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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?

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fredmoore - 11:25am Sep 20, 2003 EST (# 13804 of 13824)

Meanwhile .... back at the ranch

and in the schoolyards.

It's warm and it's cosy,

safe from blowhards.

The ball's been dropped

so I pick it up

and run like hell for the goal

of missile defence and connecting the dots

to shattering symmetries with no knots

So here is the thing to halt missile rains

we need a KAEP, a plan for our pains

make everyone the 'man' to have fruit for his toil

not just a jive, not just for those dipped in oil

so let's raise a toast

and this is no boast

KAEP puts the ball past the post.

KAEP would:

A. Phase in, over a 10 year period, one 600MW geothermal power station at a suitable dry rock location for every city over 5 million people. This would be a shared global endeavour. As each unit came on line one equivalent fossil fuel unit would be scaled back or closed. All cities have a number of suitable locations. The half life of such geothermal power stations is of the order of thousands of years and the geological effects are negligable except in unstable fault zones.

B. Fund thermoelectric fabric research. All nations would contribute their scientific expertise. When operational they would be used specifically on house roofs in urban settings and over crops in agricultural settings. They would be used for low level power requirements such as lighting, refrigeration, pumps etc. They would take a huge power burden off fossil fuel power stations because ultimately every house and farm on the planet will be serviced by at least 1Kw of Thermoelectric power.

C. Research and implement Space based solar collectors which are capable of supplying ALL earth's future power requirements. The radiation from the sun is for all intents and purposes endless and available 24/7. The amount collected is only limited by the surface area and ultimate efficiency of collectors. The collectors eventually would be light weight, easily deployable thermoelectric fabrics. Further, it would eventually be the prime source of power for all space exploration.

D. Create a program for deployment of 1-2 acre Engineered wetlands which are constructed to exacting standards where degeneration to wasteland is not possible. The area around engineered wetlands experience what I term ' local climate control'. Clearly this will reduce energy consumption in these areas. Entropy will be dissipated more slowly from these areas with a resultant calming effect on local temperature ranges. This is a step towards the reverse of the Heat-Island effect so common in densely populated riverine catchments around the world. Also, because of the lower entropy in these areas there will be an increase in thermodynamic order. This translates into a feeling of well-being and intelligence at the human level ... the very things which we use so much ENERGY in trying to attain.

The Financial structuring for KAEP would require all signatories to contribute a percentage of GDP to a global fund to implement the 4 schemes over the 10 year period. Larger countries will thus contribute more but in return they get a broader knowledge base, a cleaner, more environmentally motivated planet and a good will factor that translates into peace and prosperous markets. The last benefit alone would pay for the US contribution many times over as we have seen in the '$120 billion plus' price tag of the Iraq war. The cost for all 4 schemes over ten years would be about $500 billion and ALL nations would be contributing.

KAEP is a less than 1% of GDP global effort to understand what our civilisation really is about and slowly set about coordinating our collective efforts to form a COHERENT approach to bring about a sustainable pathway for our own future and for future generations. The alternative is the chaos we are seeing NOW in a world threatened by terror.