Common Sense 101 - Engineering - December 16, 2012 Edition

Common Sense 101: Engineering
remember, the demands on it in this regard are only likely to increase over time … not to mention that since
they charge a toll for every vehicle that crosses it, they would have been able to recoup the costs sooner.
Anyway, though it’s too late to switch the Akashi Kaikyō over to carbon fibre, the material ought to be
tried for the next big bridge, like the one planned over the Straits of Gibraltar connecting Spain with Africa,
or the one over the Bering Straits connecting Siberia with Alaska, which might be a good idea too.
Even smaller civil engineering products should last longer. For instance, there’s absolutely no reason
we in Canada should have to re-do the roof every fifteen or twenty years. Mine cost eight grand to redo just
a few months ago. That’s totally absurd. They don’t need to redo the tiled roofs of adobe huts in
Guatemala, do they? Nor, for that matter, have they ever redone the dome of the Pantheon, built more than
2,000 years ago. The trulli in southern Italy’s Puglia region don’t need their conical stone roofs redone, so
why should we? Make roofs out of indestructible materials, and Bob’s your uncle!
It also makes sense to use indestructible materials for much smaller things, like bicycles. Today’s
bicycle frame—a bicycle’s largest part—is often made of carbon fibre, which is great. So why do they have
to make its smaller parts—like chain, pedals or wheel spokes and hubs—out of steel at all? Why not make
them too out of non-corrosive materials, like titanium or stainless steel, so that you can ride the bike in all
kinds of weather without it being ruined? If you live in a snowy place like Ottawa and want to ride your bike
in the winter, even the sales people at the bike store will advise you to buy a clunker, because a bike worth
a thousand bucks is going to be ruined by the salt on the roads. Why, in heaven’s name? Can’t they make
a bike that won’t corrode? If they can make a watch out of stainless steel that won’t corrode and sell it for a
measly ten dollars—and even make a profit doing that—surely they can do the same for bicycle parts.
Anyway, you get the point. Make everything last forever (except plastic bags—those should be
biodegradable) and you’d reduce the amount of junk that has to be junked … hugely. It’s good economic
sense (read the next chapter to understand why), and it’s also good ecological sense!
Here’s some white empty space. Jot down a few notes if you want. Better still,
sketch something.
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