Hello Arthur,

Here's the text of a Letter to the Editor I sent to Business Week,
responding to their cover story. I thought you might like it.

Peter


In "GLOBAL WARMING" the uncertainty over how to achieve lower-carbon energy
sources begs the question: "what is the ultimate solution?" The sun
blankets the earth with far more energy than we need (170 terawatts received
vs. 22 estimated consumption in 2025), and is inexhaustable on the scale of
human history. Forty years ago, Dr. Peter Glaser of Arthur D. Little
proposed solar power satellites that beam low-density microwaves to
receiving antennae linked to our power grid. NASA studies to date have
questioned economic viability due to the large number of launches required.
A less well-known approach is to fabricate solar panels directly from lunar
soil, which is 21% silicon. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) said earlier
this year: "The moon can be made into a major asset." David R. Criswell of
the University of Houston has popularized one such approach. In the 1960s,
beating the Soviets to the moon spurred the greatest engineering feat of all
time: the Apollo project. Now, it is global warming which threatens
geopolitical stability, economic prosperity and the world's food supply. It
is time we develop a comprehensive energy solution with power derived from
the sun, and stored using hydrogen. Apollo took less than 9 years. Now, we
can use the moon to bring the sun to the earth. Learning from Mr. Carey's
excellent article, we should begin at once.

Peter J. Schubert, Ph.D.
President, Space Manufacture, LLC
www.spacemanufacture.com
310 W. Greyhound Pass
Carmel, IN 46032
day 765 451 5925
eve 317 843 9822