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I often wonder what would happen if Elon put all the energy he is into going to Mars into something that would radically change earth, like fusion energy. The
by JohnJamesRambo 6y ago
I often wonder what would happen if Elon put all the energy he is into going to Mars into something that would radically change earth, like fusion energy.
The timescale where we need to leave earth is probably many zeroes from now. But earth needs help now.
- drew-y 6y agoI think a new space era could radically change the earth too. Nuclear Fusion is very hard, Elon isn't a magician.
- akie 6y agoHe's already put in significant energy into making gasoline cars go away. Isn't that enough for one man?
- colordrops 6y agoNo good deed goes unpunished.
- JohnJamesRambo 6y agoI just bought a Tesla so I’ll give you this one haha. I think electric cars are great, I just feel like they are more an iterative change than the radical one that fusion energy would have on moving us somewhere on the Kardashev scale and eliminating poverty and hunger on Earth. I know I’m being greedy, I don’t even know if fusion as an energy source outside the sun is possible or if the whole SpaceX budget and effort and minds would budge the needle. I do know that Mars is a pretty miserable place to try and live. What would make it easier and nicer is fusion energy. :)
- notimetorelax 6y agoTesla pretty much spearheaded the switch to electric. A few years back all manufacturers treated electric as a gimmick.
- adrianN 6y agoThe help Earth needs is political, there is not much a single rich person can do. We already have the technology to radically improve our environmental impact.
- rvz 6y ago> We already have the technology to radically improve our environmental impact. And its time we use it for this purpose. It appears that the activists (especially the alarmists) have already forgotten about the technological shifts and solutions that already address their concerns. To most of us here, where interested in practical, realistic and actual solutions backed by empirical studies and strong evidence. To some, it is all political melodrama, the game of blame, extreme rage and fury at the past offenders who are already gone and later saying 'it's too late' or 'it's over'. I would rather listen to the technologists that have built these solutions and are advancing them than a screeching activist telling everyone 'just do better' which doesn't change minds or get us closer to the goal.
- adrianN 6y agoWe only have a couple of years of emissions left to roll out the necessary technology if we want a fighting chance to stay below 2° of warming. We're not doing anywhere near enough to achieve that goal. I think some panic is quite justified.
- dmingod666 6y agoI want to know if there is a single source where people's predictions regarding climate change are tracked, proven correct and proven false - that would be a huge credibility boost. I don't follow this so I won't know enough to have an opinion. but it's always been the case that we have only 12-15 years to solve this climate crisis. I'm reaching my 40s and this has been the case since I was a teenager. I remember, we'd be rallying around marches with, 'save the world, make it a better place, for you..' People are making confident assertions of what is going to happen in the future like it's nothing.. I mean 'predict the future' - is there any other context other than climate change where you can confidently predict the future and be taken seriously? I'm fairly ignorant on this subject, but, I really want to see a non-biased place where these predictions are shown correct and wrong..
- yoz-y 6y agoHaving a literal moonshot as a goal does bring in useful technology on the road. Reusable rockets are one example.
- kolinko 6y agoElon is the single person who had the biggest impact on the electric car market. If not him, it might”ve taken years more to get where we are today. Plus, his space project make astro mining a real possibility - and that in turn will have a huge impact on ecology in a decade or so.
- holler 6y agoWhat about electric cars or a constellation of low orbit satellites to bring internet to many more people? I think it’s important for us to continue to push the bounds of exploration for practical and emotional reasons. It gives humanity something to believe in that transcends all societies and cultures, even if it’s just a cold, barren, hostile world.
- postingawayonhn 6y agoHe's working on plenty of earth problems too. Electric transport, solar, carbon capture, etc.
- steve_taylor 6y agoWill fusion power magically erase the threat of extinction-level events such as comet strike?
- JohnJamesRambo 6y agoYes, almost infinite energy could be quite useful against a comet strike.
- adrianN 6y agoFusion power is not free. It's probably quite expensive compared to other power sources.
- sto_hristo 6y agoI often wonder what could happen if you mind your own business and let Elon mind his own business. Everyone mind their own business. Then if have the ability to mind your own business, you can choose to do something that would radically change earth, like fusion energy. It's so easy to spend other people's money on your behalf.
- antisol 6y ago"The timescale where we need to leave earth is probably many zeroes from now" ...he said on the day before the huge and previously undetected asteroid struck, ending all life on the planet. People had tried to set up detection networks to find asteroids like this one in advance, but they had been told "the timescale for an asteroid strike is probably many zeroes from now, we have more important priorities" and their few million bucks in funding didn't get approved. Meanwhile, the factories continued pumping out billion-dollar nuclear submarines that could only be used to make the planet less habitable.