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Forum Discussion
Slowlane - I certainly agree that the 15th century Spanish monarchy was motivated by pure greed, like modern entrepreneurs, but it was still a government program funded by TAX Dollars (or pesos). And I really don't think there would have been any space program had it not been for govt funding. I thought it was a waste of money at the time but I was wrong.
Atomic fusion has the potential of providing a clean and cheap source of unlimited energy and R&D must be continued, but private industry will not and cannot do it. The technology is at the point where researchers must have a "super collider" to proceed and Congress wisely appropriated $5 billion to build one at Waxahachie, TX several years ago. Land was acquired and construction began, but then Congress, responding to their short-sighted constituents, cut-off the funding and the project shut-down - after several hundred million had been spent. And there it sits - the ultimate, and perhaps the only, answer to the energy needs of the future is now nothing more a hole in the ground in rural Texas - not as a monument to govt boondoggle, but rather to our own narrow interpretation of our immediate self-interest. If it had been a private project - which is impossible in the first place - shareholders would have shut it down in the same way.
People don't see beyond their immediate situation and are not inclined to support what appears to be "pie-in-the-sky" science - like space travel. That's why strong political leadership and extensive govt involvement is the only way to assure the energy needs of the future.
Along with nuclear fusion, the research on super conductivity must continue as well. If they can find the right alloy for wires, our electricity consumption would immediately be cut in half. There is no way private industry will rise to this challenge because such an alloy might not even exist. It is presently publicly-funded at the university level, but we need an infusion of serious federal dollars for research because our time is running-out. Petroleum fuels are fading into history. We need a pragmatic partnership between govt and industry. Both have a vital role to play. Like in the New Deal era of the 30's, we need to ignore the political ideologues and tight-fisted taxpayers and do what works.
Jack
Atomic fusion has the potential of providing a clean and cheap source of unlimited energy and R&D must be continued, but private industry will not and cannot do it. The technology is at the point where researchers must have a "super collider" to proceed and Congress wisely appropriated $5 billion to build one at Waxahachie, TX several years ago. Land was acquired and construction began, but then Congress, responding to their short-sighted constituents, cut-off the funding and the project shut-down - after several hundred million had been spent. And there it sits - the ultimate, and perhaps the only, answer to the energy needs of the future is now nothing more a hole in the ground in rural Texas - not as a monument to govt boondoggle, but rather to our own narrow interpretation of our immediate self-interest. If it had been a private project - which is impossible in the first place - shareholders would have shut it down in the same way.
People don't see beyond their immediate situation and are not inclined to support what appears to be "pie-in-the-sky" science - like space travel. That's why strong political leadership and extensive govt involvement is the only way to assure the energy needs of the future.
Along with nuclear fusion, the research on super conductivity must continue as well. If they can find the right alloy for wires, our electricity consumption would immediately be cut in half. There is no way private industry will rise to this challenge because such an alloy might not even exist. It is presently publicly-funded at the university level, but we need an infusion of serious federal dollars for research because our time is running-out. Petroleum fuels are fading into history. We need a pragmatic partnership between govt and industry. Both have a vital role to play. Like in the New Deal era of the 30's, we need to ignore the political ideologues and tight-fisted taxpayers and do what works.
Jack
