Questions about "The High Frontier"

In rec.arts.sf.science Jonathan wrote:
"John Schilling" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:45:19 -0000, Damien Valentine
wrote
Mind you, some of the same problems apply to nuclear power, and we
do have that. But much of the necessary infrastructure there is
common to existing coal-fired powerplants, and much of the rest is
shared with the nuclear-weapons people. And governments have a
well-established track record of pumping huge ammounts of money
into unprofitable weapons programs.

I think the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will provide a glimpse
into the priorities of the future. China burns so much coal that
it's air is almost deadly. Dear Mother Nature will give us a
few very calm days in Beijing so the world can watch
the athletes flee the city for their very lives.

It may be deadly in the long term but it's hardly going to send atheletes
fleeing after just a few weeks. It's ugly and sometimes smells bad but
I've never dropped dead from short-term exposure to it, and those guys are
in way better shape than I am.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software