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I am forwarding the below message from Eric Drexler:<br>
_______________________________________________________<br><br>
"Nobel chemist Richard Smalley has responded to my longstanding
<br>
challenge to defend the controversial direction of U.S. policy in<br>
nanotechnology, which excludes work on molecular manufacturing.
This<br>
event -- and the press coverage now building -- offer an opportunity
to<br>
change the flawed course of the field.<br><br>
The revolutionary promise of molecular nanotechnology (MNT) has<br>
become a part of society's expectations for the future. This
technology<br>
will provide nanomedicine breakthroughs that could cure cancer and<br>
extend lifespace, bring abundance without environmental harm and<br>
provide clean sources of energy. These ideas are part of the vision
that<br>
launched the field of nanotechnology.<br><br>
So the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is, of course,
<br>
plotting an aggressive course toward MNT -- isn't it? <br>
Massive research funds are flowing to groups pursing competing
approaches, <br>
and researchers are touting their results as steps toward the
goal...right?<br><br>
The reality is starkly different. NNI research programs support a host of
<br>
valuable projects yet exclude work explicitly directed toward MNT. In
<br>
an effort to distance the field from fears that might threaten funding,
the <br>
leading NNI spokesman, Richard Smalley, has declared that molecular
<br>
assemblers are impossible. This stance has opened a vast gap between
<br>
perception and reality, creating a world in which students interested in
<br>
pursuing MNT research lack sponsorship, while lab groups and start-up
<br>
companies working toward MNT goals must hide their intentions. By <br>
falsely declaring molecular assembly technology to be impossible, <br>
detractors have associated it with warp drives in official circles and
<br>
relegated it to fringe status.<br><br>
Fortunately, this erroneous situation is beginning to change, in part
<br>
because the extended Foresight community refuses to let this important
<br>
issue be dismissed. We now have a unique opportunity to seize the <br>
momentum. Richard Smalley has responded to my challenge, and the <br>
ensuing exchange -- the Dec. 1 cover story of the American Chemical
<br>
Society's magazine, Chemical & Engineering News -- may mark a <br>
tipping point, but only if it is seen -- and properly understood -- by a
<br>
wider audience, and if it is properly translated into action. <br><br>
WHAT YOU CAN DO!<br><br>
1) I urge you to read the Foresight press release <br>
<<a href="http://www.foresight.org/press.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.foresight.org/press.html</a>>
and the full exchange <br>
<<a href="http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8148/8148counterpoint.html" eudora="autourl">http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8148/8148counterpoint.html</a>>,
and <br>
then consider what part you can play in adding to the momentum. The
<br>
detractors of MNT have shown the power of disinformation; it's time
<br>
they saw what well-informed people can do. Some suggestions:<br><br>
2) Speak up: make others aware of what's going on. Forward the
<br>
press release and the exchange. Write a letter to the editor of <br>
your favorite publication, attaching these materials and <br>
requesting coverage of this important issue. Write policy makers<br>
about your concerns. Raise issues and answer naysayers though <br>
message boards and blogs. Show the opposition our numbers and<br>
knowledge. <br><br>
3) Elevate the debate: shift the discussion on molecular assemblers
and <br>
molecular manufacturing from rhetoric and metaphors to science and<br>
research. Demand proof from those dismissing the
accomplishments<br>
to date. Give someone influential a copy of Nanosystems
(Chapters<br>
1 and 2 are on the web
<<a href="http://www.foresight.org/Nanosystems/toc.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.foresight.org/Nanosystems/toc.html</a>>).
<br>
Refer them to the work of Ralph Merkle, Robert Freitas and
others.<br><br>
4) Get more active: request seminars and classes on related
topics<br>
Transform your next social event or book group to focus on<br>
these issues. Become more engaged with Foresight -- help match<br>
the challenge grant
<<a href="http://www.foresight.org/challenge" eudora="autourl">http://www.foresight.org/challenge</a>>,
<br>
tell us about yourself and your skills <br>
<<a href="https://marble.he.net/~foresite/long_survey.html" eudora="autourl">https://marble.he.net/%7Eforesite/long_survey.html</a>>
<br>
consider how you can help with plans for Foresight's next phase <br>
<<a href="http://www.foresight.org/stage2" eudora="autourl">http://www.foresight.org/stage2</a>>.<br><br>
5) Above all, take action.<br><br>
Regardless of what avenues you may choose, make your voice and intentions
heard. <br>
Our future is counting on you.<br><br>
-- Eric<br><br>
K. Eric Drexler<br>
Chairman, Foresight Institute <br><br>
_______________________________________<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
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<dd><font face="Viner Hand ITC" size=4 color="#000080">Natasha
Vita-More</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" color="#0000FF">
</font>
<dd><font face="Times New Roman, Times">President, Extropy
Institute
<a href="http://www.extropy.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.extropy.org</a>
</font>
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