Polywell Visions: Food

If polywell fusion is developed, in what ways will the world change for better or worse? Discuss.

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MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

The government was there to at least them to try to prevent the issue with some EPA mandates for safety.


Uh. Dude. The Government was not there. BP (through its executives) had paid off the government and government went slack.

Now if BP had to insure against risks the insurance companies would not have gone slack - they would have had skin in the game.

Sovereign immunity is a bitch.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

ltgbrown
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Post by ltgbrown »

insure against risks the insurance companies would not have gone slack - they would have had skin in the game.
And thus the existence of building codes.
Famous last words, "Hey, watch this!"

cksantos
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Re: Polywell Visions: Food

Post by cksantos »

DavidWillard wrote:
cksantos wrote:2. Food will be farmed at extremely high density in 100% artificial conditions, eliminating many of the current problems of agriculture and creating many new ones.

a.With abundant energy extremely intensive aquaponics using artificial lighting will provide high density production year around. NASA, marijuana cultivators, universities, and backyard inventors around the world are on the forefront of this research.
.
So why not just get a huge Oil Tanker, put a few Polywells in it. Make it fly and dispense Mana from heaven with pot and beer for the masses? Even a sophisticated technology like this would appear to be God-like to the radicals in the Middle Eastern deserts. Wait, didn't the Jews see it first?
Maybe its time to come back and bribe the Taliban to submission. :}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manna
This is a truly inspired idea that could fix the worlds problems

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

ltgbrown wrote:
insure against risks the insurance companies would not have gone slack - they would have had skin in the game.
And thus the existence of building codes.
Insurance inspectors (UL) are more reliable than government inspectors.

BTW if government inspectors screw up does their company go bankrupt?
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

cksantos
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Post by cksantos »

DavidWillard wrote:
MSimon wrote:
ltgbrown wrote: And thus the existence of building codes.
Insurance inspectors (UL) are more reliable than government inspectors.

BTW if government inspectors screw up does their company go bankrupt?
How about real mandatory prison sentences for accidents and minor mistakes, and firing squads for heinous treason by deliberate oversight and corruption?
Don't even wait for the voters to kick them out and elect new officials.
China executed a few of the food safety agency workers after 3000 children were poisoned, some died.
The nation's high court determined that the federal law making it illegal to "deprive another of the intangible right of honest services" was constitutionally vague.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/sup ... da/1105072

cgray45
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Post by cgray45 »

I doubt polywell will *directly* impact food production-- however it will lead likely to a reduction in costs for transport, fertilizer, and storage (refrigeration) which will lead to a reduction in end point prices.

BUT, even today, in most cases when we see a famine or price spikes, the cause is political, not technical or physical-- Ethiopia granted, faced a few major droughts, but it never should have been as disastrous as it was-- there were other, political factors at work. The same goes for Somolia, or going back into history, the Irish Potato famine.

Polywell will make many things easier, but let's not forget the fact that we're still dealing with Homo The Sap, and his incredible ability to make problems where none should exist.

cksantos
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Post by cksantos »

cgray45 wrote:I doubt polywell will *directly* impact food production-- however it will lead likely to a reduction in costs for transport, fertilizer, and storage (refrigeration) which will lead to a reduction in end point prices.

BUT, even today, in most cases when we see a famine or price spikes, the cause is political, not technical or physical-- Ethiopia granted, faced a few major droughts, but it never should have been as disastrous as it was-- there were other, political factors at work. The same goes for Somolia, or going back into history, the Irish Potato famine.

Polywell will make many things easier, but let's not forget the fact that we're still dealing with Homo The Sap, and his incredible ability to make problems where none should exist.
I think mainly it will drive 1st world urban agriculture, haiti will still be haiti, and nebraska will still be covered in corn. Because the markets dont compete head to head. Corn derivitates and produccts do not compete directly with fresh produce. I mean I pay 5$ per pound for tomatos here in Hawaii but only 2$ for a bag of flour. At that price it makes sense to urbanize high intensity ag. Most big cities have issues with product freshness and urban ag is gaining popularity.

MirariNefas
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Post by MirariNefas »

MSimon wrote: BTW if government inspectors screw up does their company go bankrupt?
Yes. Eventually. Economically, politically, morally.

MirariNefas
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Re: Polywell Visions: Food

Post by MirariNefas »

DavidWillard wrote: So why not just get a huge Oil Tanker, put a few Polywells in it. Make it fly and dispense Mana from heaven with pot and beer for the masses? Even a sophisticated technology like this would appear to be God-like to the radicals in the Middle Eastern deserts.
Ah, that's why everyone is quiet on polywell results. It doesn't work as God-like if the world knows it's technically possible. The Navy wants it to be a big surprise, so they're keeping quiet until the flying tanker retrofit is complete.

MirariNefas
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Post by MirariNefas »

cksantos wrote:
I think this ties into another implication for the social environment. I think that, in general, people don't trust technology, and view it as a force for evil in the world.
I think that the technology=evil is an older generation thing. Because the younger generation is convinced that technology can solve any problem, to the point of obsession.
It's hard to tell from the ground. A minority can seem very big if they're loud enough. The "technology will save us all" people sound very loud if you go to the right internet sites, but the internet is always that way.

Personally, I've seen lots of "technology=evil" in the younger generation. They tend to buy organic food. That may simply be a product of the social groups I hang out with. Hard to say without studies.

cksantos
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Post by cksantos »

MirariNefas wrote:
cksantos wrote:
I think this ties into another implication for the social environment. I think that, in general, people don't trust technology, and view it as a force for evil in the world.
I think that the technology=evil is an older generation thing. Because the younger generation is convinced that technology can solve any problem, to the point of obsession.
It's hard to tell from the ground. A minority can seem very big if they're loud enough. The "technology will save us all" people sound very loud if you go to the right internet sites, but the internet is always that way.

Personally, I've seen lots of "technology=evil" in the younger generation. They tend to buy organic food. That may simply be a product of the social groups I hang out with. Hard to say without studies.
The knowledge that pesticides and herbicides are harmful to your health is a product of evolving technology...

MirariNefas
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Post by MirariNefas »

And the "knowledge" that genetically engineered crops is harmful to your health?

I remember seeing a label on a product in Whole Foods once. It said something like,

"No additive X used in this product*

*additive X has not been shown to be harmful to your health"

The organic food movement is as much about superstition against technology as about the true dangers of pesticides. But I suspect you won't want to hear that.

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