Comment by metamemetics | Hacker News Reader

Comment by metamemetics | Hacker News Reader

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>there’s really only one viable option: Space based solar power

Honestly that's crazy talk. Electrical generation supply is already growing way faster than demand for electricity, and nuclear energy is going to be cheap for a long, long, long time. Outer-space based electrical generation is great for things in outerspace, but would be prohibitively expensive and unreliable for ground based infrastructure to rely on. I have no idea how you consider it a viable option, let alone the only viable option.

>Beyond the inevitability factor

If there's one kind of prophecy I hate the most, it's self-fulfilling prophecy. Thinking something is going to happen is not a reason for making it happen. All space-based weapons should be banned, I am deeply ashamed my country is producing them.

The problem with nuclear power is that no one wants the plants anywhere near them. That severely limits how much power we can get out of that option (especially as the population continues to grow). At the same time they raise the fear of terrorist attacks which make them even less likely to be built (which is ironic since to the best of my knowledge no one's ever actually attacked a nuclear plant).

There's a reason why a new plant hasn't been approved for almost 30 years (though hopefully that will change with Georgia's planned new plants: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/business/energy-environmen...). I mean, let's be realistic here the state of Nevada created such a backlash against burying nuclear waste within a 100 miles of civilization that it actually became an issue in the Presidential debates.

As for being "deeply ashamed" of the U.S. putting weapons in space again I point out that space based weapons present no greater threat than Earth based ones and if we're going to put assets up in Space than we'll need to protect them.

The idea that there will never be weapons in space disappears as soon as Earth based missiles can attack assets in space.

>>...as soon as Earth based missiles can...

Can != Should.

> All space-based weapons should be banned, I am deeply ashamed my country is producing them.

What is your reason for opposing space-based weapons? I'm not saying I disagree - it's honestly not something I've ever thought about - but you seem to have very strong feelings about it.

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