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1999 #756
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 09:39:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robert Prior
Subject: Re: Shipping stuff
>What I was sort of getting at, leaving aside the bio/chem issue, is would it be seen as realistic for bulk freighter to be transporting waste back from non-Ag and industrial worlds for processing and use on Ag worlds ? In the case of Belizo, BtC says something about the vulcanism giving the soils a rich texture and abundant productivity. Ergo, would they really need the waste products ? 3I farming techniques would surely take into account soil productivity and its' tolerance for continued use. That is, I'm sure that they've worked out what crops to plant where to get the best yields, and when to leave ground fallow. If they have their techniques down pat, do they really need all that fertilizer?
Possibly not. OTOH, if the ship is going back there anyway, all you're paying is handling charges. This might make it economically worthwhile.
>Also, in the vein of your last sentence, would it be reasonable to assume that industrial waste from primary and secondary industries is hauled back to the point of origin of the raw materials ? Would they haul back chemical slag from the industrialised planets to the mining planets or asteroid belts ? Even in a really efficient production cycle, yer going to have some waste products that can't be used or utilised on the industrialised planets.
Hauled somewhere, possibly.
IIRC, the present or past Chairman of the Federal Reserve (forget which guy) once said that it was cheaper to dispose of toxic waste in Third World countries, because accidents were less costly there (and that it was good for the countries, because they got some scarce foreign exchange at the cost of some abundant people, or words to that effect). While I doubt he's the only capitalist/economist to 'write off' Third World citizens like that, he was more blatant than anyone else I've heard of.
ObTrav: A poor low tech planet, next to an industrial one, gets a waste reprocessing plant as foreign aid. The locals aren't told all the dangers by their leaders (who are busy fattening their offworld bank accounts) and the mortality rate is climbing, although no one knows quite why.
The players are demobbed scouts, contacted by a friendly noble. They are asked to have a quiet poke around to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant Imperial intervention.
The players can gather evidence, but there is nothing actually illegal going on (just unethical). Remember that the Imperium is laisser faire about things like this. Further actions will vary depending on the players. Commando raids, political action, public appeals, economic actions...
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#756
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 14:09:22 -0400
From: scott brandsgaard
Subject: Re: Shipping stuff
>ObTrav: A poor low tech planet, next to an industrial one, gets a waste reprocessing plant as foreign aid.Another possible spin could have the players getting caught in a little confrontation between the local reprocessing plant and some "well-meaning" activist group while transporting a load of waste.
Further actions will vary depending on the players. Commando raids, political action, public appeals, economic actions...
What if the players got stuck with the load of waste after a settlement is reached? hehehe
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#756
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 17:47:11 -0400
From: "Daniel Phelps"
Subject: Re: Shipping stuff
Was written:
>What if the players got stuck with the load of waste after a settlement is reached? heheheMy response: Only one problem with the above scenario is that I expect that most nasty waste in Traveller gets dealt with just like we do it right now. It gets burned in as hot a furnace as can be arranged. In Traveller it would be dropped into the nearest nuclear furnace, a convenient star. Now if you want to have a scenario where a loose load of radioactive waste, mega death in a large economy sized can, from a shifty but well connected company ends up on a collision course with a populated planet and everyone wants the problem settled quietly, before it hits the atmosphere if you don't mind, that is another story.
D. C. Phelps, P.G.
M.S. Geology
M.S. Environmental Management
Guess what I do for a living...