4 ms·

I'm excited to see how all kinds of things unfold in the next 50 years. Supposedly max human population, running out of oil, icecaps melting, unsustainable amou

I'm excited to see how all kinds of things unfold in the next 50 years. Supposedly max human population, running out of oil, icecaps melting, unsustainable amount of food production, dying ecosystems. The economy seems like the least troubling really as it is all superficial anyway.

rubidium 8y ago
The climate and economy are the only real concerns. Human population, energy, and food production are on a good track getting better.
malux85 8y ago
Me too! I think some things like “unsustainable food production” will probably slowly resolve itself with increases in automation and efficiency, but I do think runaway global warming will need a drastic solution. What other ones do you think will be hardest to solve?
- izzydata 8y ago
  Too many humans is ethically unsolvable. There is that solution from the book Inferno where they (spoiler alert) release a chemical warhead of somekind that causes the majority of the world to become infertile. But try voluntarily convincing people they aren't allowed to have children. At least it is better than a war that kills off part of the population. We also use other limited resources in unsustainable ways even if it won't deplete in the next 50 years it is obviously inevitable. I hear about usable sand for construction being depleted at a rate faster than it is replenished.
- TACIXAT 8y ago
  >runaway global warming will need a drastic solution I look forward to our subterranean future. I think the combination of vehicle automation and tunneling technology will allow us to build massive underground systems. If things get too rough on land, we can go below the surface.
  - lighthazard 8y ago
    So you're thinking Musk is using the Boring company to build huge underground living spaces?
  - politician 8y ago
    I secretly believe that for all of the bluster about Mars, Elon's real goal is to produce the technology base necessary for humans to live here on Earth following the collapse of the biosphere. Why go to Mars to encounter an atmosphere hostile to life when we can all collectively experience right here at home? Storms washed out your fiber optic cables? Starlink. No place to hide from the hostile surface? Boring Co. Need to remediate the atmosphere? Solar panels / Powersats -- I believe he's being reserved about Powersats. Need to move things around without easy access to transport? Electric vehicles. Need energy storage through the night time because the baseload power stations have all fallen into disrepair? Grid storage. Building your Gigafactory in a desert? Future-proofing.
    - btilly 8y ago
      It is a nice theory, but there is a problem. The problem is that in the event of collapse, only SOME can reasonably be supported this way. And how to keep the unlucky masses from tearing down the means of survival for the lucky few? The most effective answer is distance. While unlucky mobs can walk to your solar panels in the desert after civilization breaks down, how are they going to get to Mars? Get a good trampoline to jump on?
      - coldtea 8y ago
        >The most effective answer is distance. While unlucky mobs can walk to your solar panels in the desert after civilization breaks down, how are they going to get to Mars? Get a good trampoline to jump on? On some Mars colony with the foreseeable level of technology for the next 100-200 years you're even more prone to death and to worse climate than whatever might happen here on earth. Beyond 200 years, Elon Musk could not care less about...

rubidium 8y ago

The climate and economy are the only real concerns. Human population, energy, and food production are on a good track getting better.

malux85 8y ago

Me too! I think some things like “unsustainable food production” will probably slowly resolve itself with increases in automation and efficiency, but I do think runaway global warming will need a drastic solution. What other ones do you think will be hardest to solve?

izzydata 8y ago
Too many humans is ethically unsolvable. There is that solution from the book Inferno where they (spoiler alert) release a chemical warhead of somekind that causes the majority of the world to become infertile. But try voluntarily convincing people they aren't allowed to have children. At least it is better than a war that kills off part of the population. We also use other limited resources in unsustainable ways even if it won't deplete in the next 50 years it is obviously inevitable. I hear about usable sand for construction being depleted at a rate faster than it is replenished.
TACIXAT 8y ago
>runaway global warming will need a drastic solution I look forward to our subterranean future. I think the combination of vehicle automation and tunneling technology will allow us to build massive underground systems. If things get too rough on land, we can go below the surface.
- lighthazard 8y ago
  So you're thinking Musk is using the Boring company to build huge underground living spaces?
- politician 8y ago
  I secretly believe that for all of the bluster about Mars, Elon's real goal is to produce the technology base necessary for humans to live here on Earth following the collapse of the biosphere. Why go to Mars to encounter an atmosphere hostile to life when we can all collectively experience right here at home? Storms washed out your fiber optic cables? Starlink. No place to hide from the hostile surface? Boring Co. Need to remediate the atmosphere? Solar panels / Powersats -- I believe he's being reserved about Powersats. Need to move things around without easy access to transport? Electric vehicles. Need energy storage through the night time because the baseload power stations have all fallen into disrepair? Grid storage. Building your Gigafactory in a desert? Future-proofing.
  - btilly 8y ago
    It is a nice theory, but there is a problem. The problem is that in the event of collapse, only SOME can reasonably be supported this way. And how to keep the unlucky masses from tearing down the means of survival for the lucky few? The most effective answer is distance. While unlucky mobs can walk to your solar panels in the desert after civilization breaks down, how are they going to get to Mars? Get a good trampoline to jump on?
    - coldtea 8y ago
      >The most effective answer is distance. While unlucky mobs can walk to your solar panels in the desert after civilization breaks down, how are they going to get to Mars? Get a good trampoline to jump on? On some Mars colony with the foreseeable level of technology for the next 100-200 years you're even more prone to death and to worse climate than whatever might happen here on earth. Beyond 200 years, Elon Musk could not care less about...