General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: We should have been colonizing the solar system by now. [View all]LongTomH
(8,636 posts)What this has shown has been the depth of intense feelings on all sides of this question; not to deny that there have been some very well thought out and informative responses (Maybe the pro-space colonization discussion should continue in the Science forum!).
For the record, I'm very much pro space colonization. I invested a decade of my life establishing a chapter of the L5 Society back in Tulsa, OK. I've been an enthusiastic supporter of Gerry O'Neill's Space Colony concept since I first heard about it.
One of the ideas that Gerry O'Neill talked about: Solar power satellites is receiving renewed interest with the pressing need to find alternatives to carbon-based fuels. O'Neill's idea to use lunar materials to build SPS still has economic and environmental advantages over launching everything from Earth.
Proposed lunar base with mass-driver to launch material from the moon.
A backstory to this is the development of molecular nanotechnology. K. Eric Drexler, the father of molecular nanotechnology, was a co-worker of Dr. O'Neill, starting when Eric was an MIT undergrad. I first heard about nanotechnology at an International Space Development Conference in 1986.
Eric has always believed that molecular nanotechnology will be the major enabler of space settlement, a belief I share.