Challenges Facing Humanity

[soda72]

Make solar energy affordable
Provide energy from fusion
Develop carbon sequestration
Manage the nitrogen cycle
Provide access to clean water
Reverse engineer the brain
Prevent nuclear terror
Secure cyberspace
Enhance virtual reality
Improve urban infrastructure
Advance health informatics
Engineer better medicines
Advance personalised learning
Explore natural frontiers



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7248875.stm

I don't see why Secure cyberspace would be on the list.  Secure it from what?

[eagl]

Kind of shortsighted of them in some areas, specifically in what they leave out.  Like there is nothing in there for transportation technology.  Nothing for space exploitation.  Nothing on ensuring that humanity can survive a massive natural disaster on earth.  Nothing on space access.  Nothing on searching for, traveling to, and colonizing/populating other worlds.

They have several energy technology projects there, so it would have been a lot better to just list "better energy technology" and leave it at that.

Like I said, rather shortsighted.

As for securing cyberspace, they really mean "controlling" cyberspace.  And that probably sums up the philosophy of the people who made the list.  They're looking at current events and issues, and trying to figure out how a government can control these events.

At least, that's how that list reads to me.

[moot]

Isn't space development lumped in "Explore natural frontiers"?
Space exploitation is probably off the list because Solar Power made it.

Searching for and going to other worlds further than our solar system wouldn't make the list unless we had even a feasible theoretical propulsion system that could take us there before the end of the century.

I think I read a few professionals debating it, where it's shown that it won't be economical to bring resources from outer space over here on Earth for a while, because of the shipping costs of initial tooling.
I personaly think it's a shame, because like the recent article on Titan says, there's comparatively infinite amounts of resources out there free for us to grab.
It's like those Civilization games (pardon the cheap analogy) where instead of building an army, you take the first few time blocks to build an enormous resource system... The initial lag in production is followed by a torrent of material output and tech progress.

It's like striking oil or finding gold at the time of their discovery in the US..

[FiLtH]

Make 1 standard packaging material that is either bio-degradable or 100% recyclable (sp)

[lasersailor184]

Communism.



All this time and there hasn't been a bigger and more grotesque affront to humanity, freedom and the world than Communism and Socialism.  Once we get rid of these (not an easy task), THEN we are ready to fix some of the minor problems.

[moot]

Laser the article is about engineering challenges to progress with, not what to avoid.

http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/


And speaking of searching for and finding worlds to explore/colonize/exploit.. Astronomers are starting to hint at hundreds of objects in the Oort cloud and Kuiper belt, whose size would range from a little smaller than Pluto's to Earth's.

[Sandman]

The president of the world's most powerful country favors torture.

[Vulcan]

I use Fusion energy and VR every day (oh and secure cyberspace!)

[Pooh21]

Originally posted by Sandman
The president of the world's most powerful country favors torture.

Im Sandman and I love Alqueda

Kumbaya.


I am hoping for a Bird Flu or SARS or Chinese civil war that whacks half their population or more leaving the rest of the world relativly unscathed.

[Sandman]

I'm Pooh21 and I'm ****ing retarded.

[Pooh21]

Take a bath hippy and realize not every one wishes to cuddle or coddle Islamofascists.

Waterboading and NakedMan Pyramids are far better treatment then what they do to their prisoners.

dig what Im groovin longhair?

[trax1]

Originally posted by moot
I think I read a few professionals debating it, where it's shown that it won't be economical to bring resources from outer space over here on Earth for a while, because of the shipping costs of initial tooling.
I personaly think it's a shame, because like the recent article on Titan says, there's comparatively infinite amounts of resources out there free for us to grab.

Yeah I read an article that said as of now its so expensive to go into space that it wouldn't even be economically feasible to bring back gold bars from space.  I've also read that it cost around $10,000 to launch each pound of something into space.

[Masherbrum]

Only one.

Peace.   But, as long as two beings occupy Planet Earth, it won't exist.   A shame.

[lasersailor184]

Originally posted by Masherbrum
Only one.

Peace.   But, as long as two beings occupy Planet Earth, it won't exist.   A shame.

A shame?  Hardly.  




I rue the day when we've become such ******* that we are unwilling to fight for what we want.

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
A shame?  Hardly.  




I rue the day when we've become such ******* that we are unwilling to fight for what we want.

You have a lot to learn in life.   When you put away the bravado you've never had, it'll make more sense.