Fair enough. I can imagine a number of safety/emergency protocols but I've no idea how cost effective they would be. Given the simplicity of the system I can't imagine it would be to difficult though. Hell we send people through the sky in an aluminum tube over 10,000 feet in the air all the time, I can't imagine this would be any more dangerous. The first several years will undoubtedly have some accidents, every new tech does. If we never tried new things though we'd never go anywhere.
>> ^saber2x:

I know we can do it, but it wont be NASA prepping your pod, it will be some jackass that use to work at McDonalds. All im asking is what do they do if you do have a emergency or mechanical failure?
>> ^RadHazG:
Naturally its a large pod. Plenty of room for compressed slow release breathable air tanks. We send air with men on spacewalks, we can surely keep a large capsule with 6 people filled for a while.
>> ^saber2x:
what happens when the oxygen in your pod runs out over Kansas seeing your in a vacuum tube?

I know we can do it, but it wont be NASA prepping your pod, it will be some jackass that use to work at McDonalds. All im asking is what do they do if you do have a emergency or mechanical failure?

>> ^RadHazG:

Naturally its a large pod. Plenty of room for compressed slow release breathable air tanks. We send air with men on spacewalks, we can surely keep a large capsule with 6 people filled for a while.
>> ^saber2x:
what happens when the oxygen in your pod runs out over Kansas seeing your in a vacuum tube?

Big business is naturally conspiratorial, so that's certainly no strike against your theory. Seems reasonable. or it just may be that not enough people know about it yet and they simply lack the venture capital.>> ^RadHazG:

AT this point I have to think that any truly good idea's (like this one) are really being held back for the most part due to oil or other companies that stand to take massive profit losses interfering with them legally. It stands to reason that if a technology threatens their bottom line significantly enough it would warrant the expenditure of resources to halt or delay the deployment of said tech for as long as possible. It's a bit conspiratorial but it also makes perfect sense from a financial pov on the part of the Co.>> ^PalmliX:
WHY ARENT THEY BUILDING THIS NOW!?!?!

Naturally its a large pod. Plenty of room for compressed slow release breathable air tanks. We send air with men on spacewalks, we can surely keep a large capsule with 6 people filled for a while.
>> ^saber2x:

what happens when the oxygen in your pod runs out over Kansas seeing your in a vacuum tube?

On the other hand, science is more international now. China will probably be the first to build it.

Update: "Researchers at Southwest Jiaotong University in China are developing (in 2010) a vactrain to reach speeds of 1,000 km/h (620 mph). They say the technology can be put into operation in 10 years." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vactrain


>> ^RadHazG:

AT this point I have to think that any truly good idea's (like this one) are really being held back for the most part due to oil or other companies that stand to take massive profit losses interfering with them legally. It stands to reason that if a technology threatens their bottom line significantly enough it would warrant the expenditure of resources to halt or delay the deployment of said tech for as long as possible. It's a bit conspiratorial but it also makes perfect sense from a financial pov on the part of the Co.>> ^PalmliX:
WHY ARENT THEY BUILDING THIS NOW!?!?!

>> ^RadHazG:

AT this point I have to think that any truly good idea's (like this one) are really being held back for the most part due to oil or other companies that stand to take massive profit losses interfering with them legally. It stands to reason that if a technology threatens their bottom line significantly enough it would warrant the expenditure of resources to halt or delay the deployment of said tech for as long as possible. It's a bit conspiratorial but it also makes perfect sense from a financial pov on the part of the Co.>> ^PalmliX:
WHY ARENT THEY BUILDING THIS NOW!?!?!



I sadly have to agree with your statement...

AT this point I have to think that any truly good idea's (like this one) are really being held back for the most part due to oil or other companies that stand to take massive profit losses interfering with them legally. It stands to reason that if a technology threatens their bottom line significantly enough it would warrant the expenditure of resources to halt or delay the deployment of said tech for as long as possible. It's a bit conspiratorial but it also makes perfect sense from a financial pov on the part of the Co.>> ^PalmliX:

WHY ARENT THEY BUILDING THIS NOW!?!?!

>> ^messenger:

Think you could just tell us? I, for one, am not going to go find and read a book based on a vague comment on the Sift.>> ^deathcow:
refer to the 1976 book "A world out of time" By Larry Niven



they use this exact system

Think you could just tell us? I, for one, am not going to go find and read a book based on a vague comment on the Sift.>> ^deathcow:

refer to the 1976 book "A world out of time" By Larry Niven

>> ^budzos:

What could go wrong?

Oil Company's Wallets

Apparently they evacuated on the 3rd, so gladly there were no casualties.

http://en.ca-news.org/news/464981

Well there's an epiphany for ya. Our national genetic material comes from murderers, thieves and the criminally insane. We love war and death and guns and weapons of mass destruction. We have high rates of violent crime. Our cinema, television programs, videogames and music are fixated on fear and violence. We are angry and anxiety ridden, gobbling up illegal, over the counter and prescription drugs in massive quantities. Are all of us part of the sickness? If we were, how would we know it? Sorry for the grim thoughts. >> ^Skeeve:

Maybe it's just because I just finished reading Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" but sometimes I feel like if we "evacuated" all thieves for a few generations we wouldn't have this problem to begin with.

In response to Ghark's intelligent breakdown, of course it is infeasible and impractical to expect a complete evacuation of Americans from the continent and I'm sure you do not condone such action.

I believe in your last option, that Western society as a whole is more developed morally and philosophically today than hundreds of years ago. Structures to prevent such decimation such as the United Nations and hundreds of NGOs that exist today would act against such extermination today. Granted, the UN is not perfect, but it is better than what previously existed and it certainly would've changed the course of US history if globalization and world pressure existed as it does today.

To address another point you made, I'm sure the Native Americans would've done the same to us had they not been Native Americans and had been another group of settlers landing in America with advanced weaponry and systems of government. Of course, they wouldn't be Native Americans anymore would they? They would have a completely different way of life because they would've developed in a different environment.

Historically, Native American tribes did war with each other, but they hardly ever wiped each other out. Almost all Native American wars were small spats, some of which were over ritualistic and others were over things such as honor and rights.

Sorry for rambling, but it's a complicated issue and you've brought up some complicated questions.

>> ^Fade:

I was there with my mum, ironically to get out of the rain.


How did you guys evacuate from that place?