Industrial waste and multi-contaminated megasites as cultural heritage?

Multi-contaminated megasites are areas whose pollution exceeds both the regenerative capacity of the biosphere and the technological capabilities of humankind. Engineers tell us that these sites cannot be remediated. We must learn to live with them. This is a turning point in our relationship with the natural world and in our illusion of technological controllability. I am presenting a project that proposes that such sites should be considered part of humanity’s cultural heritage. What scientific questions arise in this context? What real changes could such a change in status bring about locally? What opportunities for scientific outreach would arise? I would like to discuss these questions in order to lay the foundations for a larger project.

Oliver Schlaudt teaches philosophy and political economy at the Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung in Koblenz. Originally trained as a physicist, he completed a doctorate in philosophy (Heidelberg) and worked on questions of cultural evolution in a working group on cognitive archaeology (Tübingen).