Philosophy
by
Alex Davies
August 7th, 2014
Wired
Booming global demand for smartphones, tables, laptops, and electric cars has led to increased interest in Bolivia, home to the world’s largest deposit of the lithium needed for the batteries that power those devices.
It’s not the first time natural resources have attracted foreign interest to Bolivia, which celebrates 189 years of independence from Spain this week. Near the end of the 19th century, British engineers came to the country with the Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Company, which was building a railroad to carry minerals from the Bolivian capital of La Paz to Chilean ports on the Pacific Coast. In the 1940s, the mining industry declined, leading to the creation of the Cementerio de Trenes, or train graveyard.
Just outside the city of Uyuni, in southwestern Bolivia, dozens of abandoned steam trains are scattered around as if a giant child dropped them there. The “cemetery” marked only by a small sign that explains very little, has become a minor attraction for tourists visiting the nearby Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. The trains have been buffeted by wind for decades, just a few miles an enormous natural stockpile of salt, and it’s obvious. They’re rusted out, long ago stripped for useful parts. Covered in graffiti—some of it pretty good—they’re strangely beautiful relics of an industry left behind.
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Philosophy
Bolivia's lithium trains are rusting away
"The Beautiful Junkyard Where Bolivia’s Trains Were Left to Rot"
by
Alex Davies
August 7th, 2014
Wired
Booming global demand for smartphones, tables, laptops, and electric cars has led to increased interest in Bolivia, home to the world’s largest deposit of the lithium needed for the batteries that power those devices.
It’s not the first time natural resources have attracted foreign interest to Bolivia, which celebrates 189 years of independence from Spain this week. Near the end of the 19th century, British engineers came to the country with the Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Company, which was building a railroad to carry minerals from the Bolivian capital of La Paz to Chilean ports on the Pacific Coast. In the 1940s, the mining industry declined, leading to the creation of the Cementerio de Trenes, or train graveyard.
Just outside the city of Uyuni, in southwestern Bolivia, dozens of abandoned steam trains are scattered around as if a giant child dropped them there. The “cemetery” marked only by a small sign that explains very little, has become a minor attraction for tourists visiting the nearby Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. The trains have been buffeted by wind for decades, just a few miles an enormous natural stockpile of salt, and it’s obvious. They’re rusted out, long ago stripped for useful parts. Covered in graffiti—some of it pretty good—they’re strangely beautiful relics of an industry left behind.
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"Thomas the Tank Engine had to shut the hell up to save children everywhere" Classism, sexism, anti-environmentalism bordering on racism: any parent who discovered these hidden lessons will be glad the show’s star just quit by Tracy Van Slyke ...
- Tragic And Spectacular Video And Predictable Physics
"The Physics of High-Speed Trains" by Patrick Di Justo July 25th, 2013 The New Yorker On Wednesday evening, a train travelling from Madrid to Ferrol, in northwestern Spain, derailed just as it was about to enter the Santiago de Compostela station. At...
- The Toy Train Man...joshua Lionel Cowen
Joshua Lionel Cowen August 25th, 1880 to September 8th, 1965 Joshua Lionel Cowen was an "American inventor of electric model trains who founded the Lionel Corporation (1901), which became the largest U.S. toy train manufacturer. At age 18, he had invented...
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You can bet the USA will be there demanding their pound of flesh. "Afghanistan Strikes It Rich With Lithium" by Kelly Faircloth Slate Finally, some good news for the Afghan economy and potentially for the American war effort. The New York Times reports...
- Electric Vehicles...i Think Not
The article suggests that electric vehicles are the wave of the future. Granted, better batteries will be developed but it will not have that great of an impact with the general public. Just consider the number of people that do not have access to an...