"Bill Bonde ( ``Soli Deo Gloria'' )" wrote in message ...
Gactimus wrote:

How many people can the earth support?

Six billion so far and we have yet to even start farming the oceans, 70%
of the surface of the planet.

Given the current political and socio-economic arrangements, if you
try to farm the surface of the oceans, you will probably be shot on
suspicion of terrorism or drug dealing.

We have the technical means to farm the oceans and support many
billions sustainably. But those technical means cannot be brought to
bear under the current socio-economic system.

Buckminster Fuller has already written the book I would like to write
on this topic, so I will just link to it.

http://www.bfi.org/grunch_of_giants.htm

The design science revolution is complete, or nearly so. In order to
make use of the technically superior designs, however, we need a
different system of socio-economics and politics. And I don't see
that coming soon.

Our technicians are smart enough to save us from disaster ninety-nine
times over. But almost every time a technician comes up with a smart
idea, a politician manages to ruin it. The U.S. trips to the Moon
were a rare example of technology that managed to get used.

Right now NASA has a lovely blueprint for a effective start on the
space elevator.

http://flightprojects.msfc.nasa.gov/fd02_towers.html

The U.S. doesn't have a few billion to waste on extravagances like
sustainable agriculture or space-based energy extraction, but they can
always scare up a few billion for a war.