Re: science sourcess

In article <e317v8$npf$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, jdnicoll@xxxxxxxxx says...
I don't buy the "too dark to grow plants" part. For one
thing, that's really dark and for another, what is that crap
doing to people's lungs? All it took for the UK to institute
the Clear Air Act was four thousand people killed one December
and something of a bungle concerning the guy they put in charge
of the "let's look like we're doing something."

Genetic engineering script kiddies spreading phages to target
crops I could believe.

If something happened that threw a thick cloud of dust into the upper
atmosphere, it could cut down on the amount of sunlight without causing
too much respiratory distress on the ground. It might also hamper getting
to orbit unless the polar latitudes were somewhat free of dust.

How about this:

In order to control global warming, a shield of dust is placed in orbit
between us and the sun. A decade or so after completion, the sun begins
to dim. It turns out that global warming wasn't man-made after all. The
earth grows colder, in the grips of an ice age made far worse by the dust
shield. And it will be decades before the solar wind clears away the dust
shield. Oops!

Meanwhile, breakthroughs in solar panel efficiency have led to their
widespread adoption. Increased cloudiness over the upper latitudes has
caused widespread energy shortages. As agriculture becomes concentrated
in a band, oh, maybe thirty degrees wide either side of the equator, the
price of meat and fresh food soars out of reach for all but the richest.
Most of the world's population must make do with yeast cakes and fungi
grown in tunnels beneath the snow.

Utilizing heavy boaster technology developed for the solar shield,
entrepreneurs invest in space. The richest of the rich hang out in
stations that orbit the sun instead of the earth, well beyond the dust
shield. There they bask in a man-made Rivera. Other entrepreneurs put
"Silent Running" style greenhouses into a solar orbit and even a few
ranches. It's very expensive, but the super rich can afford it.

Keep in mind wind pollinated and crops grown from cuttings will be
easiest to grow in orbit. But using stingless bee, honey could be a
premium crop, maybe the new caviar.

--
-Kevin J. Cheek
Remove corn to send e-mail.
.

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