Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to re: Responding to ObL

re: Responding to ObL
Robert — (archived)

I don't think anybody here at the Zone could disagree with your conclusions about a space-faring civilization as the long term answer. I sometimes imagine humanity discovering an alien starship and suddenly gaining the ability to colonize other star systems; and how all of the warring factions on Earth could each be given their own planet, to try and turn into their own peculiar brand of paradise. Experiments could fail, but because we're not all in the same lifeboat, we don't have so much stake in being our brothers' keepers. It'd be safe to just mind our own business.

I was mindful that the suggestion that we wean ourselves from Middle Eastern oil puts ANWR at risk. Though it would pain me, I could at least accept exploitation of ANWR in service of a genuine national security interest. I feel quite differently about the drive to exploit ANWR simply because it's convenient, or it might shave a few bucks off the price of a barrel of oil, that it would let us continue a might longer to coast along without having to think about the consequences of a petroleum-based economy. But if exploiting ANWR was a tactic in a long-term strategy that would result in less reliance on petroleum overall, I'd consider it a strategic sacrifice. ANWR (or any alternative) oil could bridge the gap until non-petroleum energy systems can get a foothold to supplant petroleum.

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