Ethics and sustainable development(cosmocratic) july 2009
1. FOR OUR CHILDREN…
(THE OWNERS OF PLANET EARTH.
WE’RE just the TENANTS)
2. ECO-TECHNOLOGICAL Ethics and
Sustainable Development
“Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of
the public, the protection of the environment
and the promotion of health and safety within the
workplace;”
(ASTTBC Code of Ethics, Article 1.)
(It demands some sort of response from us,
doesn't it?)
3. HOW ABOUT THIS? The Declaration of Interdependence
Article 1: (COSMOCRATIC)
In a technological
civilization, the life
of every person is
dependent on a
multitude of
properly working
machines and an
equal multitude of
people doing a
multitude of jobs
competently, with
high productivity.
4. Article 2: THE PROBLEM:
We, the human species, are headed towards a
technological and ecological catastrophe, (call
it “crunch”) that will kill 90% of us and
condemn the rest to nasty, brutish, and short
lives, on an impoverished planet, because our
technological society is fundamentally flawed.
5. “NAAH, HE’S NUTS, IT’LL NEVER HAPPEN!”
•OH YEAH? WHAT WILL WE
EAT IF THESE MACHINES,
AND OTHERS LIKE THEM,
CAN NO LONGER BE BUILT
AND RUN?
•HOW DO WE COPE IF WE
SO DAMAGE OUR
ENVIRONMENT WITH
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
THAT AGRICULTURE,
HUNTING, FISHING AND •(before panic)
WILD FOOD GATHERING
COLLAPSE?
•I TALKED WITH A
SUPERMARKET MANAGER
ONCE, AND HE TOLD ME;
“WE ARE STOCKED FOR
ONE WEEK, BUSINESS AS
USUAL, OR 4-6 HOURS,
PANIC BUYING.”
•(after panic)
6. Article 3: THE PROBLEM: ANALYSIS
This flaw is OPEN
techno/ecological
cycles and over
consumption of
resources. Problem
is, with 7 BILLION
people to be
fed, clothed, and
housed, the resource
base of the earth is
inadequate to meet
the basic needs of all,
let alone fund the
green tech revolution
necessary to our
(sustainable)
HUMAN POP. AND FOOTPRINT
collective survival. GROWTH CURVES ( THE
COLOURED LINES SHOW PLANETARY
CARRYING CAPACITY:
GREEN=SUSTAINABLE
RED=BISINESS AS USUAL, LET PLANET
HEAL LATER, I.E. WHAT WE ARE
7. WHAT PASSES FOR MODERN POLITICAL/ECONOMIC/ECOLOGICAL THOUGHT
BACK GROUND PHOTO:
A CLEARCUT IN CANADA.
SCREW-UPS ARE NOT A
U.S. MONOP0LY!
9. Youth Population and Infant Mortality
CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL
PRODUCTIVITY THAT WOULD BE
UNLEASHED, BY BASIC EDUCATION
AND HEALTH CARE, IN THE RED ZONES!
12. FOSSIL FUEL SUPPLY ESTIMATES
• PLEASE NOTE:ALL NON-RENEWABLES( BAUXITE, NICKEL, IRON, TITANIUM,
RAW MATERIALS FOR CERAMICS AND CONCRETE, URANIUM, ETC, ETC, ETC)
ARE IN THE SAME SITUATION! THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE TIME OF PEAK
PRODUCTION! (FOR OIL, AND ALL PETRO-PRODUCTS, PEAK PRODUCTION IS
RIGHT NOW!)
13. The solar system contains sufficient
wealth, in both energy and materials, not
only to solve the techno/ecological crisis,
but heal the damage already done, and
make us ALL well-off. Developing the
techniques of space colonisation will give
us practical ecological knowledge for use
here on Earth. (and working, closed, eco-
technological demonstrations, to
convince the sceptical) The effort to open
the High Frontier is non-trivial, but It’s not
beyond our means. (Some space colonisation
advocates are convinced that, for less than 10% of the
present US military budget, in sustained funding, we could
have a moon colony in 5 years, our first asteroid mines in
10 years, and orbital solar power satellites in 15 years.)
14. Article 5: THE SOLUTION IS WORKABLE!
Point 1 implies that a successful effort on point 4
will give us the tools and techniques to solve
point 3. Since technology is interdependent, so
are the problems of technology, and successful
solutions in one field are almost always
applicable in others. So, solving the problems of
space colonisation, particularly the life support
problem, will teach us to solve critical
techno/ecological problems on Earth. (AND AN
ACCESSIBLE RESOURCE STOCKPILE MILLIONS OF TIMES
LARGER THAN THAT OF THE VIRGIN, PRE-INDUSTRIAL, EARTH,
PLUS PRACTICALLY LIMITLESS ACESS TO SOLAR ENERGY,
CAN PAY FOR THE ECO-TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION THAT
MUST COME, IF WE ARE TO SURVIVE.)
19. Economic data for Lunar Colony,
as a source of cheap materials
Source: www.ssi.org
20. EROS, A TYPICAL ASTEROID
• Eros is a near-Earth asteroid
of significant value
(estimated at $15.84 trillion)
• Size: 33 km x 13 km x 13 km
(20.5 mi x 8 mi x 8 mi)
• Approximate mass: 7.2 x
10^15 kg (79.2 trillion short
tons; a short ton is 2000
pounds)
• Source: http://www.erosproject.com/
21. HOW MANY ASTEROIDS,COMETS, ETC?
• The blue squares
represent comets, the
red dots show
asteroids that have
orbits intersecting the
Earth’s, (relatively easy
to get to), the green
dots show main belt
asteroids, and the
circles inscribed with
crosses show major
planets. The yellow
star indicates the sun.
Blue dots represent the
locations of Jupiter’s
family of Trojan asteroids.
Light blue circles
represent the orbits of the
five inner planets, and
blue squares represent
comets (ice!)
• Source:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/InnerPlot.html?source=ErosProject
• (ESTIMATES OF THE NUMBER
OF ASTEROIDS IN THE MAIN
BELT (GREEN) GO AS HIGH
AS 2 MILLION, AND,
REMEMBER, EROS IS A
TYPICAL, AVERAGE
ASTEROID.)
.
22. EARTH INDUSTRY VS. SPACE INDUSTRY
• 90+% EFFORT WASTED
FIGHTING GRAVITY
• AIR, WATER, LANDSCAPE • EASIER TO DO MANY THINGS IN
POLLUTION AND DEGRADATION MICROGRAVITY
• POWER SOURCES LIMITED • WITH NO ENVIRONMENT (OTHER
AND/OR UNSUSTAINABLE
(FOSSIL FUELS, ETC.) THAN BIOSPHERES WE
CONSTRUCT) ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION (AT LEAST
OUTDOORS) IS AN OXYMORON
• SOLAR POWER 24/7, 10 TIMES
STRONGER THAN ON EARTH, (NO
ATMOSPHERIC ATTENUATION) AND
UPPER LIMIT OF 3 to 4 X10^26
WATTS (IF WE EVER NEED THAT
MUCH)
23. One Profit Center,
ORBITAL SOLAR POWER
o PRESENT HUMAN POWER
BUDGET: 1.1X1013 WATTS
o HUMAN POWER BUDGET
SUFFICIENT TO GIVE ALL
HUMANITY U.S. PER CAPITA
ENERGY CONSWUMPTION: 3-
5X1013 WATTS
o MAXIMUM OUTPUT OF SOLAR
POWER STATIONS IN
GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT: 2.5 X
1015 WATTS (ASSUMPTIONS:
STATIONS 15KM VERTICAL,
BACK TO BACK ALL THE WAY
ROUND)
o TOTAL SOLAR OUTPUT: 3 to 4 X
1026 WATTS
SOURCE: www.ssi.org
24. Article 6: We can only do it if we cooperate.
• Positive sum games (cooperative)
do not waste resources, generate no
conflict, and have created all wealth
in the history of Humanity.
• Negative sum games (self-interested) only
redistribute wealth, generally destroying some in
the process. (And FEW would describe the
results as equitable.) Also, military implications
of space travel make space colonies owned by
any single nation an intolerable threat to all the
others, as bombardment down gravity wells is so
much easier than shooting up. Let’s sidestep
that one, shall we?
25.
26. Article 7: WE HAVE TO LEARN TO PLAY
Dealing with our
addiction to negative
sum games and
encouraging people
to give positive sum
games a fair trial,
gives us a better
chance of SUCCESS
and SURVIVAL.
27. Article 8: THE SOONER, THE BETTER
Failure is not an
acceptable option
(see point 2) and
TIME IS AGAINST
US. The sooner
we start and the
harder we work,
the better the
chance the space
resources AND
INDUSTRY come
on stream before
the “Crunch”
comes.
28. Article 9: PRIORITIES
This is the highest
priority issue of our age,
as the project BUYS A
FUTURE for humanity.
(The traditional
argument, that space
colonization is “Too
Expensive”, can be
rebutted, “…compared
to what? The time, and
effort, that humanity
puts into war? The fall
of civilization, cited in
point 2?”)
29. Article 10: COMMITMENT
The high frontier will be ours, only if our
minds are as open, our vision as clear,
and our hearts as big as SPACE itself.
30. Article 11: FINAL EXAM
This is humanity’s final exam, and
both our intelligence and our moral
capacity are being tested. By
(insert your belief system here),
let’s pass it TOGETHER.
31. Article 12: IF WE GOOF
If we fail, we DESERVE extinction, for we
will have brought it on ourselves.
32. Therefore: We will, by our personal actions and
conduct, establish a new movement,
pledged to fair dealing here on Earth, a
common maximum effort to open the
high frontier, and pledge to share the
fruits of the effort among all humanity.
We name the movement Cosmocracy,
because we believe that, without wide
distribution of the wealth of space, there
can be no universal, or even sustainable,
democracy, and to the COOPERATIVE
struggle required, as much against our
OWN FOSSILISED THINKING, as against
any external obstacle, “WE MUTUALLY
PLEDGE TO EACH OTHER OUR LIVES,
OUR FORTUNES, AND OUR SACRED
HONOUR.”
(As did a previous, and famous, group
of dissatisfied people.)
33. SOME INSPIRATIONAL QUOTATIONS:
“We Came in Peace, for all Mankind”
Left on a plaque on the Moon by:
Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin
“It is assured, that if we do not hang together, we shall all hang separately.”
Benjamin Franklin
“The prospect of being hanged in a fortnight concentrates the mind wonderfully.”
Samuel Johnson
“Ask not what Humanity can do for you, but what you can do for Humanity.”
John F. Kennedy (slightly adapted)
“Business as usual is a suicide pact.”
Doug Prentice
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
Rabbi Hillel, 1st century B.C.
(adapted by common usage)
“The Buck Stops Here.”
Harry Truman
Love God with heart, mind, soul and strength,
and love your neighbour as yourself!!!”
Jesus Christ (SHORTENED FOR MODERN
ATTENTION SPANS)
34. SLOGANS FOR COSMOCRATS
YOUR PLANET, LOVE IT AND LEAVE IT!
SPACE COLONIES! A DOWN-TO-EARTH
SOLUTION!
DEVELOP THE TECHNOLOGY! GET THE WEALTH!
THEN SHARE IT!
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT AND SPACE
COLONIZATION ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY IS
A SPACE TECHNOLOGY SPIN-OFF! SO IS
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE!
35. SLOGANS, CONT’D
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IS A HUMAN
RIGHT!
THE WEALTH OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM IS THE
COMMON INHERITANCE OF HUMANITY! BUT
WE CANT INHERIT IF WE DON’T GO!
CRAWL, WALK, RUN, DRIVE, FLY, ORBIT, DIG IN
AND COLONIZE!
2 MILLION ASTROIDS! ONE HUGE SUN! ENOUGH
OF EVERYTHING! ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE!
36. AND CONT’D
TODAY, THE MOON! TOMORROW, THE
ASTEROIDS!
SPACE COLONIES AND GREEN TECHNOLOGY, A
MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN, AND ON EARTH!
IN SPACE, ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IS AN
OXYMORON! HOW CAN YOU POLLUTE A NON-
ENVIRONMENT?
BUSINESS AS USUAL IS A SUICIDE PACT!
COLONISE SPACE, WHILE WE STILL CAN!
37. AD NAUSEUM
ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP
FOR MANKIND! BUT ONLY IF WE HAVE THE
COURAGE TO LEAP!
BUILD THE FUTURE WE WANT, OR FACE THE
FUTURE WE DESERVE!
NEIL ARMSTRONG, BUZZ ALDRIN, AND MIKE
COLLINS HAD THE BALLS TO GO! DO WE HAVE
THE BALLS TO FOLLOW?
WHAT DO WE WANT? SPACE! WHEN DO WE
WANT IT? NOW!
38. ONE LINERS RULE!
SPACE COLONIES! THE SAFETY VALVE ON
EARTH’S PRESSURE COOKER!
IGNORANCE IS BLISS, IT’S ALSO SUICIDAL!
SPACE COLONIES! LIFEBOATS FOR SPACESHIP
EARTH!
DOOR #1: UP TO THE STARS! DOOR #2: DOWN,
WITH THE DINOSAURS! DOOR #3: DOES NOT
EXIST!
THE WORLD IS STOPPING! I WANT TO GET OFF!
39. THE LAST ONES (THANK GOD)
PRIVIES, MINES AND FACTORIES DON’T BELONG
IN THE LIVING ROOM,THE WELL, OR THE
GARDEN! LET’S MOVE HEAVY INDUSTRY INTO
SPACE, WHERE IT BELONGS!
THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH, THE
BOLD WILL INHERIT THE SOLAR SYSTEM, BUT
BOTH INHERITANCES WILL BE WORTHLESS, IF
WE DON’T GET GOING!
40. POETRY CORNER
Natural Theology
Rudyard Kipling
MEDIÆVAL
My privy and well drain into each other
After the custom of Christendie. . . .
Fevers and fluxes are wasting my mother.
Why has the Lord afflicted me?
The Saints are helpless for all I offer—
So are the clergy I used to fee.
Henceforward I keep my cash in my coffer,
Because the Lord has afflicted me.
CHORUS
We had a kettle: we let it leak:
Our not repairing it made it worse.
We haven’t had any tea for a week. . . .
The bottom is out of the Universe!
CONCLUSION
This was none of the good Lord’s pleasure,
For the Spirit He breathed in Man is free;
But what comes after is measure for measure,
And not a God that afflicteth thee.
As was the sowing so the reaping
Is now and evermore shall be.
Thou art delivered to thine own keeping
Only Thyself hath afflicted thee!
41. IN MEMORIAM: THE CREW OF THE CHALLENGER, OF THE COUMBIA, AND ALL THE
OTHER HEROES AND MARTYRS, WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES THAT HUMANITY
MIGHT HAVE A FUTURE.
WE WILL REMEMBER, AND WILL HONOUR YOU
BY FOLLOWING THE TRAIL YOU GAVE YOUR LIVES
TO BLAZE.
42. BIBLIOGRAPHY (PARTIAL) AND USEFUL SOURCES
• BOOKS
• Gerard K. O’Niell, The High Frontier,(Apogee Books Space
Series)
• T.A. Heppenheimer, Colonies in Space, Copyright 1977,
currently available in web format on the website of the U.S.
National Space Society, may still be in print, but my copy was
printed in 1980
• Various works, both fiction and non-fiction, by Arthur C. Clarke,
Isaac Azimov, E. E. Smith (SUBSPACE EXPLORERS, FIRST
LENSMAN, AND OTHER TITLES), Robert A. Heinlein (DOUBLE
STAR, CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY, THE MOON IS A HARSH
MISTRESS, AND OTHER TITLES, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle,
Poul Anderson, Dr. Robert L Forward, H. Beam Piper, Peter F.
Hamilton, Michael Flynn, and others. (various publishers)
• A variety of astronomy and astrophysics textbooks and journals
• A selection of other textbooks and journals (in physics,
chemistry, mechanical engineering, aerospace, etc.)
43. Bibliography Cont’d.
•INTERNET
•http://www.davidsuzuki.org/About_us/Declaration_of_Interdependence.asp
•http://www.erosproject.com/
•http://www.l5news.org/L5news/L5news7509.pdf
•http://www.l5news.org/
•http://www.nss.org/
•http://www.oregonl5.org/
•http://www.permanent.com/intro.htm
•http://www.space-frontier.org/
•http://lifesci3.arc.nasa.gov/SpaceSettlement/CoEvolutionBook/
•http://www.tucsonspacesociety.org/
•http://www.lunar-reclamation.org/mmm_samples/mmm164_APR2003.pdf
•http://spacesettlement.org/
•http://www.space-access.org/
•http://www.prospace.org/tiki-index.php
•http://www.hobbyspace.com/AAdmin/archive/RLV/2005/RTTM-VI.html
•http://www.future25.org/
•http://thespacereview.com/article/317/1
•http://thespacereview.com/
•http://www.moonminer.com/
•http://ssi.org/
•Please note: These web sites were all functioning at the time this presentation was compiled, and
that this is not a complete list of the websites used in the presentation.
44. A FINAL THOUGHT…
• OUR LEADERS, (GOV’T, BUSINESS, ACADEMIC, ETC.) SAY;
“TRUST US, WE’VE GOT IT COVERED.” CAN WE? HAVE
YOU HEARD ANY OF THEM DISCUSSING THE ISSUES
RAISED HERE, OR PRESENTING WORKABLE SOLUTIONS
TO THE PROBLEMS?
(PLEASE NOTE: I DID NOT SAY CREDIBLE.)
“THE TRUTH OF A PROPOSITION HAS NOTHING WHATEVER
TO DO WITH IT’S CREDIBILITY, AND VISE VERSA.” L. Long
• FELLOW COSMOCRATS, OUR LEADERS ARE EITHER
UNINFORMED, UNCONVINCED, OR JUST DON’T CARE! WE
CAN ONLY RELY ON OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER! I
PRAY DAILY THAT COSMOCRATIC LEADERS WILL
EMERGE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
• THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF NEIL ARMSTRONG’S HISTORIC
FOOTPRINT, JULY 20TH 2009, IS NOW HISTORY, ITSELF.
HOW ABOUT COMMEMORATING IT BY COMMITTING TO
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PEMANENT MOON COLONY
BEFORE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY?
• This Just In: As 2012 begins, we learn that Obama has signed
the infamous NDAA 2012 bill into law, giving himself “emergency
powers” that would make Palpitine and Hitler green with envy.
This blatant attack on the US constitution, human rights, the
Rule of Law, Freedom and Democracy is so evil and destructive
of civilized principles that the US is unlikely to regain the
reputation of “Land of the Free” unless it is still the home of the
brave. Second American Revolution, Anyone?
• War on terror=War in Error?
