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| Background: In 1973, I submitted a suggestion regarding space colonization to International Harvester, the successor company to the McCormick Reaper Co. I also made the same suggestion to Amoco, which is now part of BP. At that approximate time period, International Harvester was being run by Mr. Brooks McCormick. And a Nancy McCormick later worked for the Cincinnati radio station that was satirized, along with me and the Taft family, in the series WKRP in Cincinnati. That series began in 1978.
Nancy was killed in in a helicopter crash; I believe that was in 1986. I don't know, actually, when her employment began at WKRC, the Taft station that was made fun of in the series. Now, space colonization may unfortunately seem like science fiction to many readers. And this particular article isn’t really about that subject. I’ll sketch it briefly, though, and readers who consider it irrelevant may want to skim the next few paragraphs. The idea of space colonization played an important part in resolving the Cold War, the most dangerous war in the history of the human species. By 1987, to cite one episode of the Space Race, the Soviets, had been goaded to try to outdo the American space colonization ideas, specifically to outdo the ideas of Dr. Peter Glaser. So that year they launched their advanced Energia booster. It was the last great Soviet scientific achievement and was reported on the front page of the New York Times. I played a minor role in those events. My role is described more fully on this site, and I received a letter from Dr. Glaser expressing thanks. Today, space colonization offers two attractions: (1) aerospace competition can provide a sublimated, non-violent substitute for war involving missiles. History shows that this works. But, while Soviet ICBMs no longer seemed as much of a threat in 2007 as they had during the Cold War, missiles from Iran and North Korea were an increased concern. (2) Glaser’s proposal for energy from satellite solar power (SSP) may well turn out to be the only long-range solution for global warming. Continue this article |
| Nast drew this to indicate the future development of New York City. As may be seen, he proved to be quite prescient. (Click here to view his whimsy at a larger magnification.) |
| Click --for more about Glaser's proposal |
| It’s likely that the reader isn’t familiar with this history of WKRP in Cincinnati. But what I’m saying here is true and the whole story--which none of those involved has cared to deny--is given in greater detail elsewhere on this site. It’s a detailed chronology, with names, dates, and other details. There are also optically scanned letters and documents from the period in which the events took place. Click here to view. The narrative is long and complicated--but I'd also say it's fairly interesting. There may be some occassional inaccuracies or inapproriate implications due lack of cooperation on the part of those mentioned. That lack of cooperation is understandable, for various reasons. Any reader is welcome to inform me of mistakes, so I can correct them. (For example, I'm not sure that Nancy McCormick was related to either Brooks McCormick or Michael McCormick. I think she probably was. But, in either case, the basic story is the same.) Any reader who still remains skeptical is invited to check my veracity further by contacting the people and companies involved. I’ll be happy to supply phone numbers and e-mail addresses. |