Should A Dome Cover Houston?
Well first, let me answer that for you. YES!
Those people who know me well know I am not a fan of Houston weather, though I’ve lived here off and on for many years. I hate… and I mean hate the heat. The humidity is worse. I’ve joked more than once that I’d welcome summer in Houston as soon as somebody stuck a dome over it and fired up some air conditioning.
You know, though, guys… I was actually just joking.
It seems like an idea from science fiction, a comic book, or even The Simpsons movie -- a 21 million-square-foot dome encompassing a city and insulating it from hurricanes, humidity, and heat. The Discovery Channel program Mega Engineering recently explored the possibility of a dome that would stretch out over downtown. It would be made out of Ethylene Tetrofluoro-ethylene or ETFE -- a light, durable material that withstand winds up to 180 mph, which is well above the speed for a Category 5 hurricane. …Air vents would regulate the temperature and massive doors would allow transportation in and out of the structure.
Bottom line: possible, but probably not for another fifty years. Crap!
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