An interesting take on sustainability

For all that this blog tries to avoid being the hair-shirt wearing prophet of sustainability, albeit with pies instead of locusts, it's a recurring theme.

Readers might find this post by Gail Fisher of Mendstate interesting, as it addresses the key differences between economic and governmental sustainability in Afghanistan.

Pie in the sky (er, space)

Two bits of space news that caught the interest of your pie maker:

(1) One-way space exploration

The age in which exploration was the province of indispensable national heroes is over. The goals of developed nations appear to be limited to providing physical security for their citizens and economic stability for their investors, and the resulting safety culture in government drives up the cost of almost everything it does.

If, instead, we view space exploration the same way we viewed Western expansion or seafaring pre-1900, the costs fall dramatically. The number of deaths will certainly climb, but danger has not discouraged a booming trade in Everest expeditions or recruiting for the All Volunteer Force. With disgruntled youth movements sweeping the Middle East and Europe, and The Week and NYT publishing articles about how it could happen in the US, we're reminded that humanity needs more to live for than retirement.

(2) Space Solar Power

Space infrastructure to support colonization would have a lot of terrestrial benefits as well.