Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
chapter three
Dreaming Green
Engineering the Eco-City
I knew I was getting close to Dongtan when my taxi passed three large wind
turbines (bird-lovers hate turbines because birds meet grisly ends in the
gigantic blades). h e Japanese-built blades turned slowly, cutting through
the humid and thick air. My parents had insisted that their friend come with
me. Intensely hypersocial, she helped me get through the meals with my
father's extended relatives, mediating expertly between my Shanghai and
their Chongming dialect. After lunch, my father's fi rst cousin's son walked
us to his shiny black car, apologized for not taking us to Dongtan, and got us
quickly to the cab that drove us to the marshy landscape.
After an hour of driving, I understood why he didn't come. It's really,
really far away from the main towns. h e bored guard at the gate and the
local man who promised a more “exciting” rural experience in exchange for
money were the only people there. I walked on a raised wooden walkway
about a quarter mile above the wetlands, and, after about fi fteen minutes,
fi nally and excitedly saw a single big white bird. Here, on these wetlands,
the glorious Dongtan eco-city is imagined as inhabited by fi ve hundred
thousand people by 2050. But as of December 2013, Dongtan has not been
built and its future prospects look grim.
