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"I forged a concept which is relatively simple and possibly unique in theology, and that is, the irrational is the primordial stratum of the universe."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Garbage Mine | ||
| The idea that recycling can spawn entirely new industries. |
This is an interesting idea; I think the general idea was floating around in the 1970's, but I can't find a reference.
| ...soft-drink cans, ketchup bottles and disposable diapers... engine oil, transmission fluid, and electroplating residue... tires and cars, broken stereos and obsolete computer..
Some suggested leaving the sites exactly as they were, so future archaeologists could find a wealth of detail from the prodigal middens of TwenCen California... It might have been predictable, and yet few saw the answer coming. In a later day of harder times, of short resources and mandatory recycling, it was inevitable that those landfills should draw the eyes of innovators, looking for ways to get rich. Iron, aluminum, silica ... nickel, copper, zinc... Claims were filed, mining plans presented and analyzed.... Excavation began between the ancient hills. Into a past generation's waste, their desperate grandchildren dug for treasure. The garbage rush was on. |
| From Earth,
by David Brin. Published by Bantam in 1990 Additional resources -
|
This is an idea whose time has come; it goes beyond recycling.
If it makes you feel any better, North Americans have always produced trash. According to archaeological studies of a clan of Native Americans who lived around 6,500 BC, each person produced an average of 5.3 pounds of waste per day during the hunting season.
Note: The first municipal dump was established in Athens in around 500 B.C.
Read more about the history of waste.
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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'Merton... placed the electrodes of the sleep-inducer on his forehead.'
'... we can descend and live down there at one of those year-round aquatic resorts.'
'...she would have to be coaxed by another series of pats into a circular orbit.'
'The sleek, tapered space shuttle lay immobile upon the private landing field...'
Yes, people of the future, robots will dress you.
