One stone, number of mangoes.. continued (2)

One stone, number of mangoes.. continued (2)

Frequently we treat with impatience anyone trying to divert the topic of
discussion in this group from what we think is the purpose of this group -
to discuss the technicalities of setting up space habitats. A very
interesting topic indeed, but dear friends, if we are going to set up space
habs, engineers will have to factor in umpteen different issues, many that
engineers on earth do not have to contend with. So, we need to ask, is it
possible to extrapolate directly systems and attitudes that we use to
conduct affairs on our own planet to the space environment?

Some of the issues we need to discuss are:

1. Our economic system based on mass production and free market
economy, which involves transfer of goods from one corner of the globe to
another will it work when humans become space faring.
2. The design of our cities, in which agriculture plays no important
part, which just acts as a sink for organic matter. Will future cities in
space be designed this way.
3. The nature of the educational system. Clearly children in space
habs will have to be taught early in life the nature of the hab and areas of
collective responsibility to keep the hab safe. Something not taught to
terran children. In fact terran grownups don't even seem to know what would
be the safe population for the planet. Will this attitude work in space
habs.
4. The nature of the political system, which seems on planet earth to
center around populist ideas, will it work in future space habs.
5. The problem of health. Many health issues are created by the
environment in which humans live, environments that engineers play a part in
creating. To make space habs possible, will it be necessary for engineers to
become more skilled in understanding issues of occupational health. (What
sticks in my mind the most from the biosphere II experiment is that by the
end of 2 years non of them were on talking terms)
6. Engineers; are they worker ants. They seem to be actively involved
in changing the face of the globe and they are good at creating gadgets; but
seem to be conspicuously absent in the major decision making forums. How
will it be in space habs.

Living in space will be ten times more difficult than parking ourselves in
the middle of the Sahara desert. How can we prepare ourselves so that our
venture into space does not fail. Can we simulate suitable conditions on
planet earth and learn from the experience? The ideas that we generate from
this brainstorming and from this simulation should help to mitigate some of
the problems we face on our own planet.

I happened to stumble into a discussion on global warming between a
moderator from BBC and I think chief executives from the world's major oil
companies. The question put by the BBC moderator was straightforward. Global
warming will become critical if the CO2 composition in the atmosphere
exceeds 450 parts per million, how are we going to face the problem? Being
in a group, perhaps, non of the chief executives wanted to commit himself:
the answers they gave was less than edifying. (Keep in mind that these folks
represented some of the best brains on the planet, with financial muscles to
create now paradigms.) By making tall claims of terraforming Mars, of
building space habs, etc, when we lack the ability to solve relatively
simpler problems on our own planet, we risk becoming the laughing stock of
the galaxy.

Selvaraj