Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 3571050" data-attributes="member: 177">Evironmentally... well, folks wouldn't need cars so much, at least.&nbsp; Unfortunately, what other environmental impacts there might be depends very heavily on the energy source for these powers.&nbsp; Any massive energy expenditure (like six billion flying people) has an environmental impact.The economic impact of the greatly reduced need for vehicular transport and gasoline would be massive.&nbsp; The auto industry would have to shrink, as would all the related services.&nbsp; Same the petroleum industry would not outright collapse (still need plastics, heating oil, fuel for electricity, and so on), but it'd take a big hit.&nbsp; Tens or hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, I expect.Other issues - well, people are more difficult to hurt, but unless the powers are somehow selective they will be more difficult to heal, as well.&nbsp; If you can't be harmed in a knife fight, then surgery is gong to become more difficult.I don't think the political ramifications of this are at all guessable.&nbsp; There are too many variables in too many cultures and countries.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 3571050, member: 177"] Evironmentally... well, folks wouldn't need cars so much, at least. Unfortunately, what other environmental impacts there might be depends very heavily on the energy source for these powers. Any massive energy expenditure (like six billion flying people) has an environmental impact. The economic impact of the greatly reduced need for vehicular transport and gasoline would be massive. The auto industry would have to shrink, as would [i]all the related services[/i]. Same the petroleum industry would not outright collapse (still need plastics, heating oil, fuel for electricity, and so on), but it'd take a big hit. Tens or hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, I expect. Other issues - well, people are more difficult to hurt, but unless the powers are somehow selective they will be more difficult to heal, as well. If you can't be harmed in a knife fight, then surgery is gong to become more difficult. I don't think the political ramifications of this are at all guessable. There are too many variables in too many cultures and countries. [/QUOTE]

Verification