Green is Urth Redux

Lee Berman · 12 Jan 2011, 18:22 · from 2011-January.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:22:18 -0500
Subject: (urth) Green is Urth Redux
Message-ID: <SNT123-W495DB324F6639B57126EFACFF10 at phx.gbl>

>Jeff Wilson: What does the technology-based power source provide that an enclosed terrarium could not?

We take it for granted and ignore that a terrarium relies on the presence of earth's massive gravity
field which allows a thick atmospheric blanket to surround the terrarium. Atmospheric pressure keeps water
from boiling off into space, regulates temperature, filters harsh sunlight, etc. etc.

The power source could duplicate Urth's gravity allowing an atmosphere on a small planetary body. Or it could
create a forcefield to hold in the atmosphere, I guess. But such a power supply would be great and would have
to be maintained. I get the impression that humanity in Urth's time is occupied with matters other than 
maintaining the massive amounts of energy it would require to make plant life habitable on a moon-sized Lune.

Maybe Lune is planet-sized. It is a simple, elegant solution to the puzzle. Not without its own problems, but
hey. No such thing as a problem-free theory. We'll each keep supporting the solution we like at a gut-level and 
keep sniping and hacking at the one which makes us feel icky inside.

Ain't no universally "right answer". If there were, we'd all just choose that one and move on. Our choices are 
based on emotion. There is no escaping this truth. Resistance is futile. :- ).

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