Plasma Wind

No Time Like the Present

First, I apologize to you faithful readers that might have returned to this blog time and again, only to leave disappointed by the lack of new postings.  However, it’s a new year, a new day, and there’s no time like the present to spool back up.  Expect to start seeing more regular postings again.

It’s been said that one should never spoil an apology by including an excuse, however I will offer an excuse anyway.  The reason for my lack of postings comes from several reasons.  First, my paying gig work load was up (a good thing).  However, the more demanding issue was the fact that I have been writing a book.  In fact, I just completed it (or at least a draft of it) at the end of December.  This book is on Exvironmentalism, a term coined to connote the intimate and synergistic connection between the space movement, the terrestrial environmentalism, and perhaps many other transhumanist ideas.  The book emerged from ideas that developed from several of my previous postings, specifically my contribution to the 2009 Space Settlement Blog Day sponsored by the National Space Society, and this followup.  Some of these ideas seemed to resonate with folks, so it seemed like a good track to take.

If interest is expressed (in the way of comments), I may post excerpts from the book draft, and see how more people respond.  Right now, I am unsure just what might be the best publishing approach, i.e. self-publish, e-book, traditional publishing route, etc.

Thus, your feedback, dear reader, is most appreciated.

And not to be discounted in any way, I will be completing my series on the history of the Air Turbo Rocket (ATR), as well as it’s potential applications.

Well, may 2011 be a productive and useful year to you, and I look forward to your return. May the Plasma wind always be at your back, or at least may you have a vector component must suitable to your propulsion needs.

Exvironmentalism

The concept of Exvironmentalism, which I posted about as my contribution to the Space Settlement Blog Day, has seemed to find some resonance within the blogosphere. I thought it might be useful, therefore, to expand more on the concept of Exvironmentalism by providing some definitions, some background, and maybe some general philosophical meanderings to get us going. So here we go:

Exvironmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement which seeks to develop a perspective which transcends terrestrial concerns.  Instead of looking inwards only on the Earth, Exvironmentalism turns to look outwards, encompassing not just the Earth, but as much of the Cosmos as can be comprehended.  Although in a sense, Exvironmentalism can be thought of as extending, expanding, and broadening the meaning of Environmentalism, Exvironmentalism has concerns that are not addressed or considered within Environmentalism, and therefore cannot be extrapolated from Environmentalism itself.  As such, we need a bigger concept; we need a philosophical basis that can embrace this increased understanding of our life in the Cosmos.

The first time humans saw pictures of our blue planet floating in the blackness of space, we had an intuitive understanding that not only was our Earth our island home, but that we were more than just Earthlings, and that the space we lived in was more, infinitely more, that just the surface of our planet.  I don’t know about you, but the word “Environment” just wasn’t big enough to convey the vastness of our life in the Cosmos.

And so, whereas Environmentalism is focused on conservation and improvement of the environment of the Earth, Exvironmentalism seeks to turn the focus outwards, so that the ideas of conservation, and improvements of terrestrial environments are part of much broader and more inclusive notions regarding life not just on Earth, but also of life in our solar system, and out into the Cosmos.

I think that there is another important distinction between Exvironmentalism and Environmentalism.  I believe that Exvironmentalism should see human beings as part of the solution, as opposed to being part of the problem.  Humans can and must play an important role in enabling the growth of living creatures, plant, animal, and other, in the otherwise sterile exvironments of the cosmos.  As such, human life has intrinsic value and worth, like all living and sentient creatures, and therefore is also worthy of respect and should be valued.

The word Exvironmentalism has its etymological roots in Latin, just as does the word Environmentalism does.  In Latin, the word environ comes from the words “en”, meaning in, “viron”,  meaning circle, and “vertere”, meaning to turn. Thus, environ means literally “to turn in a circle inwards”.  Thus, Environmentalism is the concern for what one encircles, for one’s surroundings.  By contrast, Exvironmentalism would substitute “ex”, meaning out, for “en”.  Thus, Exvironmentalism would mean to turn in a circle outwards.  Thus, the concern and focus moves from an inward-gazing, to an outward-gazing perspective.

Philosophies need symbols to help carry the message.  The symbol the we developed over the years for Environmentalism emerged from our increasing understanding of natural systems, and we now know and recognize it well:

In a like manner, Exvironmentalism needs a symbol, and we’re just at the beginning of working the details of the symbol out.  Whereas Environmentalism circles inward, Exvironmentalism circles outward.  Whereas Environmentalism is green, symbolic of photosynthesis and life, Exvironmentalism is blue and black, the color of Earth and of the atmosphere and of the vacuum of deep space.  Thus, here’s a concept for the symbol for Exvironmentalism:

 

We turn in a circle outwards, transitioning from the blue of Earth to the black of space.

In this humble first post, I’ve tried to provide a bit more background to the concept of Exvironmentalism.  I’m looking forward to seeing more interest and discussion regarding it, and I will provide more postings accordingly

Plasma Wind's Contribution to the Space Settlement Blog Day

The Space Movement has dedicated today, July 20^th, as a commemorative day in which bloggers have been asked to provide a blog post relating to the Settlement of Space.

Well, we here at Plasma Wind are all about Space Settlement.

In fact, Space Settlement is a necessary condition for the survival of terrestrial life, and certainly for human life.  If we fail at this task, it’s just a matter of time before we become extinct.  And even if we succeed, there are no guarantees, either.

As we consider settling space, or as I like to think of it in more general terms, as we consider carrying life off of Earth and out into the Cosmos, there’s a few points I think are worth reiterating.

First, when we think of space settlements, I think we tend naturally to think of settlements that sit on a planetary surface, like Mars, or the moon.  But in many important ways, planetary surfaces are some of the worst locations for space settlements.  Large Gravity wells, planetary atmospheres, possible indigenous life forms and ecosystems to disrupt and contend with, non-continuous sunlight, et al.  Although certainly not the first, Dr. Gerald K. O’Neil advocated for the fabrication of space settlements as free-orbiting, manmade structures, with artificial gravity supplied by rotating the axi-symmetric structures.  These notions were articulated in his seminal book, “The High Frontier”, which explained how such space living structures could be built, and providing a development pathway by which we could finance and grow these types of settlements.  Dr. Isaac Asimov, the great science fiction writer, referred to the notion of having to settle on the surface of planets as “planetary chauvinism”,  which seems in some ways apt.

The second point I was to make, is that human beings are precious and valuable, and are worth saving.  As living creatures we can and should be allowed, yea encouraged, to thrive and grow.  And we should not be trifled with.  This notion is not universally popular, and in fact, the opposite notion is much more familiar and bandied about.  Because of the continuously-increasing constraints on our civilizations here on earth, we’ve come to imagine ourselves as the great and powerful beings, with little restraint to our enormous powers to create chaos and destruction.  Yet from the perspective of the solar system, and even the Earth itself, we’re tiny, fragile, and barely hanging onto life.  My  image of humanity is that of a small flower, tenaciously clinging to a bit of soil on a volcanic island, whilst all around us molten lava flows, great gouts of steam and gas vent forth, and a powerful ocean pounds the lava into sand.

Lastly, I think we need to be reminded that, whatever we create, to whatever heights of technological prowess we climb to, whatever great knowledge and wisdom we come to grasp, eventually all of it, and ourselves as well, will all pass away.   Someday we will be gone.  We like to think that we, as a species, as a civilization, will go on and on.  But if we’ve learned anything about civilizations here on Earth, it's that even the greatest, perish in the end, and crumble to dust and memories.  Yet it is this very perishability that makes life, terrestrial life, so previous.  We will have our day in the sun.  We will grow, reach our zenith, and then we will die out.  This is perhaps the most natural cycle there is in the Cosmos.

In closing, I will mention that, In the past several years, I have come to believe that these, and related notions and philosophies can come under a general umbrella philosophy which, for lack of a better term, I call “Exvironmentalism”.  The word environment comes from the word “environ”.  Your “environs” would be the places in you immediate region around you.  It comes from the old French word which literally means “to turn in a circle inwards” (en- in, viron- a circle or circuit, virer- to turn).  So the environment is the firmament in which you circle around in, inwards.  Thus, the word exviron would connote “to turn in a circle outwards”.  The exvironment would thus be the firmament that we would circle out into.

We can use the definitions to reframe our considerations, to open up the notions life-expansion and life preservation, and to use the best of the ideas of environmentalism and the transition of mankind off the planet and out into the cosmos.  We can positively combine these ideas, these philosophies, to make something better than the sum of the parts.  This then, is the essence of Exvironmentalism: the synergy of the space movement, the environmental movement, and perhaps many others, to productively encourage, identify, and promote the expansion of life outwards from the planet Earth, and into the Cosmos.

Recently, the first International Exvironmentalism Conference was held outside of Cayucos, California, USA. Despite it’s invitation-only format, there was good participation, and a number of interesting presentations.  Perhaps the exvironmentalism movement will take off, and more conferences will come to be.  And perhaps, that’s something that could be a big boost to Space Settlement.

A copy of the Keynote Speech from the First International Exvironmentalism Conference can be downloaded here:

Download Opening Keynote Speech

Back from the Exvironmentalism Conference

The First International Exvironmentalism Conference, held in the Central Coastal range of California, was a rousing success.  I was honored to have given the keynote address, which appeared to have been well-received, and initiated many interesting follow-up questions, comments, and discussion.  Best presentation award went to R. Morales for her work: “Nobody Likes a Hive Mind”, which addressed the influences and parallels found in contemporary fiction and its relationship to individualism versus collectivist notions for the growth of human (and other) societal organizations. 

The opening reception on Sunday Night was well-attended, with novelty drinks served on the overlook veranda.  Heliumated (in contrast to carbonated) beverages gave an extra-squeak to any post-chug expulsions.  Guests picked their own oranges to create their mimosas, and the “micro-gravity/micro-brews” simultaneously supported the creation of off-planet industries and the quenching of guests’ thirsts. 

Off-site activities included horseback riding on the beaches north of Cayucos, and a half-day kayaking excursion in MorroBay , and its estuary system. 

The conference wrapped up Wednesday night with wine-tasting in the beautiful wine cellars of our secluded Ranch resort, followed by the premier of a song and dance performance celebrating one the Ranch’s famous denizens. 

Overall, the conference exceeded all attendance and participation expectations.  Based on our first conference, I can see interest in the exvironmentalism movement really taking off. 

First International Exvironmentalism Conference

No postings after today and through next week.  I'll be attending the First International Exvironmentalism Conference, in Cayucos, California.  Probably due to some initial work on establishing the actual definitions of Exvironmentalism, I have been asked to give the opening keynote address to the conference, and I must say that I am truly overwhelmed.  Here's the conference announcement:

Download Conference Announcement

I think the "invitation only" format for the conference is really going to hurt attendance.  But the venue is spectacular, and it looks like there's going to be excellent excursions. Plus, the exvironmentalism crowd tends to be a wild one, so who knows what kind of highjinks and career-scarring shenanigans may ensue. If I can, I'll try and post the agenda.  When last I checked, it was still being firmed up. 

The Space Movement and Environmentalism

Over at linkedin, they have a group you can join called the Space Movement.  Sounded like my kind of group, so I joined.  The term "The Space Movement" has a good, general kind of sound to it, which may allow it to accommodate all sorts of space-related types of interests.  Interests like Space Habitats, low cost space access, propulsion technology, Space Science, all sorts of things. 
I think there's another group that should be interested in the Space Movement, and that is the Environmentalists. If an environmentalist were to give it more than just a passing thought, they might well discover that the Space Movement not only could accommodate their goals, aspirations, and visions for a positive future, but may offer much more than they can even imagine. 
This notion of the Space Movement being able to embrace environmentalism is, I think, under appreciated, and deserves greater attention.  And so, I will be giving it greater attention in future posts. Oh yes, my friends, so much more attention..Stay Tuned!