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Ah, the days when surviving a nuclear war seemed like a good idea. Quaint!
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Google to buy power from fusion energy startup Commonwealth - if they can ever make it work
Google has agreed to purchase 200 megawatts of fusion energy from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). That’s assuming, of course, the Massachusetts-based startup can actually get the miniaturized sun to make more power than it consumes, something even the Chocolate Factory admits is a bit of a “moonshot.”
CFS’s ARC fusion power plant is under development in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and is expected to produce about 400 megawatts of energy when fully operational sometime in the “early 2030s.” Google says it’s increasing its investment in the startup to accelerate this development, though an actual sum wasn’t disclosed.
[…]
As CFS’s schedule is consistent with the prognosis given for the British efforts in nuclear fusion just a couple of years ago by the then Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, The Right Honourable Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, at the time Member of Parliament for North East Somerset and the 18th Century, I have every confidence that their endeavours will meet, possibly even surpass, their investors’ expectations.
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Colour changing cats as a solution to the issue of nuclear waste disposal:
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I see problems with this.
Off the top of my head:
Background radiation.
It can be quite different in places. Where do you set the baseline? False positive reactions would be problematuc enough, let alone false negatives.
How do you ensure the cats’ baseline sensitivity stays constant over generations and generations of cats? Other than engineering functionally immortal cats. Granted, this would be ideal to keep the cult going.
How do you ensure the cats’ ability to change colour at all stays intact over generations? Breeding with nonmodified cats could impact this. But so might inbreeding when the cult prevents crossbreeding. (And we’re back to functionally immortal cats.)
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You are literally arguing with a @Purplecat about cat colours. Stay in your lane okay?
(Though they might be biased.)
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It is a crazy idea, but it is just the sort of thing that comes up when you get into the problem of communicating a message over timespans equal to the length of human history. How do you warn people in a way that isn’t enticing?
Also, I have to admit I liked the fact that one of the things they thought was universal and would transcend all known human cultures is “cats are cute- of course people in the future will want to keep a few around”.
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You are making assumptions without any data whatsoever here.
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Sure, but what about zoonotic diseases? They might become more potent in the genetically altered cats and/or humans might become more vulnerable/sensitive to them over time.
Bartonella henselae, Coxiella burnetii, Cryptosporidium, Giardia and good old Toxoplasmosis won’t be exactly fun in new, improved forms and cats might not be as popular as a result. Given that humans are still with it enough to make the connection.
Another thought that occurs is that cults/religions are prone to forming factions and all-out schisms. There may be wars about which colour the cats are supposed to change into and whatnot. Or groups that entirely reverse the original message, i.e. kitty changing colour is good, let’s all go there where this happens a lot. Never mind the increase in funny looking kids, it’s all part of the divine plan mere mortals can’t understand.
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Where will they store the microwaste from their teeny reactors?
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Dip it into milk chocolade and sell it as confection.
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Dubai Chocolate!
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Pretty much.
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