Pretty O'Neill cylinders, but...

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 20:39:19 -0500, Steve Long wrote:
> Conventionally-generated energy is becoming costly. If those are old
> estimates, it would be nice to get some new ones. Then we could see
> whether the trend is convergent or divergent.

Space stuff still costs the same as when it was generated, if you
allow for inflation.

Atleast, it does in America. In Russia, the price is going down.

> > However, the overall environmental and political impacts of this form
> > of power generation are far lower; and factoring these factors means
> > that SPS is more cost effective than conventional approaches.
> >
> The environmental impacts will be lower, true; but I have the feeling
> that the political impacts will be significant.

Um, you need to consider the effects of disconnecting from Middle
Eastern oil reserves. That seems to be desirable.

> And I don't think
> accounting systems currently in use factor future effects against
> present income to determine the true cost of making and distributing
> something,

They're starting too. For example you can get a pretty large (~70%)
grant in certain states to install solar panels to generate
electricity. The actual costs of solar energy are higher than
conventionally fuelled ones, but with the grant it gets cheaper.

> so it will be a while before SPS will be seriously
> considered except by us dreamers.
>
> > "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but
> > in practice there is."
>
> Great quote! Is that Paul Graham's, too?

Actually I think it's a slight misquote/improvement, I forget who is
supposed to have originally said it.

> Steve

--
-Ian Woollard

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in
practice there is."
"a society in which people can do and say what they want will also
tend to be one in which the most efficient solutions win" - Paul
Graham