1. Nukes - sure, it would be great to memory-wipe the know-how to make these things, but it ain't gonna happen. Nukes are now necessary evils in that they must be used to deter those who would use them on you - and that only for those who do not have homicidal/suicidal death wishes...
2 & 3. Coal and gas-powered technologies - research should be going into developing alternates for these things, indeed - but our civilization has become intrinsically dependent on both plentiful electricity and personal mobility (both direct by-products of fossil fuel technologies), so until those alternatives are on-line, coal and gas ain't going away either.
4. Incandescent light bulbs - replacements are already widely available.
5. Land mines - again, another nasty weapon that would make the world a nicer place if it just went away - but don't bet on it happening.
6. manned spaceflight - uh huh, like that's going to get panned on
these Boards.
7. Prisons - there's something to be said for this. Heinlein's whipping Posts, anyone?
EDIT - Oops, wasn't done yet...
8. Cosmetic implants - in a culture that celebrates youth and vanity? Another "ain't gonna happen".
9. Lie detectors - I sometimes wonder why they still don't use gypsy fortune tellers...
10 DVD's - sounds like somebody just doesn't want to pay to upgrade his movie collection...
[ October 24, 2003, 17:50: Message edited by: General Woundwort ]