[ExI] Atlantic article on human reengineering with very strong reactions

[spike]

>. On Behalf Of Anders Sandberg
Subject: Re: [ExI] Atlantic article on human reengineering with very strong
reactions

 

On 13/03/2012 12:20, Mike Dougherty wrote: 

>>.I agree that's A plan, but the ONLY one?


>.No, of course not. I think one of the big problems with most climate
discussions is that people have formed very tight camps around certain
plans, and absolutely refuse to countenance mentions of other possibilities.
I suspect that real climate solutions will be messy mixes of approaches.--
Anders Sandberg,

 
 
Any mechanical engineer will recognize that all the low hanging fruit today
is in conservation.  We can easily start with ape haulers because their
performance specifications were developed in an era when oil came gushing
out of the ground under its own pressure.  Our expectation of our ape
haulers to do so much, go so fast and accelerate so hard has caused us to
paint ourselves into a corner, where even our smallest cars are remarkably
heavy.  
 
Recall the specification for the original Volkwagen only needed to peak at
100 kph.  If we can tolerate that one specification today, there are
remarkable weight savings available.  We can build new ape haulers from the
ground-up, as opposed to using standard parts from existing vehicles, which
are too heavy and over-sturdy for vehicles that peak at 100 kph.  Even full
electrics are far more practical if we can tolerate that modest top speed,
although it will be better if we go with series hybrids under those
conditions.
 
spike
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