i wrote an email:

and it was interesting to me. Mainly the space based solar panels and massive deposits on everything. Invest the deposit money and the government has funds for social projects. It is just plain brilliant. I also want to make a documentary on the medical school application process. Anyone interested?

meh,

I wouldn't worry too much about the problems of entitlement (although I do and all the time! although mainly in the I-have-to-be-successful-in-the-eyes-of-others-
because-I-have-been-given-so-much kind of way) or of travelling.

In fact, it seems likely that having a large number of the members of a developed country with true knowledge of how other people live is a beneficial thing. With that knowledge one can act in a, hopefully, beneficial way. If you only know North America, you will probably be much more wasteful because it is easy and acceptable.

You are right in saying that the way we live in the west is much more detrimental to the non-developed countries. That is extremely unfortunate. I find that I cant escape from the guilt of my actions very easily. In fact, waste reduction is the reason I went into chemistry. Only now do I realise that I am completely bored by chemistry. Oh well, at least I tried. And I have always argued that we should not have a garbage service. Seeing waste has to be the best way to convince folk to reduce their waste. I think we should have huge deposits on everything that can be potentially thrown out. Improve recycling techniques, introduce huge deposits so that all waste to scavenged and we will decrease our waste output by a huge amount.

I think we have realised that we have fucked things up already, the waste we produce is not going to decrease any time soon and there is nowhere for it to go. Science (and perhaps the above policy) are the only options. I want to argue pretty forcefully that science will save us. Lots of people, like our beloved Tippi, are not so sure. In fact, I believe he is distinctly unsure. It is hard to argue against (impossible even) because the shit has hit the fan and I can only repeat the "science" mantra. Ray Kurzweil and The Singularity is Near. If so, we have hope. If not, well shit.

It is depressing but, hey, there you go!

In that vein, you might as well travel as much as possible. We are destructive but curious little creatures. Might as well have fun while you can.

matt

ps, we may be able to save ourselves if we can generate lots of energy. The sun is our best source. I suggest a complicated net of space-based solar panels. Beam the energy back. Then we could do what ever we want, because with never ending and non-polluting sources of energy we would be invicible. Well, I would. You would still have the whole Lower Spine issue.