From: Doctor Logic (doctor_logic@hotmail.com)
Date: Mon Jul 22 2002 - 14:20:47 MDT
I agree that technology will find a way to provide for us as most resources
are depleted. However, I would make two points:
1) This does not imply that we should simply consume resources at a maximal
rate until they are depleted. Alternative solutions still cost money to
implement.
Example: Global warming. There is insufficient evidence to prove
conclusively
that CO2 emissions are causing global warming. However, increased CO2
levels
have been correlated with increased global warming in the past (measured in
antarctic ice cores). If you double the CO2 content of the atmosphere (a
huge
variation in geological terms), you're likely to get some changes, and of a
type you can't predict. For all we know, we could get 50 years of flooding
and high sea levels followed by an ice age.
Yes, global warming is not by itself a threat to civilization, but it's a
needless drain on world economies at a time when we need them most.
Ignoring
this problem is just plain dumb.
Of course, if the singularity arrives before we suffer from this minor
calamity, no problem. We'll be machines anyway.
2) Not all resources can be replaced technologically.
Example: It is not clear whether the genetic information that dies with the
extinction of rare plant and animal species could be replaced quickly or at
all. Certainly, the natural historical information it may contain would be
lost. This is definitely not Extropy. As far as I am aware, there is no
significant "free market approach" to preserve endangered species.
Again, why throw something away when you don't have to.
Doctor Logic
---- This message was posted by Doctor Logic to the Extropians 2002 board on ExI BBS. <http://www.extropy.org/bbs/index.php?board=61;action=display;threadid=52547 >
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