Why Not Here?? (or, This Is Progress??)

I was watching a show on Discovery channel about amazing buildings and feats of engineering.

Truly cutting edge designs and grandeur.

I found myself thinking: Why aren't any of those things built here in the United States?

Then I got angry.

For the reason was clear: Politics.

No, not the awarding of contracts or zoning issues or crony-ism etc.

But the BS of environmental "save the planet" politics!

All these great structures have H-U-G-E physical foot prints.

Nope, can't have any of that.

All these great structures took tons and tons of concrete and steel and wires etc. to make.

Nope, can't have that either.

All these great structures took vast and awesome heavy-duty machinery to build.

Nope, can't have that too.

All of these structures change the landscape to some extent.

Nope, can't do that.

So we can't have world-class cutting edge buildings here in the United States.

No advancements of engineering for our civil engineers.
No advancements of materials for our materials engineers.
No advancements of construction for our builders.
No thousands of new jobs to build it, and thousands more to operate and maintain it.

Just think about aaaaalllll the law suits and demonstrations that would ensue if someone just proposed building one of this super towers or other similar structures.

Just imagine the angry and hostility towards such a project because it's big and uses a lot of resources to make and resources to operate.

So we don't do it here. Others do it who don't have such compunctions about moving forward.

This is progress??

I don't think so.