Re: WTC and Low Tech

From: Spike Jones (spike66@attglobal.net)
Date: Fri Sep 21 2001 - 18:20:06 MDT


Mike Lorrey wrote:

> Tall buildings are designed with rather significant fire fighting
> systems: sprinklers, extinguishers, halon systems, etc along with fire
> resistant doors and walls, etc...
> In the event of an overload, like dumping lots of jet fuel on the fire,
> there is no way to deal with such a situation unless you build in far
> greater capacity to the system.

Also the current system dumps water on the fire, which wont
help this kind of fire: kerosene floats. We would need a foaming
agent in the water. Im not even sure that would work actually.
However, planes can be built that cannot be flown into buildings
or into the ground.

During this whole episode, I have heard blame-the-victim memes
and every time it has caused me much distress. But there is one
thing we have been guilty of as a society: we have failed to use
all our technology to reduce our vulnerability to such attacks.
The Chicagoans of 1871 did not sit around plotting revenge on Mrs.
O'Leary's cow. They did not form up a mob to destroy all of
cattledom. They thought of ways to supress fires.

We can do this! We *can* make a society faaar more grand
than any we have imagined today, but we must figure out how
to protect ourselves from those who will oppose and destroy.
spike



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