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Tim, this is an open discussion. I'm not wanting it to go in any specific direction. As long as the dialogue is constructive and moderately interesting I'm happy.

And never mind ski boots, bowling balls and Mt. Rushmore. How about a package of preservative laden hotdogs in the local landfill? I think they have a half life of about 7,000 years! :eek:
and the half-life of a 16 pound solid hunk o' plastic?
 
I was listening to a couple of U of O students the other day and they were convinced that in the near future there would be Oxygen Cafes where people could go in and order a cup of their favorite latte and with it they could order 15 minutes of oxygen to breathe because the outside air was so polluted...:eek:
 
yeah, but that's U of O.........


:D
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
How about curling rocks? About 40 pounds of solid granite! :D

But seriously, there are artifacts that would last far, far into the future.

Oxygen cafés have been considered for about 40 years or so. back to the late 60's-early 70's when the first wave of envrironmentalism hit. And what have we accomplished so far? Imagine another 50 years. Maybe this global warming scare will not die out. I'm no tree-hugger but supplying consumer good for 6 billion people can't be done without doing some harm to the planet.
 
..........Oxygen cafés have been considered for about 40 years or so. back to the late 60's-early 70's when the first wave of envrironmentalism hit............
There was actually more cause for them then than there is today. At least in some of the industrial smog towns I've known.

Apart from having better emission filtrage, heavy industry has luckily become so uncompetitive in our parts, that it's all exported itself to China. They're the ones coughing now. :D
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
There was actually more cause for them then than there is today. At least in some of the industrial smog towns I've known.

Apart from having better emission filtrage, heavy industry has luckily become so uncompetitive in our parts, that it's all exported itself to China. They're the ones coughing now. :D
Yes but they are coughing their way to the bank.Do you think that, fifty years from now, the west will be able to recapture a good piece of our lost industrial base. Our Canadian government is starting to talk about it. I think fifty years hence we will see more Canadian oil going to Asian countries and less to the states.
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
I wonder if in fifty years there will be any wild animals not in zoos. And if that's the case, would they be called wild anymore...:eek:
I think animals in zoos are considered to be domesticated to a degree in that if they were born in captivity they don't have trained hunting skills they would need in the wild.

As Joni sang:

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Yes, they are paving paradise but it isn't an overnight process. In a way it has been gradually happening since the onslaught of the Industrial Revolution.
 
Yes but they are coughing their way to the bank.Do you think that, fifty years from now, the west will be able to recapture a good piece of our lost industrial base.
Nope, we'll be cultivating rice paddies for the likes of China and India and those two will be having discussions with Brazil on how maybe they should stop exploiting us out of humanitarian reasons and do as little about it, beyond talk, as we're doing now.
Our Canadian government is starting to talk about it. I think fifty years hence we will see more Canadian oil going to Asian countries and less to the states.
50 years hence there won't be any oil and the oil sand territory will be so polluted that not even robots can be sent in. And there also won't be any need for it anymore but the technology of alternative energy will be in the hands of those that it's already going to.

Not ours.
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
Nope, we'll be cultivating rice paddies for the likes of China and India and those two will be having discussions with Brazil on how maybe they should stop exploiting us out of humanitarian reasons and do as little about it, beyond talk, as we're doing now.
50 years hence there won't be any oil and the oil sand territory will be so polluted that not even robots can be sent in. And there also won't be any need for it anymore but the technology of alternative energy will be in the hands of those that it's already going to.

Not ours.
Derek, one thought I had while contemplating this thread was of the visionaries. It is no secret that I am a big science fiction fan of the golden age. One thing that caught my imagination was the advancements prophesized by the likes of Heilein, Asimov, Clarke et al. It seemed that technological advancements could be exprapolated along a steadily sloping curve. But it has gone all wrong somewhere along the way. The American mad dash into space was a politically inspired knee-jerk reaction to the fear of being out done - and out gunned - in space. The shuttle project is history and they now have to hitch a ride upon a commie rocket to get to the space station. The irony! I bet JFK is spinning in his grave. LBJ too. But space exploration* is only symbolic of the technological drive and leadership the west once dominated. Maybe in fifty years the west will be a tourist playground, catering to the affluent citizens of China, India and Korea.

* Let it be said that the entire shuttle mission was not, nor was it intended to be, "space exploration". Real space exploration is done behind the scenes with long range, multi-year projects involving sophisticated satellites. Dr. Sagan was against manned missions, as it required project costs a few magnitudes more costly than unmanned robots. If one considers how much money was spent on the shuttle project and weigh it against what was gained on would not be faulted for claiming that it was a colossal white elephant.
 
Please Jim. The shuttle program was a huge success. Heck, even with ONLY the Hubble it would still be regarded as a tremendous success.
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
Please Jim. The shuttle program was a huge success. Heck, even with ONLY the Hubble it would still be regarded as a tremendous success.
Too bad I didn't mark this for debate or I would have asked for substantiation on the "huge success" comment. I believe it accomplished very little. Yes, there were micro gravity experiments not possible on Earth but note that I posted in terms of "space exploration". Yes, the Hubble is wonderful but any rocket could have placed it in orbit. All the big finds in the last 30 years were made with those small, semi-anonymous satellites.
 
Speaking of space exploration, how about those computers still running in Voyager satellites...:up: They set out 33 years ago and their primary missions were supposed to last seven years...:cool: But alas, I'm looking backwards rather than forward in time....;)
 
* Let it be said that the entire shuttle mission was not, nor was it intended to be, "space exploration". Real space exploration is done behind the scenes with long range, multi-year projects involving sophisticated satellites. Dr. Sagan was against manned missions, as it required project costs a few magnitudes more costly than unmanned robots. If one considers how much money was spent on the shuttle project and weigh it against what was gained on would not be faulted for claiming that it was a colossal white elephant.
Also, according to this logic, every manned mission in history wouldn't count as space exploration........and I also disagree with that........:)
 
Please Jim. The shuttle program was a huge success. Heck, even with ONLY the Hubble it would still be regarded as a tremendous success.
The shuttle program was a huge success.
But a HUGH waste of money, and lives. I'll look for some links but virtually everything done on any of the space missions can and probably have been done on land, before hand, in testing, for....you guessed it ...a fraction of the price.
 
Please Jim. The shuttle program was a huge success. Heck, even with ONLY the Hubble it would still be regarded as a tremendous success.
Too bad I didn't mark this for debate or I would have asked for substantiation on the "huge success" comment. I believe it accomplished very little.
The shuttle was used to make perfectly round ball bearings for use in military applications. It's one of the reasons why US nuclear submarines are virtually undetectable underwater.
 
(This is more about speculation of the future so I haven't marked it for debate, though it will be welcomed.)

Will the US regain it's world-leading status?

But here is the greatest challenge to you personally. What do you think the future will be like as opposed to what you would like it to be like?
Interesting item to pick. Leading status in what? The questions presumes the US doesn't in the as yet undefined "status". In trial advocacy that question would be subject to objection as assuming facts not in evidence.

Here is another just as valid question: Will Canada still be as non-relevant in 50 years as it is now?
 
I think he's also forgetting that many of the deep space satellites he's referring to as 'real' space exploration were in fact launched from a LEO after being brought there BY the shuttle, such as the Magellan and Galileo satellites.
 
Interesting item to pick. Leading status in what? The questions presumes the US doesn't in the as yet undefined "status". In trial advocacy that question would be subject to objection as assuming facts not in evidence.

Here is another just as valid question: Will Canada still be as non-relevant in 50 years as it is now?
:
Will Canada still be as non-relevant in 50 years as it is now?
:)
 
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