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 | | From: | David James Polewka | | Subject: | Raleigh NC -- "Growing problems" | | Date: | Thu, 20 Jan 2005 04:21:58 GMT |
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 | Raleigh NC News & Observer, Jan. 19. Letter to the Editor:
Growing problems
Solutions to transit problems are difficult to find. Having moved here
from a large city I know that light rail, HOV lanes and other measures
to reduce traffic congestion and commute times were marginally
effective, and eventually taxpayers had to cough up more money to
continue funding them. Looking back, I realize that the best solution
for these problems may have been a proactive approach: limiting
development.
In the race for increased tax revenue, infrastructure requirements are
sometimes ignored. Schools, additional road lanes, larger parking lots,
increased utility service and other factors are important considerations
in allowing development to occur. While clearing several acres of pines
and slapping down a few dozen homes may yield excellent short-term
financial benefits to the city and county, it eventually comes back in
the form of crowded roadways, increased power demand, impacted area
codes and additional social service requirements -- and oftentimes the
tax revenue that was originally thought to pave the way for a better
tomorrow somehow disappears in the legislative woodwork.
While officials are currently studying how other cities work toward
solutions to traffic congestion, I would respectfully suggest they adopt
a much more tempered approach -- not a complete halt -- to the
apparently uncontrolled development now under way in Wake County.
Keith Britton
Raleigh
=========================
"Endeavor to persevere"
=========================
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| | From: | imbibe at mindspring.com | | Subject: | Re: Raleigh NC -- "Growing problems" | | Date: | 21 Jan 2005 23:48:07 -0800 |
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Rand Simberg wrote:
>
> imbibe@mindspring.com wrote:
>
> >Humanity's challenge, as NASA's Young Turks see
> >it, is to re-create Creation--to play God. They
> >propose that the United States, the Soviet Union,
> >Europe and Japan attempt the most ambitious engin-
> >eering project in human history: the "terraformation"
> >of Mars, the greening of the red planet. They want
> >to transform Mars into a new home for humankind--
> >and they believe they can do it in less than two
> >centuries.
> >[...]
> >.
> >.
> >.
> >So, are you guys backing off on this, or what?
>
> What "guys" are you talking to, and what is that
> they should be "backing off" on?
The guys wearing the propeller beanies, who think
we can solve our space problems on Earth by putting
people into space!
..
..
--
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| | From: | Henry Spencer | | Subject: | Re: Raleigh NC -- "Growing problems" | | Date: | Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:17:13 GMT |
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| In article <1106380087.064653.103600@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
wrote:
>> What "guys" are you talking to, and what is that
>> they should be "backing off" on?
>
>The guys wearing the propeller beanies, who think
>we can solve our space problems on Earth by putting
>people into space!
Who would those be, exactly?
Earth's "space problems" will be solved, one way or another, within this
century, as world population peaks and starts to decline. (Already, more
than half of mankind lives in countries with fertility below replacement
rate.)
Even the most optimistic ideas for terraforming Mars make it a longer-term
investment, quite apart from the impracticality (with foreseeable
technology) of shipping billions of people across interplanetary space.
A terraformed Mars might be of *psychological* importance to Earth, by
providing a new frontier... but even on Earth, new frontiers have never
been able to accept enough people to *directly* solve population problems
in the older parts.
--
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer
-- George Herbert | henry@spsystems.net
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| | From: | Rand Simberg | | Subject: | Re: Raleigh NC -- "Growing problems" | | Date: | Sat, 22 Jan 2005 15:07:59 GMT |
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| On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:17:13 GMT, in a place far, far away,
henry@spsystems.net (Henry Spencer) made the phosphor on my monitor
glow in such a way as to indicate that:
>but even on Earth, new frontiers have never
>been able to accept enough people to *directly* solve population problems
>in the older parts.
With the possible exception of Ireland.
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| | From: | George William Herbert | | Subject: | Re: Raleigh NC -- "Growing problems" | | Date: | 20 Jan 2005 07:42:50 GMT |
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| David James Polewka wrote:
>Raleigh NC News & Observer, Jan. 19. Letter to the Editor:
Stop trolling sci.econ, rec.org.mensa, and sci.space.policy, Dave.
If you're going to self-destruct, again, contain your fragments
to talk.bizarre where they belong.
-george william herbert
gherbert@retro.com
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