Building a prosperous future demands bold ideas. These are some of the boldest

[Celerity]

https://aeon.co/videos/building-a-prosperous-future-demands-bold-ideas-these-are-some-of-the-boldest

The US filmmaker John D Boswell (aka Melodysheep) is known for crafting meticulously researched CGI documentaries that, epic in both production and scope, probe the deep past and peer into the future.

In his latest, Engineering Earth, Boswell surveys geoengineering projects – some quite speculative, others already underway, but all of them at least theoretically possible – to offer an audaciously hopeful vision of humanity’s trajectory.

The operatic work takes viewers on a tour of strange, wondrous and beautiful potential futures, exploring concepts ranging from artificial tree forests to orbital solar power arrays accessed by space elevators, with the grand obstacles and potential risks only lightly addressed.

Taken as a whole, these brief glimpses of bold, nascent ideas make a case for techno-optimism at a moment when, for many, such sentiments have fallen exceedingly out of vogue.

Video by Melodysheep

[ZDU]

1. What could possibly go wrong!?!?!?

[LudwigPastorius]

2. I really find it hard to be optimistic.

As a child, I was sure that humans would have a permanent space station and moon base by now. (It was only later that I realized that the only reason the U.S. put so much money and effort into the space program in the 60s was our fear of the Soviets.)

As far as simple survival goes, the carbon/CO2 sinks would seem to be a main priority, along with learning how to detect big rocks and deflect them from impact with the planet. Any space elevators or orbital rings would just be gravy.

Of course, the Great Filter may have other ideas about our long term survival.