Fig. 4. Relation of space program and lunar research to materials and manufacturing segments (links to be closed). make things and do things. The things we make are the “Cumulative Controlled Connectivities,” or C + C + C in Fig. 1. Some of these stay around for many years, such as the pyramids, dams, or vast roads. Others are less permanent like cars, helium in space probes (lost from Earth), or bureaucracies (hopefully). Others are hard to classify, such as microcomputers, or are extremely short-lived (ie., mesons in accelerators). The two top balloons in Fig. 4 remind us that Demandite gathering (“Materials Industries”) and C+C+C construction and operation (“Manufacturing”) are very large activities. In the United States, “Materials” scaled to over 400 B$ (B = E+9) in 1972 while “Manufacturing” exceeded 700 B$. In 1982 the inflated cash flows are more than twice as large. The human efficiency of these activities dictates how large a fraction of the population can devote itself to other activities (services — secondary, tertiary and quaternary; (22)). In some countries this fraction is 0.1 or less, whereas in the United States it is 0.8 or slightly higher. Smooth, non-turbulent economic growth using advanced technologies permits this service fraction to steadily increase. Considering the short lives of humans, possibly even the race, the interesting question is this: Have the C + C+C's and skills we've developed, primarily by producing and training more people, given us more than the value of Earth resources we've depleted? More directly — can we use our present and projected skills, C+C+C, and depleted resources of energy and “high grade” mass (or gifts or
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