*** Meteorites, Comets and other incomings *** Ashley, thinking and investigating costs almost nothing. So figuring out what the risks are is a good idea, locating as many incomings as possible and seeing just what sort of bowling alley we are in.
From what I've read, the big ones are the statistically worst. Improbable but very final for most people.
I expect the most economic approach is self-defence for most incomings. Find out where and what time they are going to hit, with collective investigations, perhaps sponsored by somebody such as $ill Gates who has a lot of money and wants to spend it on charitable works.
Then, people in the ground zero zone could move elsewhere and people who want to or can afford it could dig their own bunkers. Even the biggest incomings might best be defended against like that.
The bunkers would be functional for other purposes during less interesting times - used as bedrooms, storage, self-defence against human marauders etc.
Maybe deflection of incomings would be cheaper. Years ago I calculated how big a thing could be deflected with a series of 20 megaton nukes on the surface. Quite a big thing can be moved plenty! Easy peasy! Just need to do it on the right orbit and not make a mistake and cause it to hit the earth instead of missing.
I haven't calculated odds for this, that and the other, but looking at the face of the moon and other evidence, including actual impacts, [there are plenty of them], the statistical risk is well inside the risks which people worry about and suffer phobias about.
New Zealand's greatest risk is Taupo blowing up, which is going to happen sooner rather than later, probably with no warning to speak of because of the eruptive type; rapidly expanding hot gases from boiling water and then liquids in magma which phase change to gas as the pressure is released, causing a vast and huge bang and many cubic kilometres of stuff going up in the air.
The deaths in the Taupo and central north island area will be around 100,000. It surprises me that people are so blase about it [of course because they are ignorant but also risks are not all that worrying to many people until their number comes up; too late].
What's amazing is that people worry about radiation from cellphones which is wayyyy down the list of things which will harm them.
Mqurice
PS: Thanks for the weekend wishes, but as you rightly point out, days, weeks and months roll into one textureless mass. It's now winter, because it's regularly cold, wet and dark. It's day time now. Traffic gives some guide to whether it's the weekend or not. |
