The Carnival of Space 249 is up at Riding with Robots
Examiner – Is Newt Gingrich’s Moon Colony Idea Dead? Not Yet
Despite the derision the moon colony idea received in some quarters, Gingrich’s vision did have resonance.
Writing in Bloomberg, for example, Jeffrey Goldberg uttered the plea, “Let Space Shuttle Demise Awaken Gingrich Dream,” suggesting that America needs a space vision to replace the shuttle and that Gingrich’s moon base fits the bill.
“Nextbigfuture- Why is Diamandis thinking about mineral mining in space, when resources here on Earth — in his view — are so abundant? Oil in place in the continental US is from about 3 trillion to 5 trillion barrels of oil not including the 4.5 trillion barrels of oil shale. There is enough and the technology will be here to get it and use it affordably. However, the technology to clean has historically lagged and that would be a big problem. Everyone in the developing world wants to at least catch up the US and Europe. So in 2050 that means about 10 billion people with $100,000 per person. So a $1000 trillion global economy. We have demonstrations here where the 99% want to get to the 1% level of income. For the US, getting to where the bottom level of the current 1% is about $506,500 per year. Everyone getting to that level is a $5000 trillion economy. The world is currently at an $82 trillion economy. It is not just cornucopians who want more, clearly everyone wants more.
The developing world wants more and the 99% want more. However, most people have not thought it through or done the calculations. There are a bunch of knee jerk doomers who just assume it cannot be done and that they consider the current level too much. Many of the doomers have some kind of implicit or explicit mass death and poverty solution. Technology and long term planning and execution of those plans can achieve true abundance for everyone.”
Astrophysicists use Cepheids in 25 galaxies to measure gravity 100 times more precisely than before
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.