> From: "Mike Carrell" ...
> Jed and Ed have voiced eloquent laments for wild space > and connection to Nature. Ironic that TV ads for > automobiles seduce with the lure of access to ever > more remote open space. > > We've gots lots of people and more on the way. They > will need to make a living. Doing what? Living where? > > Jed's elegy for beautiful Japan is a case in point. > Pave over paradise to provide work. > > Our technical society removes drudgery, more goods > for less work, so we can ????? > > Have we lost our way, or is this a passing phase? > > No answers, just questions. > > Mike Carrell Hi Mike, Jed, Ed. One obvious solution would be controlling our population growth. More people. More Wall-Marts. There is strong evidence to suggest that as developing countries become economically developed, healthier, and better educated, and particularly the women, females realize they don't have to be thought of as nothing more than baby making machines. Birth rates plummet. This results in some interesting consequences. Jed, I bet you have a few interesting perspectives to share on the issue of demographics concerning Japan's looming population crisis. I also couldn't agree more with concerns expressed over the Frame-work Bill in the House of Lords of 1812. Indeed, we shouldn't introduce new technology that results in massive unemployment. That's pointless. The point is to free up the labor force so they can pursue more meaningful employment that in turn improves living conditions for everyone. Incidentally, I'm not quite sure I follow what this has to do with my seemingly tyrannical support of the Ominous Solar Tower National Project (Shortened to: OSTNP) other than I guess it is being argued that it will generate meaningless make-work. If so, not sure I buy that. Regarding the Apollo project: Jed, I think we need to make an important distinction between the fruits of Apollo project ITSELF and the aftermath that followed when the population and politicians lost interest. The Apollo project itself was an absolute stellar success. We landed a man on the moon before the end of the decade, and it was started when we really didn't have a clue how to accomplish this impossible feat. Do not blame the Apollo Project for giving us the Space shuttle and International Space Station. The ten-year goal of landing a man on the Moon had been reached and the population and politicians simply lost their focus. That's not the Apollo Project's fault. No one knew how to re-focus the collective dreams of our nation and create another national goal with the same kind of psychic drive. Too bad. With apologies to Jed up front: You may call yourself a proud card-carrying Luddite, but I submit to you that from my perspective you appear to be a wannabe Luddite, and only when it suits the current argument. Seems to me there is something really bizarre about claiming to be a Luddite while simultaneously passionately supporting CF and other exotic forms of energy. Just to be clear on this point. I'm not committed to the building of thousands of solar towers. Indeed, I hope there are better ways to generate the massive amount of clean energy our growing planetary population will to have equal access to. Never the less, a few gigantic Solar Towers strategically built here and there might be awe-inspiring. Who knows, I may even attempt to create a high resolution digital painting based on what a few of these structures might actually look like as seen from several miles away. Can anyone point me to some realistic models? Oh, yes! One last thing: Fire Flies! I hope most of us have had the privilege of witnessing a field of these flickering critters beaconing away on a remote farm at night. You will notice that they will actually begin to blink in unison - the entire field from horizon to horizon. It's a well documented, though perhaps not well understood, effect well worth witnessing. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com
