Space Colonization Economics, Part 3
Based on the analysis of Part 1 and Part 2 of colonial economics, a simple factor emerges: if it is cheaper to ship supplies in than to obtain them locally, the supplies are shipped in.
Yeah, I know that sounds about as profound as "water is wet" but when looking at Antarctic bases or oil rigs, we tend to get distracted by the glamour. But it's an important point, because, unlike here on Earth, there is only one way to ship stuff - via spaceship - and that way is at least as expensive as air freight. And as I think I've demonstrated, commercial businesses AND scientific researchers are allergic to air freight. Or their accounting departments are, which is the same thing.
Grow Houses
So, once the decision is made to put humans on site, there are strong incentives to be as self-reliant as possible. For say, a moon colony, or an orbital tourist hotel, that means recycling air and water. One of the ways to do that is have a small garden. This doesn't have to be a massive, self-sustaining ecosystem. Think more like a grow house, at first optimized to generate oxygen. Although, if you visit the link, you'll note that greenhouses can be helpful in recycling water - the plants respire water, which normally has to be extracted by dehumidifiers.
Actually, putting "closed growing environment" in your Google will produce all kinds of useful articles, like this perfectly Safe For Work article on closed-cycle hydroponics. For our purposes, note the discussion about water consumption. But if you're going to grow something, it might as well be useful. And unless you can sell $100 salads (or even if you can) high-water, low-bulk produce is first on your list to grow. Or other leafy plants. (Sorry, the idea of "Stoners In Spaaaace!" just flashed in my brain.)
Ah, moving on, one will note that, in the first colonies, the grow house is not a primary, or at least not the only, source of oxygen. It's a supplement, and backups are available. But the experience in running grow houses allows one to develop the experience to make them bigger more useful and more reliable.
But running a grow house has a cost - labor. Also, the more one relies on locally-grown food, the more cooks are needed. It's the difference from opening a can of spaghetti sauce versus making your own sauce from fresh tomatoes. From the point of view of space colonization proponents, this is a good thing. Running a grow house or working in a kitchen is not that technical a job, which means that a spouse of a technical worker might be persuaded to tag along.
Failed Colonies
Any discussion of human colonization isn't complete until somebody points out a failed colony, like Jonestown or the much earlier Roanoke Colony. Yeah, well, colonies will fail. It's sad, and I hope you and yours aren't involved in a failed colony, but failure happens. Some of the failures, like Roanoke, will be a mystery, others, like Jonestown, will be an opportunity to learn from. At any rate, saying we can't colonize space because some colonies fail is like saying we can't have powered flight because some planes crash.
For Monday, Part 4 - Gerrib's vision of the future, or Yes, Virginia, the Gobi Desert has tourists. (Whole series here)
Yeah, I know that sounds about as profound as "water is wet" but when looking at Antarctic bases or oil rigs, we tend to get distracted by the glamour. But it's an important point, because, unlike here on Earth, there is only one way to ship stuff - via spaceship - and that way is at least as expensive as air freight. And as I think I've demonstrated, commercial businesses AND scientific researchers are allergic to air freight. Or their accounting departments are, which is the same thing.
Grow Houses
So, once the decision is made to put humans on site, there are strong incentives to be as self-reliant as possible. For say, a moon colony, or an orbital tourist hotel, that means recycling air and water. One of the ways to do that is have a small garden. This doesn't have to be a massive, self-sustaining ecosystem. Think more like a grow house, at first optimized to generate oxygen. Although, if you visit the link, you'll note that greenhouses can be helpful in recycling water - the plants respire water, which normally has to be extracted by dehumidifiers.
Actually, putting "closed growing environment" in your Google will produce all kinds of useful articles, like this perfectly Safe For Work article on closed-cycle hydroponics. For our purposes, note the discussion about water consumption. But if you're going to grow something, it might as well be useful. And unless you can sell $100 salads (or even if you can) high-water, low-bulk produce is first on your list to grow. Or other leafy plants. (Sorry, the idea of "Stoners In Spaaaace!" just flashed in my brain.)
Ah, moving on, one will note that, in the first colonies, the grow house is not a primary, or at least not the only, source of oxygen. It's a supplement, and backups are available. But the experience in running grow houses allows one to develop the experience to make them bigger more useful and more reliable.
But running a grow house has a cost - labor. Also, the more one relies on locally-grown food, the more cooks are needed. It's the difference from opening a can of spaghetti sauce versus making your own sauce from fresh tomatoes. From the point of view of space colonization proponents, this is a good thing. Running a grow house or working in a kitchen is not that technical a job, which means that a spouse of a technical worker might be persuaded to tag along.
Failed Colonies
Any discussion of human colonization isn't complete until somebody points out a failed colony, like Jonestown or the much earlier Roanoke Colony. Yeah, well, colonies will fail. It's sad, and I hope you and yours aren't involved in a failed colony, but failure happens. Some of the failures, like Roanoke, will be a mystery, others, like Jonestown, will be an opportunity to learn from. At any rate, saying we can't colonize space because some colonies fail is like saying we can't have powered flight because some planes crash.
For Monday, Part 4 - Gerrib's vision of the future, or Yes, Virginia, the Gobi Desert has tourists. (Whole series here)