BTW, did anyone else see country file, the were looking at replanting seagrass meadows. Apparently on a per hectare basis seagrass absorbs more carbon than the equivalent area of forest.
"The only way our fragile species will continue is if we can spread throughout the solar system. "
We had every opportunity and have vastly screwed things up, killing everything along the way. Better to call it a day and let the earth get on without a species that has a death wish. We should leave the moon alone and take the consequences of our actions.
If we hit the 3 degrees of warming we're currently aiming for (or higher) there'll be a few billions fewer of us and space exploration will be a moot point, as there won't be the resources to spend on it. We'll be hard pushed to feed ourselves never mind go zooming off to other planets
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
If we hit the 3 degrees of warming we're currently aiming for (or
higher) there'll be a few billions less of us and space exploration will
be a moot point.
But that's why people like Branson are all for setting up off-planet bunker colonies for the super-rich, having given up on this planet. And investing billions in developing off-planet tech now.
A shuttle launch costs around close to $1.5bn. The 30-year space shuttle
program cost nearly $200bn. All this should have been used to move away from fossil fuels, not use fossil fuels in general exploration.
- - -
Musk's "Plan B" - he says he wants to live on Mars.
Those billionaires don't own things with value, in the main, though no doubt they have some nice houses. Amazon won't be worth anything when the Amazon rainforest is gone. They may like the idea but reality is likely to bite much sooner than they think
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Musk more recently said he'd like the option to die on Mars if he so wished (and joked not on the landing). He doesn't want to live on Mars, just give humans the option to do so.
I really think this whole billionaires in space is just a small distraction. Musk is the only one who is really doing anything, bezos and Branson have tried but not really got very far in comparison.
We should really be looking at more everyday things like cutting down on concrete (I think 6% of yearly co2 emissions), exporting raw materials to China only to have them shipped back again in another state before we use and throw away to repeat the process, go after those stupid Chelsea tractors, don't buy food from the other side of the world, reduce things like palm oil but help locals with other ways to make a living, there really are hundreds of easy changes we could make.
The only way our fragile species will continue is if we can spread throughout the solar system. We might be worried about climate change but you only have to look at the damage covid has done to see how on a knife edge we are and that's without even considering ww3. As a species we are never going to act in the best interests for humanity unless it benefits us personally (and I do realise that stopping climate change is a benefit but for most the only thing they care about is money/lifestyle).
Exploration grows our species, without it we'd still be living in caves or heading for a climate catastrophe with no knowledge it was even happening. Science isn't sticking your head in a bucket, it's figuring out how everything works and giving us a greater understanding of how to solve certain problems. It might not seem very worthwhile looking at distant stars but it's taught us so much about the history of our solar system which is used to understand our world.
Surely, without exploration ie; (a) a few people getting lost and not finding their way home or (b) a bunch of arrogant people going to another land and messing things up, we would as far away from climate catastrophe as it is possible to be - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_affluent_society
Space colonisation seems to have learnt not one jot from the previous millenia of colonisation. Still a resource and land grab - still trying to expand 'because we can'; still trying to prove who has the bigger dick and who can plant the flag. I find it beyond depressing.
More space junk. We're intent trashing the planet and intent on trashing everywhere else.
Those who think we can spend billions and decades exploring other planets, don't seem to have a sense of how little time is left on earth to avoid disaster (although disaster has already started). 'Plan B' is a cowardly distraction. A mortatorium means to pause. There is great and vital science to sort and fund on earth first. It's going to take all the resources we have for the foreseeable.
Posts
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Unfortunately, the 'plant more trees' theory isn't always that simple.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I really think this whole billionaires in space is just a small distraction. Musk is the only one who is really doing anything, bezos and Branson have tried but not really got very far in comparison.
We should really be looking at more everyday things like cutting down on concrete (I think 6% of yearly co2 emissions), exporting raw materials to China only to have them shipped back again in another state before we use and throw away to repeat the process, go after those stupid Chelsea tractors, don't buy food from the other side of the world, reduce things like palm oil but help locals with other ways to make a living, there really are hundreds of easy changes we could make.
Surely, without exploration ie; (a) a few people getting lost and not finding their way home or (b) a bunch of arrogant people going to another land and messing things up, we would as far away from climate catastrophe as it is possible to be - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_affluent_society