Comments (14) Jump to Comments Form

1. 

   Fairportfan2 said, 12 days ago

   Are “experts” like “Simon”?

2. 

   scottfreitas said, 11 days ago

   Hmm… well since all the Western nations have long been headed into negative population growth (minus immigration), I can see we are literally headed into a new “Dark Ages”…

3. 

   wittyvegan said, 11 days ago

   For starters: Stop wasting food-resources on feeding lifestock (waste 60% to 90% depending on the kind of meat) and eat more plant-based products. If the earth would reduce their consumption of animal products to the level of India we would have enough food for 10 billion people.

4. 

   a.c.d said, 11 days ago

   Ugh, ANandy, global warming, much like global cooling is based on the natural cooling and heating cycles of the earth. The issue of OUR involvement is that we are shifting the natural balance of the earth’s ecosystem through excessive heat, pollutants and greenhouse gasses. The result is that we experience greater shifts in climate. Cold gets colder, warm gets warmer, stronger winds, desertification etc. The earth can handle pollution and other suchs contaminents, until of course they shift the balance and cause further ecological turmoil.
   The problem is that in order to make the issues understandable, scientists/media come up with catch phrases like Global Warming, and simple people take a simple phrase and then give simple answers because, well, they are simple people. Climate change is a very complicated issue, that thanks to the multitude of factors is difficult to predict or fully understand. But what we do know is that our activity here on earth does have a measurable effect on ecosystems, and as a result on the entire earth’s ecosystem. Stop digging your head in the sand and stick it in some proper books.

5. 

   comYics said, 11 days ago

   Did you guys, gals read about the teather to space.
   It is a teather line 100 times stronger than metal, one point connected to a panet, the other point connected to earth, sending up shuttles that make hundreds of trips a day up and down on this teather, instead of the current space shuttle. Connecting each planet together for NASA to stop using the shuttle and start riding these lines. We could have new covered homes on mars.

6. 

   Fairportfan2 said, 11 days ago

   ANandy said

   a.c.d is just another expert.

   And he’s right, unlike you and scottyfritos.

7. 

   HOWGOZIT said, 11 days ago

   Sez who Fairone? “Experts” on this site cannot even depict truth let alone be “right” as you claim.

8. 

   churchillwasright said, 10 days ago

   COMYICS: In case you don’t see my reply on Auth:

   The concept of a “space elevator” has been around since 1895. I know it’s been discussed all of my life.

   What you’re referring to is using carbon-based nanotube technology, which, while extremely strong, is still about 1/3 the tensile strength engineers think they need. NASA and a lot of companies are pouring a ton of money into it. It’s an exciting new field– something with such incredible strength and yet so lightweight– and it has tons of more practical applications than building a stairway to space. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around it’s theory. Still, it’s barely in it’s infancy– it’s only been around since the ‘90’s– so you never know.

   wiki:Space Elevator

9. 

   a.c.d said, 10 days ago

   I never claimed I was an expert, but it also doesnt take an expert to realize that pumping large amounts of pollutants, gases and excess heat into the atmosphere is going to have an effect. The earth, as much as people dont see it that way, is a closed ecosystem which, like all over systems can be put out of balance if tweaked sufficiently. And while we may not percieve the effect of our actions immediately, they will make themselves apparent as times goes by.
   CFC’s are an excellent example of this. The hole in the ozone layer was caused by our release of toxic chlorine based molecules up into the upper atmosphere, where the chlorine would rip appart ozone. Well we stopped using CFC (and now use more commonely CFHCs) the hole started getting smaller. What is more interesting is that CFC use was not its highest in australia, but the hole formed over australia because atmospheric winds took the chlorine there and caused the greatest harm.
   The same can be seen when we look at the artic, the anartic and greenland. Much like our example of CFCs, the harm we do here has a measurable effect elsewhere, and this is what is happening with green house gasses. They may not cause harm HERE, but it is certainly causing it elsewhere. And this is what is important about studying the WHOLE picture. Looking at anecdotal evidence about it being cooler now in the US that before, is pointless because what you do here is not always felt there. And this is what i mean about stop sticking your head in the sand and go explore the question with an open mind and you will see, if you take into account the whole picture, that our activity on earth has a measurable and detremental effect to the balance of the earth’s ecosystem.

10. 

    motivemagus said, 10 days ago

    churchill - there’s a contest, similar to the X-Prize, to be awarded to people who advance the technology. This year I think even the sponsors were startled by a team that got an robot powered by lasers over 4000 feet up a cable suspended from a helicopter, maintaining an average speed of 8.7 mph over four minutes. This may be what was referred to. The winners actually were more interested in laser-beamed power!
    http://www.spaceward.org/elevator2010

11. 

    comYics said, 10 days ago

    Yeah thats about it. I think NASA said it is offering a reward for ongoing better designs of upwards of $2million to the best tether.

12. 

    omQ R said, 9 days ago

    comYics: excitedly said:
    It is a teather line ….on mars.

    :-| Sheesh, where to begin?
    *It’s a tether.

    one point connected to a panet, the other point connected to earth, sending up shuttles that make hundreds of trips a day up and down on this teather, instead of the current space shuttle.

    comYics, you do know our moon orbits our planet, our planet is in orbit, along with the other planets (which have their own satellites orbiting them), around the sun, which is in turn …
    Do you get the constant motion? Nothing is static?
    You also don’t seem to understand the distances involved between earth and its moon, never mind the distances between the planets!

    We could have new covered homes on mars.

    Yes, comYics, good lad, shhh, calm down, dear boy, shhh, relax, deep breaths.

    Again, just a quick question and I mean no offence, but are you an adult?

13. 

    comYics said, 8 days ago

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/05/space.elevator/index.html

14. 

    omQ R said, 8 days ago

    ^ Child, I’m not saying these space elavators are not under investigation (I’ve been hearing about them for years), I’m just questioning whether you understand what you wrote above?

    one point connected to a planet[sic], the other point connected to earth, sending up shuttles that make hundreds of trips a day up and down on this teather[sic], instead of the current space shuttle.

    Do you trully comprehend what you’ve written there?