tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post4858012362979541375..comments2024-03-24T11:01:27.668-04:00Comments on Resource Insights: Extraordinary popular delusions: Endless bull markets and mining on the moonKurt Cobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05330759091950742285noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-90746399338227026042020-07-29T17:00:06.887-04:002020-07-29T17:00:06.887-04:00"necessary to maintain faith in our current t..."necessary to maintain faith in our current trajectory; infinite growth on a finite planet"<br /><br />Finite planet... /sigh we don't live on a planet we occupy a tiny slice of the land area of the six continents... Oh there's no point. You'll never take the time to read what David Criswell wrote about lunar power production. You'll never take the 70k tons to the moon which that plan needs and divide by the capacity of a SpaceX Starship to realize that we would only need 70,000ton / 100ton = 700 launches to get it done plus or minus maybe 300 more to fuel TLI and propulsive landing on the moon. to Get 1,000 launches and then compare that to the 700+ launches of the R-7 rocket family and then see that this isn't just possible but that equivalent operations have already been performed in history. No you're just not that engaged with the "finite planet" you live on.<br /><br />Cause hears the thing this world can't support the population we have at the standards that keep them from shooting each other. But if we use the cold dead desert world above us we can support our population and give land back to the bio-sphere.<br /><br />Our backs are to the wall and I will chose science and grit over genocide every time. If you like the look of Venezuela these days that is all well and good for you but I can't stand by and let it happen again and again and again. I'm going to stand up and fix the problem (your cohort created) and you'll have to shoot me to stop me. <br /><br />It's sad that hope and logic are beyond your capabilities but seriously, stop trying to drag all the rest of us down into learnt helplessness with you.<br /><br />Feed the poor! Dispossess the "environmentalists"!Jonathan Starrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12911140005526575502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-7537564679370230482020-06-06T13:45:00.259-04:002020-06-06T13:45:00.259-04:00We are: Alone in the Void: Getting real about the...We are: Alone in the Void: Getting real about the fragile and tenuous nature of human civilziation (https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/1/3/178 ). Nice piece. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02219028513377668504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-73881697803843463382020-06-04T15:24:57.430-04:002020-06-04T15:24:57.430-04:00Yes Kurt we do appreciate your well written and we...Yes Kurt we do appreciate your well written and well considered attempts to prick the balloons of popular delusions. Your interesting comment carried with it the implication of futility. The problems of this civilization are deeply structural and will not be amenable to good faith efforts of a few intelligent analysts. "Alea iacta est," as they say in the old country. Should you keep on trying?................Nah. sv kohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058401490041584973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-5711235588515684572020-06-04T14:54:59.222-04:002020-06-04T14:54:59.222-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.sv kohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058401490041584973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-81282988077008703832020-06-01T04:29:47.468-04:002020-06-01T04:29:47.468-04:00When I was born in 1958 there were around 3bn peop...When I was born in 1958 there were around 3bn people in the World - now there are 7.7bn.<br /><br />By 2100 estimates say there could be 10bn.<br /><br />However by 2100 there will be very little oil left that's economic to recover and if Nuclear fusion hasn't been cracked there will be energy shortages everywhere.<br /><br />Add on to this soil erosion and water shortages and I can only imagine that the Earth will not be a very nice place to live on.<br />Don19https://www.blogger.com/profile/05955676272366296870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-79184140909391288362020-05-31T22:38:27.109-04:002020-05-31T22:38:27.109-04:00Very good commentary this week, Kurt. Your comment...Very good commentary this week, Kurt. Your comments on "endless bull markets" is spot on. I wouldn't go near this market right now.<br /><br />However, mining on the the Moon of asteroids is a bit of a straw dog as presented. No one who is serious about moving into space buys into the model you've proposed, and this is an activity that probably will not happen at any scale in our lifetimes, in any case. Maybe once upon a time, the notion of collecting lots of mass on the Moons and carting it home to be refined was accepted, but that went out the window by the time we saw the real costs of operating the Space Shuttle, which was an abject failure in cost accounting terms. <br /><br />On the other hand, you're not going to stop people from speculating about the economic trade-offs. If we are ever going to move into space at scale, we're not going to ship every finished product to be used there from the Earth's surface. It would be much better to mine and refine materials when and where needed, and create products on site. For example, if we needed a lot of glass on the moon, we would not ship the required 1000 tons of glass there, it would be much better to ship only the tooling needed to make a glass factory there, and produce the glass where it is needed.<br /><br />You may ask "Where is the demand for this?" I would answer that I don't know, and I am not proposing that this is something we should prioritize and focus on today. We have enough challenges facing us today, so this does not occupy a lot of our attention now, even if there is some thinking about it. Sort of like spaceflight itself in the 18th century; nice to consider, maybe it will happen someday. <br /><br />The success (so far) of Space-X with it's manned flight is nice accomplishment, but not revolutionary. It is, at best, incremental, and is constrained by economics as well. We will continue to see such activity as long as there is some economic payoff, however obscure.Robert G. Browmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-62678021040832519772020-05-31T13:16:41.565-04:002020-05-31T13:16:41.565-04:00Good article Kurt. Keep up the good posts.Good article Kurt. Keep up the good posts.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8861605.post-49634616520519016742020-05-31T12:11:34.250-04:002020-05-31T12:11:34.250-04:00Yes, do keep trying. I enjoy reading your well-rea...Yes, do keep trying. I enjoy reading your well-reasoned considerations of resource matters every week. Please continue providing us with your insights.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01251330546889158364noreply@blogger.com