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Science & Technology
Bezos thinks we need to build industrial zones in space in order to save Earth
2016-06-02
[RECODE.NET] Elon Musk wants us to build human colonies on Mars. Jeff Bezos has a slightly more measured take.

Onstage at the Code Conference on Tuesday, the Amazon founder and CEO said that we have to start bringing parts of the industrial economy to space in order "to save Earth."

"Let me assure you, this is the best planet. We need to protect it, and the way we will is by going out into space," he told Recode Editor at large Walt Mossberg. "You don't want to live in a retrograde world where we have to freeze population growth."

Bezos says tasks that require lots of energy shouldn't be handled on Earth. Instead, we should perform them in space, and that will happen within the next few hundred years.

"Energy is limited here. In at least a few hundred years ... all of our heavy industry will be moved off-planet," Bezos added. "Earth will be zoned residential and light industrial. You shouldn't be doing heavy energy on earth. We can build gigantic chip factories in space."

Posted by:Fred

#8  typoed a zero there by accident 1,000,000 TW. 1000 PW.
Posted by: Bugs Poodle8604   2016-06-02 08:18  

#7  It's not really relevant that it goes into space. Sure it does, but we reach a new thermal equilibrium. To pick some round numbers, if in the year 2400, after 384 years of ~3% growth, we're somehow using 1,000,00 TW then this is the equivalent of 6 times current solar insolation - even if the entire planet is encased in solar panels, we'd still be generating the equivalent of another 5 suns beating down on us with our fusion reactors or whatever. The average surface temperature of the planet would be about 155 Celsius.
Posted by: Bugs Poodle8604   2016-06-02 08:16  

#6  Yes, AC, I can just imagine UN commissioner for Space; Kofico Harongo Mephagerongo; laying the the law down on Putin or Putin's successors, or the Chinese, or (assuming the second American revolution succeeds) USA.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2016-06-02 08:12  

#5  Wait till you see the licencing regulations, g(r)om, and you won't have to ask.

And since space can't be nationalized they'll all be run by the UN.
Posted by: AlanC   2016-06-02 07:55  

#4  all that waste heat has to go somewhere

It goes out to space as it has done for 5 billion years.
Posted by: phil_b   2016-06-02 07:54  

#3  But, where's the graft in this?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2016-06-02 06:53  

#2  Well, yes. Apply 3% annual growth (and hence energy consumption) starting from our current 12 and bit TW, and see how long it takes before we're using the equivalent of all the solar energy that hits the planet... about 325 years. If we do whatever we do earthside, all that waste heat has to go somewhere, unless we've found a way to repeal the laws of thermodynamics.
Of course if we are doing 15,000 times as much stuff in the 2340s, well, I don't know where I'm going to put it. My spare room is already full.
Posted by: Bugs Poodle8604   2016-06-02 06:24  

#1  We need both Industrial Zones + Colonies, etc. aka Space Markets, in order to help justify space travel, i.e. routine Exploration + Colonization. NO USE TO BUILD FLYING CARS + SPACE PLANES, ETC. WID NO MISSION, NO PURPOSE, NO ONE + NO WHERE IN SPACE TO GO.

"IFF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME", CORRECT!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2016-06-02 01:58  

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