From: ladasky@netcom.com (John J. Ladasky II)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.greens
Subject: Re: Outer space exploration
Date: 27 Jan 93 00:28:11 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

In article <29894@ursa.bear.com> chu@pit.bear.com (Arnold Chu) writes:
>
>Space exploration, I preceives to be an extension of the Renaissance assertion
>of man's control on the material world.  Perhaps the deep ecologists are not
    ^^^^^
>comfortable with that?
>
>Space exploration is also tied in with our impluse to explore, and reach into 
>the unknown.  Thus, watching the Moon landing may be the closest thing to a 
>spiritual experience for most North Americans ( next to the national 
>anthem in the ball park ;-> ).
>
>I have toyed with the questions some time ago.  I find the possibilities for
>material benefits quite questionable.  ( just think of fuel needed to land 
>ore safely ).  However, I think it may be justified on inspirational grounds.  

	Well, I'm not a deep ecologist, so I can't answer for how they feel.
I was also an enthusiastic supporter of space exploration in my youth.  I 
believe that human achievements in space had a lot to do with directing me
towards my current career as a scientist.  So, what has been done by humans
thus far in space might well be justifiable on inspirational grounds, as you
say.

	That being said, I think there's a tendency on the part of hard-core 
space enthusiasts to assume that, if a little bit is good, a lot is better.
Since Apollo was so inspirational, they say, why not go all out?  Let's 
send a manned mission to Mars, let's mine the asteroids, and solve all of
humanity's problems!

	I think this is what we're debating - not whether an occasional 
pushing back of the high frontier is justified, but whether we should devote
our energies to major space programs - e.g., mining the asteroids.

>Another major problem confront humankind today is just learning to live with
>our differences and memories.  I don't believe arranging material rewards and
>penalties is sufficient to bring out the best qualities of humankind.  But our 
>BEST is surely needed to get along with each other, and with the other species.
>Exciting world scale projects, such as space exploration, can perhaps serves as
>a means to bring the various strands of humanity together. 

	I submit to you that no space project thus far has been a world-scale
project.  Nearly every space project thus far has been accomplished by a sin-
gle country, often in competition with other countries.  The promise of coop-
erative space projects is elusive, I think, until the countries with space
programs feel wealthy enough to afford another big project.  Go talk to the
Russians and see whether they have any great yearning to go to Mars right
now.  Heck, go talk to the Americans and ask them whether there's any great
desire to pursue space at the moment.  Apollo was undertaken when Americans
felt rich.  We don't right now.  Even during the supposedly prosperous 80's,
we didn't undertake anything big in space.

	The "exciting world scale project" that needs to be undertaken 
right now, IMO, is to meet human needs worldwide.  Surely, this can bring
out the best in us as well as any moon shot?

-- 
== John J. Ladasky II ("ii") ========================= ladasky@netcom.COM ==
"Great composers do not borrow -	     "Talking about music is like
 they steal."  - John Ladasky	      ~ -     dancing about architecture."
(quote stolen from Stravinsky, who    o o     - Elvis Costello?  Laurie
 stole it from a statement made by     >        Anderson?  Frank Zappa?
 Pablo Picasso about painting, who    \_/    -------------------------------
 stole it from...)			     "Property is theft." - Groucho
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