

and

man

y bi

rds

caus

ed b

y la

st ic

e ag

e

Quaternary period1.8 million years ago to today

Pleistocene epoch1.8 million to 11 000 years ago

Hum

an c

ivili

zatio

n

Holocene epoch11 000 years ago to today

Mam

mal

s ab

ound

(rod

ents

, prim

itive

wha

les

appe

ar);

Ends

with

min

or e

xtin

ctio

n

Eocene epoch54 to 38 million years ago

Man

y ne

w m

amm

als

(pig

s, d

eer,

cats

); G

rass

es b

ecom

e co

mm

on

Oligocene epoch38 to 24 million years ago

Mor

e m

amm

als

( hor

ses,

dog

s, b

ears

, mod

ern

bird

s); S

outh

Am

eric

an m

onke

ys a

nd a

pes

in s

outh

ern

Euro

pe

Miocene epoch24 to 5 million years ago

Firs

t hom

inid

s (a

ustr

alop

ithec

ines

)

Pliocene epoch5 to 1.8 million years ago

Hig

h te

cton

ic a

nd v

olca

nic

activ

ity; C

ontin

ents

hav

e m

oder

n-da

y lo

ok; E

nds

with

larg

e ex

tinct

ion

of d

inos

aurs

and

50

% o

f mar

ine

inve

rteb

rate

spe

cies

due

to a

ster

oid

impa

ct o

r vol

cani

sm

Ordovician Period505 to 438 million years ago

Prim

itive

pla

nts

appe

ar o

n la

nd; H

igh

sea

leve

ls; G

loba

l coo

ling

and

glac

iatio

n, m

uch

volc

anis

m; E

nds

in h

uge

extin

ctio

n du

e to

gla

ciat

ion

Silurian Period438 to 408 million years ago

Firs

t fish

, vas

culra

r pla

nts;

Hig

h se

as w

orld

wid

e

Devonian Period408 to 360 million years ago

Fish

and

land

pla

nts

beco

me

dive

rse

and

abun

dant

; Firs

t am

phib

ians

app

ear;

Mas

s ex

tinct

ion

wip

es o

ut 3

0%

of a

nim

al fa

mili

es, c

ause

d by

gla

ciat

ion

or m

eteo

rite

impa

ct

Carboniferous Period360 to 280 million years ago

Firs

t win

ged

inse

cts,

rept

iles;

Man

y fe

rns;

Firs

t may

flies

and

coc

kroa

ches

app

ear

280 to 248 million years agoPermian Period

Am

phib

ians

and

rept

iles

dom

inan

t; C

ontin

ents

mer

ge in

to s

ingl

e su

per-

cont

inen

t (Pa

ngae

a), E

arth

's a

tmos

pher

e ox

ygen

leve

ls c

lose

to m

oder

n le

vels

; End

s w

ith la

rges

t mas

s ex

tinct

ion

(50

% o

f ani

mal

fam

ilies

, 95

% o

f mar

ine

spec

ies

and

man

y tr

ees

caus

ed b

y gl

acia

tion

or v

olca

nism

)

Serpentine rock / asbestos formation2.5 billion to 540 million years ago

Grasses / trees become common38 to 24 million years ago

Homo Sapiens accidentally discover fire and survive the last ice age11 000 years ago

First books of the old testament are written2 500 years ago

m

ell

c

m

a

an

t

ts

t

e

x

h

o

in

i

i

a

m

d

mm

o

t

E

55

p

pp

e

dd

t

ti

o

t

m

m

(r

d

t

kk

a

oo

rg

hh

a

o

n

r

Geological time scale

Changes in Physical Sedimentation

Dramatic increase in erosion & denudation of the continentsboth directly (agriculture/construction) and indirectly (dammingof most major rivers) now exceeds natural sediment productionby an order of magnitude.

Carbon Cycle Perturbation / Temperature

Carbon dioxide levels are over a third higher than pre-industrialtime and anytime in the past 900 000 years, are are consideredto double by the end of the 21st century. This rate of change ismore rapid than the one associated with any otherglacial-interglacial transition.

Biotic change

The rate of biotic change may produce a major extinction event analoguous to the ones taking place in the glacial-interglacialtransitions. The current effects are even more severe (due to the anthropogenic fragmentation of natural ecosystems, escape routes are fewer) and permanent (future evolution takes placefrom surviving stock only).

Ocean change

Pre-industrial / mid-late Holocene sea level stability has followeda 120 meter rise from the late Pleistocene level. Surface oceanwaters are also now 0.1 pH units more acidic due to anthropogeniccarbon release.

Late 18th century ?Anthropocene epoch*

*

e ide

us

nec

h

It is most reasonable for this unit to be considered at the epoch level. It is true that the long-term consequences of anthropogenic change might be of sufficient magnitude to precipitate the return of Tertiary levels of ice volume, sea level and global temperature, leading to major extinction events. However, given the uncertainties in future trajectories of climate, biodiversity and the action of feedbacks in the earth’s systems, it is too early to state that the Quaternary period has come to an end.

Late 18th century ?Anthropocene epoch*

earthquakesvolcanoes

plate tectonicscontinental drifts

solar flaressun spots

magnetic stormsmagnetic reversal of the poles

comet/asteroid bombardmentsworldwide floods/fires

tidal wavescosmic rays

recurrent ice agesmass extinctions

etc.

And now we want to save the landscape from chrysotile dust?

Maybe paradoxically we should reject the image of nature that we spontaneously take for granted (nature as a balanced harmonized circulation which is then destroyed through excessive human agency). Nature is not a harmonious pattern of seasons, but in itself a series of mega catastrophes:

?

Since “nature” is always the open space for radical otherness for humans, it has always been the space for ideological investment

In medieval times, nature was looked upon in contemplation as the natural pyramid of creation

With the popularization of darwinism and the expansion of capitalism, nature was conceptualized as the space for competitive struggle

Today’s predominant’s ideology is an “Ecology of fear”,taking over the old religious fundamental function by instituting an unquestionable authority which imposes limits on our thinking:

In other words, there exists some sort of abstract “natural maternal deity”, which we humans, with our will to dominate it, disturb its patterns of balance which somehow need to be restored.

This results in a deeply conservative discourse and approach...

“We are some sort of abstract Cartesian subjects; in our exploitation of natural resources we have been borrowing from the earth’s bounty, we should therefore treat it with respect (as something sacred, a power to trust, not dominate).”

Since “nature” is always the open space for radical otherness for humans, it has always been the space for ideological investment

In medieval times, nature was looked upon in contemplation as the natural pyramid of creation

With the popularization of darwinism and the expansion of capitalism, nature was conceptualized as the space for competitive struggle

Today’s predominant’s ideology is an “Ecology of fear”,taking over the old religious fundamental function by instituting an unquestionable authority which imposes limits on our thinking:

In other words, there exists some sort of abstract “natural maternal deity”, which we humans, with our will to dominate it, disturb its patterns of balance which somehow need to be restored.

This results in a deeply conservative discourse and approach...

“We are some sort of abstract Cartesian subjects; in our exploitation of natural resources we have been borrowing from the earth’s bounty, we should therefore treat it with respect (as something sacred, a power to trust, not dominate).”

?The first premise of truly radical ecology is hence to agree that “nature doesn’t exist” and attempt to denaturalize ecology

ECOLOGY WITHOUT NATURE

Attempt to “naturalize” the site

Take for granted that the site needs to become a “destination”

1)

2)

Asbestos, QC CanadaBalangero Mine (Turin), Northern Italy

Precedent 2:

The Balangero asbestos mine is located at the outlet of the Lanzo Valley, nearly 30 km away from Turin. As the site was progressively abandonned (from the 1970s until the definite mine closure in 1990), the area was being identified as a national interest site for remediation. Plant and lichen phytosociological studies have been applied to the mine in order to study the rate of natural remediation without the interference of human agents.

Vegetation relevés and maps surveys have shown that plants and lichens develop spontaneously on the asbestos-rich substrates. Early colonization stages with low-covering hyperaccumulators (Thlaspi sylvium, Minuartia laricifolia, Thymus alpestris, T. cfr. humifusus) are followed decades later by mature plant communities, completely covering the asbestos-rich debris and thereby limiting the dispersion of fibres. Without the burden of human occupation,these plants and lichens act as spontaneous bioattenuating and bioremediating agents in the ecological recovery of the area. (Favero-Longo et al. 2006:190)

Increasing knowledge of the response of plants to their environment is creating new paradigms for plant environmental control; in order to develop new bio-response feedback control systems, the primary concern is to develop innovative and functional non-invasive technique for monitoring the terrain.

10

year

s af

ter a

band

onm

ent o

f min

ing

activ

ities 2

0

30

40

50

60

70

Scoliciosporum group (lichens)

source: S. E. FAVERO-LONGO, C. SINISCALCO & R. PIERVITTORI. “Plant and lichen colonization in an asbestos mine: Spontaneous bioattenuation limits air dispersion of fibres.”Plant Biosystems, Vol. 140, No. 2, July 2006, pp. 190 – 205

Mixed broadleaves wood (trees)

Festuca group (plants)

Thymus group (plants)

Metallophytic group (plants)

Xanthoparmelia group (lichens)

Chasmoendolithic group (lichens)

Candelariella group (lichens)

Bioremediation at Balangero Asbestos Mine, ITA (no intervention)

Attempt to “naturalize” the site

Take for granted that the site needs to become a “destination”

1)

2)

Asbestos, QC Canada

Project:

Evaluate stages and times of colonization dynamicsfor various plant & lichen communities

Establish the role of spontaneous recolonization in coveringasbestos-rich substrates

Identify suitable organisms & timeframes for revegetation

1)

2)

3)