[ExI] A possible X Prize

[Kelly Anderson]

On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 8:53 AM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:
>>... On Behalf Of Eugen Leitl
> ...
>
>>...Another Congo biggie is coltan (columbite-tantalite, ore for niobium and
> tantalum). Generic term, blood minerals...In principle the costs would be
> low if the system is largely self-maintaining, and also transcending our
> local limits by tapping extraterrestrial resources (minerals, solar flux,
> UHV) plus outsourcing "dirty" industries out of the local ecosystem.
>
>
> Blood minerals.  Hmmm, so there exists places inhabited by people who for
> whatever reason can manufacture little or nothing of value.  Fortunately
> they have one valuable natural resource, which they can mine to great
> profit, but they brutally kill each other for control of that one valuable
> resource.  Our solution is to find an alternate abundant source for that
> valuable raw mineral, so that their one resource becomes valueless, removing
> any reason to kill each other over it, saving lives.

Not just that, but I'm assuming that all the Co in the Congo isn't
enough to make electric cars for everyone... Hmm?

> Of course they then revert to killing each other for no particular reason.

Much easier to just take the whole damned place over and install a
nice Randian libertarian government. ;-)

It couldn't be any worse. Who's up for the experiment? :-)

> I don't like the term blood minerals, because it makes it sound like it all
> our fault, for buying the stuff from them.

A lot of people want you to think that. I think they are full of
beans, but I haven't looked into it deeply. I would guess that the
Congo is just another shit hole with a crappy government like Haiti...

> I propose renaming blood diamonds and blood minerals by substituting the
> word blood with any other bodily fluid.

sweat diamonds?

-Kelly