X-Message-Number: 24897 From: "John de Rivaz" <> References: <> Subject: Re: American aviation's "catastrophic failure" Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 10:28:40 +0100 >> From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: American aviation's "catastrophic failure" You have to wonder how long civilian airlines in other countries can stay in business with declining net oil supplies, even with government subsidies. The window for cryonicists' easy transportation to North America is rapidly closing. << Not necessarily. If this scenario is correct, then surface transport by ship will replace it. As freight and people are forced out of the air such transport will become economic again. There have been proposals for vessels that are both powered and sail driven using modern technology to control the sails. These could be economic in fuel costs and "environmentally correct". A British firm developed a rotating cylinder type sail that was said to reduce the fuel costs of even large tankers by 10%. Not a lot, but a start. Alongside this there are advances in cryonics which require transport methods that are not easily ammenable to air transport, requiring much bigger and more sophisticated transport containers. If sea transport becomes more widely used again, it could actually be preferable. The most dangerous part of any trip is the road transport either end. Whereas air transport relies on a relatively few "hubs" around the world, the days of sea transport had many more shipping ports around the world. Global warming considerations at the moment don't seek to restrict the airlines, despite their being the largest emitters of CO2. When restrictions are applied, though, restrictions on road transport will be well under way. This again will increase the use of the sea for moving goods from a large number of smaller ports, especially if ships that are energy efficient and low emission are developed. -- Sincerely, John de Rivaz: http://John.deRivaz.com for websites including Cryonics Europe, Longevity Report, The Venturists, Porthtowan, Alec Harley Reeves - inventor, Arthur Bowker - potter, de Rivaz genealogy, Nomad .. and more Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24897