Monthly Archives: September 2007

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SF writer gets rock star treatment from Chinese

Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer received the Galaxy award, China’s top science fiction prize, from the China International Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival in Chengdu, in Sichuan province.

Sawyer gives his take on the good science fiction can do for Chinese culture – mainly by providing a venue for controversial or taboo topics to be aired in a country not known for its free speech.  In addition, Sawyer relates the current situation regarding the genre to its genesis in inter-war years of America, how people reading sci-fi are inspired to careers in science and technology, and how people can actually see the increments in life quality provided by that science.

Sawyer touches on my major reason for enjoying science fiction – social commentary:

"They’re [China’s science fiction authors] ripe for a transition to a much more interesting sociology and social impact in the softer sciences," [Sawyer] said.

That kind of writing will also allow them to write about subjects that might otherwise be too sensitive in a civilization that doesn’t allow open discussion, he said.

It makes you wonder if the transition to democracy might happen based on sci-fi stories.

Before now, I’d never heard of Robert J. Sawyer.  I think I’ll go check out some of his books my next trip to a bookstore, it sounds like he’s got some interesting ideas.

(via SciTech Daily Review)

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Military and eco-technology

Aggressor1Earth 2 Tech has a list of ways the military is using eco-technology. It includes solar power tents, aviation bio-fuel, micro fuel cells, hybrid drive technologies, and personal solar cells for recharging in the field.

There is a great deal of money in the military, and often research and innovation comes out of the military side that trickles down to civilians (night vision, Hummers, etc). It would be intriguing if green technologies are invented in the military industry have an effect on daily life. So far, however, most of these innovations look like they’re being taken from civilian industries and being tested in military arenas.

Now all we need is a eco-DARPA and we might see some very interesting results!

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The bad and good of biofuels

cornfield We’ve been hearing a lot about the potential of biofuels, particularly ethanol, as being a great (and green) answer to our global dependence of petrochemicals. Which is true, to a certain extent.

The problem being that corn ethanol, while itself a cleaner fuel, is a horrendously climate-intensive crop, the cultivation of which may cause as many (if not more) problems than it solves … which is why we’d be wise to look at the numerous other sources for the same chemical (like algae, prairie grass and fast-growing trees) which won’t cause an environmental and economic trainwreck further down the line. [Via Worldchanging]

Of course, we’ll need to do something about the enticing boondoggle subsidies that are making corn ethanol such an enticing political playing piece first. [Image by Jpeg Jedi]

[tags]environment, biofuels, economics, agriculture[/tags]
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Boeing proposes faster, cheaper route to the moon

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ares_orion_sm.jpg
Photo Credit: NASA/John Frassanito and Associates

Boeing is proposing a radical redesign for NASA’s planned return to the moon. Their proposal is both faster and cheaper than the current plan of record:

NASA’s current mission plan calls for the Ares V to send the new lunar lander and its payload into Earth orbit. Once there, Ares V would not only have to dock with the Orion crew vehicle (launched separately on the Ares I rocket) but also restart and provide the initial burn to send the assembled system into a trajectory toward the moon.

Boeing’s alternative would combine the Orion rendezvous with a pitstop for gas, allowing the Ares V to lift off from Earth with a much larger payload—and an empty lander. Boeing says this would allow NASA to deliver about three times as much mass to the lunar surface, and over fifteen times as much payload. What’s more, Ares V could then send the lander-Orion package all the way to lunar orbit with full tanks, rather than NASA’s current plan to use extra propellant in slowing down before soft landing.

I think that NASA as it exists today is an anachronism. When it comes to doing things fast and cheap, entrepreneurs will always beat out government bureaucracies.

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Scientists help out SF writers, create list of possible planet types

Chart of exoplanet types

Doing SF writers’ work for them, a U.S. research team has worked out the properties of a variety of weird planet types that could exist in alien solar systems, including graphite planets and carbon monoxide spheres. Of course, they didn’t do it to help writers (though that would be a fine reason do do such a thing): instead, they hope the models will help astronomers identify the properties of exoplanets they discover in the future.

And yes, say the scientists, weird as these worlds are, some of them could harbour life…though not necessarily Life As We Know It.

(Via New Scientist Space.)

(Illustration: Marc Kuchner/NASA-GSFC via New Scientist Space)

[tags]exoplanets, astronomy, science fiction, space[/tags]