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Yeah, it's a big question but I'd love to see your answers.

 

The world is obviously at crisis point and as our planet has no true global government it is difficult to see how major problems with our world could be fixed.

 

In America there seems to be no hope of cutting carbon emissions so the rest of the world follow suit.

 

Though the planet is fast becoming over populated there is still no system in place to address this.

 

Knowing that in the future, even if we solve the problems we have here, one day this planet will become unhabitable, we still have no programme in place to move our species to another site.

 

 

Just three small issues.

 

What think you?

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I think perhaps 2 of the three things you sited - some world conflicts (that involve territory or resources as driving factors) and emissions could be solved by whatever model of energy independence can come about that involves reliable clean technologies.

 

Whoever does it first will probably either be loved and their methods emulated or hated or mistrusted or both. Also there's potential there for whoever does it to become an economical powerhouse (not just energy or the distribution of it but money, jobs and/or influence on the world stage).

 

The question of overpopulation may have a few alternatives before we delve into trying to populate the solar system with colonies, and that could be our oceans. I read an intersting article recently over on the popular mechanics website that talked about various military technolgies and one of them was for the U.S. Navy.

 

The technology in question relates to the advances that stem from oil rig designs to come up with modular sections that could be floated out to any destination and then assembled. Barracks, air flields, workshops, labs you name it, this thing would have it. They also talked of a rating system for it that relates to the kinds of waves and storms it could hold on through that I forget off hand.

 

Anyway, it makes sense that the military is researching this potential before there could be civilian applications to it - after all, there are usually impressive bucks going into militaries these days, might as well let them foot the R&D expenses to such a thing first. And it wouldn't be the first time civilian applications for things stemmed from the military or even space research.

 

Still, I hope that there would be enough money going into space or oceanic/climate research to find other alternatives. Because one alternative I can think of is hard to accept - the fear that legal abortion or euthanasia for the old or dying would take center stage in an extremely overpopulated world scenario.

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Okay! I admit that I am currently to drunk to answer this big question. But I tend you have my shining moments when I am drunk.

To the question of a world goverment I would think that it is only possible when we have reach the state of an economic utopia where everything cost the the same all over the planet Earth.

To the question of overpopulation I would like to say that human creativity is boundless and should always be so.

The ressource question is something to be pondered upon like the question if the human race should stay in it's cradle or leave it and venture forth into the universe from planet Earth.

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The subject of space travel was brought up simply because,

 

a/ Even if we could find a habitable solution it is doubtful if we could ever develop a means of getting anywhere quickly,

 

and b/ Our sun will eventually die and burn this little rock to cinders. (that's if the moon doesn't slow down enough to crash into us first)

 

To me doing nothing to advance the chances for future generations is like someone who continues to watch the tv inside a burning building.

 

 

I have heard many options for populating the oceans but even if these projects could contain everything we required, including employment I doubt many would want to live in them.

 

It is difficult to tell one person to live underground or in a biodome when some people will be able to live a normal existance.

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Actually one was successfully tested on a mission to investigate an asteroid a few years ago. '02 or '03 I think. Anyway, I can't remember the craft's name, but I'd seen a show about it on Discovery or the Science channel not too long ago.

 

From what I gather its a very finicky technology. It can get up to incredible speeds but it takes forever to get up to speed in the first place. Also even the smallest bits of debris (in this case, left over from construction I believe) can render the engines inoperative. I don't even know how they got around this but they did and the mission went ahead. I don't know what state ion engine technology is in now, but this mission did set some records and now they have data to work from.

 

I have heard many options for populating the oceans but even if these projects could contain everything we required, including employment I doubt many would want to live in them.

 

It is difficult to tell one person to live underground or in a biodome when some people will be able to live a normal existance.

 

I think you answered the dilema in your statement. First, even if you had the technology, you have to make it attractive for people to choose a life there, that means jobs, a good stable home, a decent income and education. Don't force anyone to live anywhere, just make as many places as possible like this attractive to do so or provide incentives to move there. It'll be the same for space colonization, might as well work out the kinks to it in a (relatively) safe environment here on Earth first, then move onto the Moon and Mars or do these things in tandem together.

 

I still however think that we're several generations away from serious population problems, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't look into concepts for dealing with it before its major.

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As for living under the sea. Check this out.

Very nice but I notice if you click on Financial Feasibility you get the legend - Under Construction.

 

It's the same under Engineering Feasibility.

 

I would like to see something like this being build because I do know of the sturborness and 'let-us-do-it-the-old-and-safe-ways' attitude that is dominating in some circles in the construction business.

I have seen it again and again where people wants to play it safe. Well where would the world be without the risktakers, I ask!.

 

Here in Denmark we have the current mayor of Copenhagen who made an election promise that was called 5000 dwellings for 5000 danish crowns a month. That was over 2 years ago. This election promise has meet a lot of resistence from just about any place including the mayor's allies in this project.

The antagonists of this project claim that the financing is all wrong.... :)

 

They might be right. But Copenhagen is an old city that always has been struggling to keep up which the changing of the times. Every time some dreamer/visionary reared his/her head he/she was quickly dragged through the 'The-old-ways-are-better'-proces and probably winds up in a insane asylum afterwards.

 

As I in my profession is firmly planted in the borderlands between fantasy and reality I see lots of ideas that challenge the known ways of construction and buildings hence the Hydropolis project.

And what I hear the 'older and more experienced' people saying is negative and down right ridicule in my ears.

 

The next time I hear such a comment I'll give that person a piece of my mind what I think about him and tell him that it is better to try and perhaps fail then not have tried at all.

But then they probably will bring up the issue of money and go on about how expensive things are and so on. And yes I do know that all things new and/or different is more expensive as there is a learning curve involved in the building proces.

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