[mdlug-discuss] [mdlug] Automotive technical info wanted (only slightly off topic)

[Robert Meier]

Garry,

> ... I don't believe that we cannot have a high standard
> of living and a high standard of environmental responsibility
> at the same time. 

Agreed.

> We only get one planet, so we better take care of it.

I remember in 1970s, reports that Skylab measurements determined total
insolation on planet Earth was sufficient to support no more than
1 Billion humans at theoretically perfect efficiency and a few several
hundred million humans at actual efficiency.
The remainder of human population is supported only by non-renewable
resources such as fossil fuels, radioactives, and declining vegetation.

We have only one planet now, but to take care or it,
we must move our resource dependence off planet
or nearly all of the current human population will die prematurely.
Though most of our population cannot migrate off-planet in the near
future (next century), we can, like most big cities, import our
energy from, and export our tools into space.

An excellent starting point for further information is
   The High Frontier by Gerald K. O'Neil
	http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/189652267X/nocturnthewebs0d

Reporting,
-- 
Dr. Robert J. Meier