It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. The Communist dictatorship of China has decided to build a 67-mile paved highway to a Tibetan base camp of Mount Everest.
This, by the way, is very different from constructing a skywalk that sticks out 70 feet from Everest’s summit. The base camp is 12,000 feet below the top of the mountain.
But what if they wanted to build the highway all the way to the top? Anyone like that idea? It sure would draw the tourists.
Frank Warner
The Chinese need a quick way to get their tanks and troops up there in case of a Tibetan insurrection.
Posted by: George | June 21, 2007 at 08:21 AM
Exactly. There are two relevant issues. The first is the military angle and ability to intervene in any political shenanigans that the Tibetans or the mountain climbers may get up to.
The second issue is the impact that roads have on undeveloped areas. They have been very destructive, for instance, in the Amazon rainforest. Where ever the roads are built, the exploitation can begin, to the detriment of the native peoples, the environment, and the norms of civilization.
Posted by: jj mollo | June 30, 2007 at 01:51 PM