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... and that is exactly how funding would have to work -- tied to an ongoing organization's operations. Academia has their endowments and perma-fundraising. Rel

by synnik 15y ago

... and that is exactly how funding would have to work -- tied to an ongoing organization's operations. Academia has their endowments and perma-fundraising. Religions have donations and tithing. This effort would need an analogous long term funding source. My first thought is that if 1% of all renewable energy revenue was sent to this effort, it would provide potentially massive funding as renewable energy grows. I don't know how to convince the greedy energy folk to give up 1%, but it sure sounds nice.

bdunbar 15y ago
This effort would need an analogous long term funding source. No need to re-invent the wheel: turn the problem over to the religious. The Roman Catholics has a long organizational history, millions of adherents, a large and functional bureaucracy, familiarity with generations-long projects. Also, they speak Latin which will jazz things up. I suppose Rome needs a reason _why_ to pursue this. - Long-term people will be in space. They'll need ministry. - If you're looking for the ultimate in isolation from wordly concerns for your religious, you can't beat the Oort Cloud.
- alanfalcon 15y ago
  Roman Catholics, outside of Gene Roddenberry's religion-free vision of the future, often seem to end up in space. In the Speaker for the Dead series, they were attempting to convert a whole other species. In Altered Carbon, they were still on spaceships trying to catch up to the distant stars since they weren't allowed to use subspace transmission (needlecasting) to transfer their consciousness (because of issues with their souls). In either scenario, you could make the case that they'd have a vested interest in being the first or best at creating interstellar space travel.
  - bdunbar 15y ago
    they'd have a vested interest in being the first or best at creating interstellar space travel. I've privately thought the Church needs to only aim a little lower: develop cheap access to space, then terraform Mars. One billion and change, tithing a modest 1% of their income per year can put a lot of money in the kitty.

by synnik 15y ago

bdunbar 15y ago

This effort would need an analogous long term funding source. No need to re-invent the wheel: turn the problem over to the religious. The Roman Catholics has a long organizational history, millions of adherents, a large and functional bureaucracy, familiarity with generations-long projects. Also, they speak Latin which will jazz things up. I suppose Rome needs a reason _why_ to pursue this. - Long-term people will be in space. They'll need ministry. - If you're looking for the ultimate in isolation from wordly concerns for your religious, you can't beat the Oort Cloud.

alanfalcon 15y ago
Roman Catholics, outside of Gene Roddenberry's religion-free vision of the future, often seem to end up in space. In the Speaker for the Dead series, they were attempting to convert a whole other species. In Altered Carbon, they were still on spaceships trying to catch up to the distant stars since they weren't allowed to use subspace transmission (needlecasting) to transfer their consciousness (because of issues with their souls). In either scenario, you could make the case that they'd have a vested interest in being the first or best at creating interstellar space travel.
- bdunbar 15y ago
  they'd have a vested interest in being the first or best at creating interstellar space travel. I've privately thought the Church needs to only aim a little lower: develop cheap access to space, then terraform Mars. One billion and change, tithing a modest 1% of their income per year can put a lot of money in the kitty.