From: William Dow Rieder [email removed]
>Here are some serious reasons for starships to have armor 40:
>1) The ship has to be able to cruise through the Van Allen belts of gas
>giants without endangering the crew in order to use wilderness refueling.
Clarification please - are you worried about radiation or particulate
impact or both?
From: Vote For NoneOfTheAbove Write In Candidate 03-Dec-1990 1612 [email removed]
Jim Baranski writes:
>Date: Sun, 2 Dec 90 15:04:23 -0700
>From: FELLOWS STEVEN B -5 CR [email removed]
>Subject: (1908) Shipping: Interstellar Trade: Why?
>
>"A few reasons why I think people will be dispersed throughout space, receiving
>goods from other planets."
>
>"1)Overpopulation. 'creates a market for food'
>
>The only cure for overpopulation is population control. Emigration may have
>some effect on it, and feeding it only makes it worse. I really have a hard
>time believing that it's economical to feed a planet from another planet as a
>matter of course. You need a *good* reason to have a sizable population on a
>planet that can't support it. It makes much more sense to put the people where
>the food is.
Unless the planet can not grow its own food because of its composition or
atmosphere but turns out to have a fortune if raw materials and is a handy
place to manufacture things (you can't breath the air anyway so why waste
time, money, and energy on pollution controls). Moreover, if people are
hungry and can get the money they WILL PAY ANY PRICE for food no matter
where it comes from (homegrown or imported). I as a trader do not care about
solving their problems (overpopulation) just in selling them the product that
is currently in demand (food and maybe birth control devices?).
>"2)The necessary support industry is not available and would be too costly
>to transplant."
>
>This does happen out of necessity in small colonies or research stations.
>But, given the shipping costs in the players guides, I can't see it being
>economical to import bulk goods. small amount of goods will always be traded,
>as not much is needed, and it's cheaper to trade for that, but the more that
>you need something, the more important it is to produce it locally.
If you can produce it locally. Sometimes the "need" for something not
locally produced or producable arises against the will of the populace or
as a result of skillful manipulation of the market (ie make them *think*
that they can't live without even if they can't live with it like cigarettes).
TLH
- - --
T.L.Hayes |
MIT/Lincoln Laboratory |
Lexington, MA |