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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

fredmoore - 10:55pm Jul 2, 2003 EST (# 12817 of 12820)

"KAEP ... the most efficient use of resources to ensure MISSILE DEFENCE."

The IPCC is too focused. This means you cannot prove them wrong within the defined limits of their study but nevertheless their analysis will lead to confusion over time because it excludes important information in its desire to corral the situation under study. If you want to solve the global warming problem you must first solve the Climate Change problem. To solve that, you must understand that the Earth has a certain shelf life punctuated by chaotic events outside our control and nothing man can do will change that. What man has to do is first answer the question "Who are we and What do we want?" The answer friends is EMERGY .. and ... that starts with 'E' and that rhymes with 'KEY' and that starts with 'K' and that stands for .... 'KAEP'.

Yesr that's A Kyoto Alternative Energy Protocol. A gently staged program for ALL nations to explore what it is that mankind really wants and then deliver it without interference in national sovereignty.

EMERGY is defined in:

http://www.esb.utexas.edu/drnrm/dieofforg/page17.htm

and KAEP is:

An effective Kyoto Alternative Energy treaty would link all countries

1. In a 10 year plan

2. With countries providing funds on a percentage of GDP basis ... up to .5% by mutual agreement.

3. For an international research and implementation program for: A. Converting one major power station in every city over 5 million people to dry rock geothermal. B. Developing and implementing Thermoelectric fabrics (eg polythiophene) for urban and agricultural power generation. C. Developing space based solar collectors and microwave transmission of power from space D. Terminating every stormwater and major farm runoff in an engineered wetland in order to conserve land based EMERGY in riverine catchments - from where it originates. This avoids the localised and catastrophic build up of energy at coastal boundaries around the planet, which is what we perceive as Climate Change.

This Kyoto Alternative Energy protocol would be profit generating, whilst producing clean, sustainable electric power for all nations. It would also generate cooperation and potential for peace among all nations. As for the current CO2 limiting treaty. Well, this has already generated mistrust among nations, downgrades profits in developed countries and doesn't focus on alternative power sources to fossil fuels.

gisterme - 02:43am Jul 3, 2003 EST (# 12818 of 12820)

rshow55 - 05:05pm Jul 2, 2003 EST (# 12813 of ...) http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.cwXtbLOcmMb.65303@.f28e622/14485

"...Sometimes - in the presence of umpires - facts really do speak for themselves..."

Funny that you should bring that up just now, Robert. The other day I was reading a book about presidential inaugurations and it was mentioned that George Washington's second inaugural speech was the shortest yet (about 255 words if I recall correctly) and William Henry Harrison's was the longest at over 8,000 words. Harrison deleiverd the speech in a freezing rain over a period of about an hour and a half. Apparantly he refused a coat and an umbrella. He died of pneumonia about a month later and was the US president who served for the shortest time in office.

Anyway, I got to wondering what an incoming president could say in only 8,000+ words so I checked out the speech. The man certanly knows how to use a lot of words but a lot of interesting things are said. I was amazed that the topics like term limits, erosion of states' rights through growing dependency on the centeral government...etc. just prove how little things change. The thing that jumped out at me, Robert, after all your harping about umpires, was the Harrison pointed out that the president is the umpire for our multi-branched government. Thanks Will!

This is a verbose speech, takes some time to read and is not for everyone. Robert, you and lchic should read it. I think it will interst you. If many words must be said, perhaps this speech can be an example of how to at least say something with them. :-)

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres26.html

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