[net.space] Space Station Alert -- Death of the Species

jj@rabbit.UUCP (03/13/84)

>From alice!allegra!ulysses!burl!clyde!floyd!vax135!ukc!qtlon!dave Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969
>
>Suggested alternatives to wasting money on a space station:
>
>1)	feed a few of the starving people in the world
>
>2)	Give all politicians a lobotomy (semi :-))
>
>3)	Build a mock up space station (did you see the movie Capricorn One?)
>	since no-one will be able to tell the difference.
>
>But seriously, folks, there ARE a lot more useful ways of spending
>that much money.
>Earth has enough problems: why not solve them before making new ones in space?
>
>			Yours sadly,
>				Dave Lukes (<U.K.>!ukc!qtlon!dave)

OK.  Let's answer these.
	1)  Let's not do any research on how to grow more food, or how
to get more energy into a useful form (say from SPS).  Let's not
look at the earth through all sorts of space surveying equipment
so that we can find water/arable land/ etc to grow more food.
Let's let the weather wreck everything we grow.  Let's close our
eyes and commit suicide.  All are equivelent statements, as is 
Dave's #1.
	2)  :-) indeed.  Might be worth it, but it wouldn't
cost enough to take a layer of paint off of the Space Station Loo.
	3)  Fine, let's consume more resources in an attempt to
waste as much as possible.  I guess this one is :-), also.

"there are a lot more useful ways ..."

It's clear that some people don't understand that the fallout from
the US space program was in excess of 10-20 times it's cost, and
that the continued fallout is what is responsible for almost all
of today's chip development, miniturization, etc.   

I've said enough, I can't even be polite about this ostrich behavoir
any more.   Up the conservatives, there is indeed NO place like Hume.
-- 
TEDDY BEARS ARE NICER THAN PEOPLE--
HUG YOUR OWN TODAY !
(allegra,harpo,ulysses)!rabbit!jj

fair@dual.UUCP (Erik E. Fair) (03/16/84)

I was preparing a blast for Mr. Lukes, but I see that rabbit!jj beat me
to it. I agree substiantially with what jj said... (Hello David. Moved
from Root Computers, I see.)

	Erik E. Fair

	dual!fair@BERKELEY.ARPA
	{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,decwrl,amd70,fortune,zehntel}!dual!fair
	Dual Systems Corporation, Berkeley, California