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this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2024
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Futurology
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They're not making the point that "all civilizations will end because of this". The more interesting and credible point they're making is that 1,000 years of energy consumption growth rates at our speed must inevitably, even using 100% renewables, cook the planet. They're not saying "we can't beat climate change under any circumstances", they're saying (if I have understood them) that the way to do it is at least some amount of degrowth, which is quite reasonable.
I wonder how much energy we can get in a space station by having water carry waste heat to the power plant? Or if that would just cook the station?
What??
Okay, first thing to realize. All large power is steam power. It's just a matter of different ways to heat the water and propel the turbine inside the generator. Space is really bad at dispersing heat. To the point where the problem with space stations and ships hasn't been how to keep them warm, it's how to keep them cool. We also already know we can pump heat around with water. So I'm wondering if it's possible to off world the hottest parts of human development and then use the heat generated as a recycled energy source for the space stations we would house that infrastructure in.