First DarkTue, Feb 23, 2010 While I certainly sympathize with your concerns, I think there are a few basic problems with the final analysis being made. Isn't it more important to keep things in perspective by looking at the most major sources of pollution first? On that end, given their tremendous volume, airplanes and cars are vastly worse for the environment than space flights even with the prospect of a burst in commercial space freight. Combine passenger air travel, commercial air freight, and military/government transportation (not to mention all other earthbound commercial practices), and there's no comparison.
I also think a clear distinction should be made between commercial/private space endeavours and scientific space endeavours. The former emphasize consumerism and leisure, whereas the latter emphasizes advancement (of both technology and understanding) and inspiration. We should be concerned about the commercial space industry, but if anything, scientific space programs need more public support these days. With regards to emissions, we can be certain that scientists are working to make the technologies used more efficient and environmentally friendly as we speak, not to mention they are giving us the perspectives and data we need to understand our planet's situation (such as your image above).
Here's a clip of one of my big heroes, Neil deGrasse Tyson, that might be of interest.
I think the more important question to ask would be: Do we love our cars and vacations more than our planet? Should we continue to focus on consumption and leisure, or shift the focus to responsibility and survival?
While I certainly sympathize with your concerns, I think there are a few basic problems with the final analysis being made. Isn't it more important to keep things in perspective by looking at the most major sources of pollution first? On that end, given their tremendous volume, airplanes and cars are vastly worse for the environment than space flights even with the prospect of a burst in commercial space freight. Combine passenger air travel, commercial air freight, and military/government transportation (not to mention all other earthbound commercial practices), and there's no comparison.
I also think a clear distinction should be made between commercial/private space endeavours and scientific space endeavours. The former emphasize consumerism and leisure, whereas the latter emphasizes advancement (of both technology and understanding) and inspiration. We should be concerned about the commercial space industry, but if anything, scientific space programs need more public support these days. With regards to emissions, we can be certain that scientists are working to make the technologies used more efficient and environmentally friendly as we speak, not to mention they are giving us the perspectives and data we need to understand our planet's situation (such as your image above).
Here's a clip of one of my big heroes, Neil deGrasse Tyson, that might be of interest.
I think the more important question to ask would be: Do we love our cars and vacations more than our planet? Should we continue to focus on consumption and leisure, or shift the focus to responsibility and survival?