[ExI] The L5 Society ( was: EP and Peak oil.)

[hkhenson]

At 04:10 PM 4/11/2008, Bryan wrote:
>On Friday 11 April 2008, hkhenson wrote:

> >  Or around 900 power sats, 15 years of production at 60 a year. Now I
> >  fully admit space based solar power isn't a very likely future.

>Sorry Keith, I just don't see how that's much of a problem, especially if we
>solve the self-replicating machine problem (kinematic self-replicators, or
>even just n^2 tech, not necessarily 2^n). Call this the powersat bootstrap
>scenario: we launch once and only once, everything else is done in the sky.

>Actually, there might be more than one launch due to various predictions of
>failure due to solar radiation, micrometeorites, etc. - Bryan

I have no doubts that humans or whatever we turn into can eventually 
do this.  But how sure are you that it will happen before several 
billion people die of starvation?  Or do you care?  It's hard to work 
up a lot of caring for people who have bred themselves into a nasty 
dead end.  But there is little doubt in my mind that massive problems 
on the far side of the globe are going to generate impacts here.

Like wars and acts of nuclear terrorism.

Keith