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Maybe it's me, but having the backup in Orlando sounds like a bad idea. Anyone able to comment on the logic behind this?
by nxzero 11y ago
Maybe it's me, but having the backup in Orlando sounds like a bad idea. Anyone able to comment on the logic behind this?
- aaronbrethorst 11y agoI'd assume that one of Florida's senators, Bill Nelson or Marco Rubio, was responsible for ensuring that the backup system landed in their state. One person's pork is another's 'crucial jobs and infrastructure earmark.'
- chm 11y agoCould they have built it underground?
- munificent 11y ago"Underground" isn't very feasible in Florida. Most of the state is effectively a sandbar with a very high water table. Underground construction is uncommon.
- nradov 11y agoAnd even a slight sea level rise may make large parts of Florida effectively uninhabitable due to repeated flooding. If you want to build a reliable computing facility there then put it on stilts, not underground. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/the-siege-of-miami http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/the-siege-of-mi...
- munificent 11y agoOrlando is 82' above sea level. If you're worried about it flooding, you should probably spend less time building stilts and more time dealing with the fact that Delaware no longer exists, nor does most of New Jersey, New York City, large swathes of the Eastern seaboard, 75% of Louisiana, the Texas coast all the way in to Houston, much of Los Angeles, and all of Sacramento. On the other hand, it will be nice to splash in the ocean at Joshua Tree National Park, and I'm sure Arkansas residents will be happy to finally be able to own beachfront property.
- knappe 11y agoI was in the south Everglades last week. We went over a pass that was _1_ ft tall. Coming from Colorado, the sign advertising the "pass" was just bizarre.
- bannus 11y agoFor the similarly curious -- I assume this is referring to Rock Reef Pass: http://www.jessstryker.com/national-parks/everglades/rock-reef-pass.html http://www.jessstryker.com/national-parks/everglades/rock-re...
- knappe 11y agoThat's it! Thanks, the picture was on my gf's phone and I couldn't reference it.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- CWuestefeld 11y ago"Underground" isn't very feasible in Florida. Here in central Texas, we have the same thing, but for the opposite reasons. Our water table is pretty deep - typical wells in my town are 900ft deep. But rather than sand, we've got limestone. Typical land has inches of topsoil sitting on top of solid limestone, so excavating a basement is prohibitively expensive.
- sithadmin 11y ago>Typical land has inches of topsoil sitting on top of solid limestone, so excavating a basement is prohibitively expensive. So you're telling me one could blast out a cave in the backyard? Spare no expense!
- munificent 11y agoFlorida, for obvious reasons, cares a lot about weather forecasting and is likely more willing to pony up some of the costs, infrastructure, staff, etc. to support this. Meanwhile, Orlando itself is relatively safe when it comes to hurricanes. Few make it far enough inland to cause significant damage there. (Though, obviously, some do. I was there during the 2004 season.)