phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu (Damien Raphael Sullivan) writes:
> > On Wed, Mar 07, 2001 at 02:56:02AM +0100, Anders Sandberg wrote:
>
> > > Scarcity is not just an issue of lack of resources or
> > > production capacity, it is also an issue of distribution and economic
> > > system. Under a Rob Mugabe even a nanotech society might starve.
>
> True. But after a 30-year drought even the most efficient society will
> collapse, without the right techonologies at hand.
Well, in this case the policies would have hurt the production of even
the most fertile farmland.
> (Which needn't be strong nanotech. I'm currently mildly interested
> in controlled environment agriculture, as the antithesis of organic
> farming ("hey, soil's just dirt when you come down to it") but it's
> a lot easier to find information on hydroponics and tomatoes and
> lettuce than on hydroponics and staples such as wheat. Except for
> one NASA experiment giving 6 kg wheat in 1m^3 in 60 days, which to
> me means 5 m^3 would feed a person perpetually, which seems like way
> too little space...)
According to http://www.newscientist.com/ns/19990403/lastword.html
it seems roughly reasonable if you can stack it well.
BTW, any views on the most efficient way of converting carbonaceous
chondrite into biomass? I guess the main problem is lack of nitrogen;
if the carbon is turned into carbon dioxide and the phosphorous,
sulphur and trace elements needed extracted, algae could convert it
into biomass that could be further used. It might be unnecessary to
actually make soil out of the regolith, if hydroponic farming is used.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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