Archive for the ‘policy’ category: Page 77
Jun 30, 2015
The Millennium Project’s “2015−16 State of the Future” report on the Prospects of the Global Outlook to be released July 31st
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: futurism, governance, policy
Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 30, 2015
Another 2.3 billion people are expected to be added to the planet in just 35 years. “By 2050, new systems for food, water, energy, education, health, economics, and global governance will be needed to prevent massive and complex human and environmental disasters,” explains Jerome Glenn, CEO of The Millennium Project. As Pope Francis said in His Encyclical Letter, “Halfway measures simply delay the inevitable disaster.”
The “2015−16 State of the Future” reviews the global situation and future prospects in a broad range of areas from environment to business and technology, and global ethics. Its executive summary states that:
Jun 23, 2015
Strings Are Dead
Posted by Benjamin T. Solomon in categories: anti-gravity, cosmology, defense, general relativity, gravity, innovation, particle physics, philosophy, physics, policy, quantum physics, science, space travel
In 2014, I submitted my paper “A Universal Approach to Forces” to the journal Foundations of Physics. The 1999 Noble Laureate, Prof. Gerardus ‘t Hooft, editor of this journal, had suggested that I submit this paper to the journal Physics Essays.
My previous 2009 submission “Gravitational acceleration without mass and noninertia fields” to Physics Essays, had taken 1.5 years to review and be accepted. Therefore, I decided against Prof. Gerardus ‘t Hooft’s recommendation as I estimated that the entire 6 papers (now published as Super Physics for Super Technologies) would take up to 10 years and/or $20,000 to publish in peer reviewed journals.
Prof. Gerardus ‘t Hooft had brought up something interesting in his 2008 paper “A locally finite model for gravity” that “… absence of matter now no longer guarantees local flatness…” meaning that accelerations can be present in spacetime without the presence of mass. Wow! Isn’t this a precursor to propulsion physics, or the ability to modify spacetime without the use of mass?
As far as I could determine, he didn’t pursue this from the perspective of propulsion physics. A year earlier in 2007, I had just discovered the massless formula for gravitational acceleration g=τc^2, published in the Physics Essays paper referred above. In effect, g=τc^2 was the mathematical solution to Prof. Gerardus ‘t Hooft’s “… absence of matter now no longer guarantees local flatness…”
Jun 23, 2015
The Feasibility of Interstellar Propulsion
Posted by Benjamin T. Solomon in categories: cosmology, defense, disruptive technology, general relativity, gravity, innovation, particle physics, philosophy, physics, policy, quantum physics, space travel
Recent revelations of NASA’s Eagleworks Em Drive caused a sensation on the internet as to why interstellar propulsion can or cannot be possible. The nay sayers pointed to shoddy engineering and impossible physics, and ayes pointed to the physics of the Alcubierre-type warp drives based on General Relativity.
So what is it? Are warp drives feasible? The answer is both yes and no. Allow me to explain.
The empirical evidence of the Michelson-Morley experiment of 1887, now known as the Lorentz-FitzGerald Transformations (LFT), proposed by FitzGerald in 1889, and Lorentz in 1892, show beyond a shadow of doubt that nothing can have a motion with a velocity greater than the velocity of light. In 1905 Einstein derived LFT from first principles as the basis for the Special Theory of Relativity (STR).
So if nothing can travel faster than light why does the Alcubierre-type warp drive matter? The late Prof. Morris Klein explained in his book, Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty, that mathematics has become so powerful that it can now be used to prove anything, and therefore, the loss of certainty in the value of these mathematical models. The antidote for this is to stay close to the empirical evidence.
Continue reading “The Feasibility of Interstellar Propulsion” »
Jun 21, 2015
What are our rights and duties towards alien life? — Lizzie Wade | AEON
Posted by Seb in categories: alien life, ethics, law, policy
“The ethics of encountering non-sentient alien life in our solar systems boils down to a core dilemma, says Waller. ‘Is it about conservation and preservation? Or is it about our needs, wants, and desires?’ On Earth, natural-resource grabs have a history of bringing out the worst in us as a species…There’s plenty of reason to believe other planets will be chock-full of resources we’d like to exploit, even if the life forms are microbial – perhaps especially if they’re microbial.” Read more
Jun 15, 2015
Smart urban planning in Amsterdam — Feargus O’Sullivan | CityLab
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: architecture, economics, energy, engineering, environmental, government, materials, policy, science, sustainability
“Instead of treating Amsterdam as complete and starting again elsewhere, the IJburg plan has managed to find more space in a city that thought it had no more left.”
Jun 11, 2015
United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: 2015
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: governance, policy, science, space, treaties
“The fifty-eighth session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space will be held from 10–19 June 2015 at the United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna International Center, Vienna, Austria.”
Jun 3, 2015
Elon Musk Rebuffs Critics with Fundamentals
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: business, economics, environmental, government, innovation, policy, science, solar power, space, transportation
“If he was paid by the oil and gas industry lobby he couldn’t have written a more favorable article for them.”—Elon Musk
Jun 2, 2015
The Arctic’s Internet Is So Expensive That People Mail the Web on USB Drives — Via Motherboard
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: business, computing, economics, finance, governance, hacking, policy, strategy
“Canada’s domestic digital divide, with the North as its epicenter, has been a point of growing concern over the last several years. Much of the internet in the northernmost regions of the country is still beamed down by satellites, but a plan to link Europe and Asia with fiber optic cable via Nunavut is currently being negotiated by a Toronto-based company called Arctic Fibre.”
May 29, 2015
New York State Governor Cuomo Announces Living Breakwaters Project Launch via bfi.org
Posted by Odette Bohr Dienel in categories: architecture, economics, education, energy, engineering, environmental, governance, government, policy, water
“Living Breakwaters is a comprehensive design for coastal resiliency along the Northeastern Seaboard of the United States and beyond. This approach to climate change adaptation and flood mitigation includes the deployment of innovative, layered ecologically-engineered breakwaters, the strengthening of biodiversity and coastal habitats through “reef streets”, the nurturing and resuscitation of fisheries and historic livelihoods, and deep community engagement through diverse partnerships and innovative educational programs. The transformative educational dimension amplifies impact to the next generation of shoreline stewards while leveraging the expertise of the members of the SCAPE Architecture team, who are making groundbreaking inroads into state and federal agencies, setting new precedents for multi-layered and systemic approaches to infrastructure planning.”
LINK: Governor Cuomo Announces Living Breakwaters Project Launch
