[ExI] What's Wrong With Academic Futurists?

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of BillK
Subject: Re: [ExI] What's Wrong With Academic Futurists?

On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 2:37 AM, spike wrote:
>>... On the contrary sir.  The grass will not grow without sufficient
sunlight...


>...This system probably doesn't apply to desert areas where grass won't
grow anyway, without constant watering, but in more green countryside, see:

<http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/sheep-grazing-a-best-pra
ctice-for-maintaining-ground-level-solar-arrays.html>

Well, I'll be damn.  Clearly they are double purposing there.  Thanks for
the link BillK.


>
>>... What you find puzzling is that the humans seem to be placing their 
> solar panels in all the wrong places...You ... conclude that humans are
apparently smart 
> and stupid at the same time.
>
>

>...Unfortunately this applies to other things as well. In general, the
sunny parts of the world are poor, third world countries with little money
to invest in projects that they sorely need... As an idea, the Gates
foundation which is currently concentrating on World Health Care, might move
on to providing every village with a solar power energy system.  BillK

Ja.  Lack of money is the root of all evil.  Poor parts of the world need to
stop screwing around and get rich.  They could start by selling the land to
someone with enough money to develop infrastructure.  Can a totalitarian
dictator sell his country?  Why not?  Didn't Russia sell us Alaska?  Didn't
France sell us Louisiana?

The jillionaire who owned a vast stretch of otherwise useless land could put
it to work.  As you pointed out, most of those areas are very sunny and
aren't growing anything.  Amazon biggie Jeff Bezos owns 300 thousand acres
of Texas for his rocket ranch, so we need to get him interested in ground
based solar?  Ted Turner owns a couple million acres of Wyoming, great spot
for an enormous solar farm.

I don't see why a kickstarter with a lotta cash couldn't apply to the UN or
somebody to buy a big stretch of territory and become a new nation, a
kingdom we might suppose.  Find a sunny dry place with not many people, make
them your employees, and let's get building.  They could become a country,
owned by the jillionaire who bought them, perhaps sell naming rights:
Gatestanbul?  Billgaria?  Madagatescar?  Microsofnesia?  Billarus?  United
Gates of America?  Billivia?  I could go on and on.  

Oh wait, I already did, never mind.

spike


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