By Stan Hopewell
As the Peace Force-Atlantis Meeting wrapped up tonight, a few more details have started to emerge.
First, Speedster eventually made it to the meetings, but no one saw her enter. From all accounts, she was fidgeting when she did sit down, which distracted everyone, human and Atlantean alike. She was asked to leave by a Peace Force member, and she did. Again, no one saw her exit.
Second, the levels of pollution the Atlanteans wanted were, naturally, very low compared to the U.S. numbers. The Atlanteans felt that the U.S. was going back on their word to reduce water pollution levels to 3% by 2020, and they were also still upset about last year’s oil spills that destroyed their kelp farms and marlin hunting waters. The U.S. officials maintained that was an aberration and that they will continue to lower their pollution levels.
Third, most intriguingly, an alternative was being proposed to the Atlantis Underway. The plan to build a 1,500 mile underwater highway and/or high-speed rail line didn’t garner much attraction from the U.S. due to its high cost. The Atlanteans were, by and large, not too fond of the idea either. Instead, another project, the Atlantis Elevator, garnered more interest as it would cost considerably less money to build. Essentially, it would be a giant freight elevator built from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to sea level about halfway in between Atlantis and the eastern seaboard. Freight ships would sail to the elevator which would essentially be a port for the exchange of cargo. Whether or not the White House goes for the idea is unknown.
No matter what happens in Washington, attendees came away feeling productive. Next year’s meeting is already being planned as a two-day event.