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RE: (meteorobs) Perspective
Just one observation before this thread dies: Israel is a great example of
a nation "learning to fish", so to speak. They started with desert, and
have created a thriving country with food and resources, advanced
technology, and even a hand in the space program. All this is merely to say
that Shy speaks from knowledge on the subject, and has (in my opinion) a
very valid point.
Clear skies, warm memories, and bright hope for the future,
Peter
|-----Original Message-----
|From: owner-meteorobs@atmob.org
|[mailto:owner-meteorobs@atmob.org]On Behalf Of Shy Halatzi
|Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 5:19 PM
|To: meteorobs@atmob.org
|Subject: Re: (meteorobs) Perspective
|
|
|Hi Mike,
|
|I think this is a very narrow way of seeing things...
|You make it seem as if those billions of dollars are "wasted" on space,
|rather than put in other places where they are needed more. This is not
|true. For every dollar invested in space, economists estimate a return of
|6-10 dollars. Space is profitable!
|Another thing is, that many new medicines and medical treatments have been
|improved, invented or made in space, so that space exploration
|helps also to
|the Africans and to those that have cancer. There are of course countless
|other things that me and you wouldn't have if space science didn't exist.
|Certainly the starving Africans wouldn't.
|
|And if you do want to talk about the starving people in Africa, think about
|the reasons why they are starving. They live mostly in countries that are
|unindustrialized, not democratic, and not technologically advanced. Three
|things that only come to be in a country that is scientificly active,
|advanced, successful, and invests in science. So it is not food
|and medicine
|we should send to Africa, but science kits, teachers, books, pens,
|notebooks. Don't give them fish, teach them how to fish.
|If we take money from science and give to the poor in order to make things
|better, eventually we will get the opposite of what we wished for.
|
|To those of you who claim robots are better than men, I have several things
|to say. First, robots cannot do everything. They can do a lot of
|things, but
|not everything. Secondly, if we are smart humans, we must think about the
|future. Today, perhaps, it is costly and dangerous(not that dangerous
|though) to go in space. But in 50 years from now, we will be able to send
|people to space by cheaper and safer means. Space tourism, interplanetary
|manned missions, marsian and lunar colonies, asteroid mining - all of these
|will be reality for our children.
|In 100 years from now(let's hope no earlier than that), it is also very
|possible that earth just won't be good enough anymore. Population will
|explode, resources will dwindle to zero, global warming might take over. We
|must be able to survive outside our planet as well, Mars is a very good
|option. Otherwise, the human kind will be exstinct very quickly(it is a
|miracle that we are still here in my opinion).
|
|To conclude, space is good for us. We must go one despite the things that
|have happened. I am absolutely sure that all seven astronauts that lost
|their lives on columbia would agree 100% on this one.
|
|Clear skies and happier news to us all,
|Shy
|
|----- Original Message -----
|From: "Michael Linnolt" <mlinnolt@alum.mitdot edu>
|To: <meteorobs@atmob.org>
|Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 11:08 PM
|Subject: (meteorobs) Perspective
|
|> While clearing my mailbox of this deluge of messages on the shuttle
|tragedy, it occured to me how little news is accorded to the 1000's of
|people who die of starvation in Africa and to the 500,000 or more
|who die of
|cancer in the US every year... Now where should we be spending the billions
|of dollars it will cost to figure out a more reliable spaceship?
|>
|> Mike Linnolt
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