About
life, the universe, and everything
Hank Dolben
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Mon, 2004 Jan 19
A Climate Change Disaster Scenario
With Gwynne Dyer back on the radar, and the connection I made between his take on Bush's space exploration fantasy and environmental disaster in the previous posting, I wondered what he thought about such questions. In one column he explains the process of ice age inception that is triggered by global warming.
Men On Mars, Good Thing?
As I feared, Bush's empty electioneering has reignited the hopes of science fiction dupes. It's more than a little disconcerting that one so seemingly hardheaded as Gwynne Dyer would fall into that trap. In a column in The Salt Lake Tribune he says
It really is a good idea to go back to the moon and onward to Mars, for reasons so long-term that they barely get mentioned in the usual debates: the survival of the human race and contact with extraterrestrial life. The payoff on these two issues, if it ever comes, is probably at least several centuries in the future -- but they are still important issues.At least, he admits
Since there are no short-term payoffs to manned space exploration and settlement that are likely to repay the huge investments that are required, and since the political process does not favor really long-term investment, the only incentive that will actually get governments to spend this kind of money on space is a "space race" that involves national pride and prestige.Will that be enough?
