Interesting perspective. I didn’t hear that message at all, but rather that we need to seriously review who gets the lion’s share of our (USA) state and federal taxes. I can see how the message you quoted could be extrapolated from his presentation, but it seems to me that it would be a misunderstanding of the goal of this presentation.

Thanks for the input. I’m largely unaware of his other work outside this Ted talk and one other interview on the same topic.

It looks like most of this can be grown too. I live in the Midwest region of the U.S., so l’d have to look to see. If i find any helpful planting guides or region guides I’ll comment them.

Great connection to old maritime practices. I wonder if by following those routes at altitude could lead to a transatlantic of less than 48 hours? I imagine a big derigible with sails like pectoral fins and a dorsal and tail fin to steer in addition to solar propulsion.

I agree that supplementing with passenger rail is a must, especially to get from terminal to terminal. What you said makes me think of airport terminals, but they’re countries away instead of a mile away. However, I do wonder about the impact on fauna that high-speed rail would has while cutting across continents, and if the airships are a way to skip that issue entirely.

As far helium…iirc, helium on Earth is a byproduct of the radioactive decay of certain elements. There definitely would be ecological consequences of helium “mining”, if we were to source from the ground as is typical. Perhaps a breeder reactor could be built to produce in a way more cost effective (not monetarily). Another thought is an interplanetary drone that slurps up atmosphere from the gas giants and tows it back here. Keep the helium collection and corresponding pollution off planet (does this even work in a solar punk world)?

I was getting the same inspirational vibes from this!