President Obama recently cancelled one massively expensive space program and yet said “yes” to another in which $6 billion will be spent over five years to support commercial spacecraft development and pursue new technologies to explore the solar system in what the White House has called "a more effective and affordable way."
The first decision deserves some applause, but then, ignoring two critical issues poised to decimate our world, he heads off on a new space exploration tangent that is neither effective nor affordable.
Peak oil is about to cripple our world and climate change, an indisputable reality, is, despite the ever-present doubters, only worsened by venturing into space.
Space exploration, along with the massive and complex infrastructure surrounding it, is the antithesis of a sustainable life style that would allow humanity to enjoy life past the end of this century.
The Obama budget proposal has some good news, as vague as it might be, for although it is planned to increase NASA's overall funding to $19 billion in 2011, it will have an emphasis on science and less being spent on space exploration.
I can’t comprehend $19 billion, but I like the idea of less space, more science as it seems to equate with less pace, more sense, but we will see.
In punching its way out of earth’s gravity field, a rocket consumes about five tonnes of fuel a second and as it takes 25-30 seconds to do that, the simple equation is 150 tonnes of rocket fuel gone, all adding to our greenhouse gas dilemmas and pretty much an obscene waste in a world facing the terminal decline of fuel oils.
Individually there is not much you or I can do about that issue, but we can support the increasing number of town-based community groups emerging in many countries that are working to create a transition for their community from what is to a post-petroleum way of life - Tatura has such a group.
