The fact that the media and popular culture and academia have veered from one panic-inducing disaster scenario to another one which completely contradicts the first one is funny enough in its own right. But reading The Weather Conspiracy: The Coming of the New Ice Age opened my eyes to an even more significant aspect of this serial crisis-mongering:
The “solutions” prescribed to solve both Global Warming and the looming Ice Age are exactly the same.
In both cases, proponents of the theory-du-jour say that in order to stave off disaster, we must reverse the march of civilization, stop our profligate use of carbon-based fuels, cede power and money from the First World to the Third World, and wherever possible revert to a Luddite pre-industrial lifestyle.
Gee, it’s almost like there’s a political agenda behind this stuff.
“I think that it is unrealistic to think that we could establish a moon base by 2020, even if we spent all the money in the world,” Rohrabacher said. “[It’s] just going to bankrupt every other program.”
Rohrabacher said Gingrich is a visionary thinker “who can paint pictures for people of what a bright future we could have. But he doesn’t have the management and leadership abilities to lead those to fruition.”
I actually disagree. I think that we could easily get back to the moon by 2020, for less money than NASA is currently spending, but only if it is important, and Congress doesn’t dictate how to do it. In other words, we can’t do it.
Sigh. I wish that I were surprised by this. As a commenter says, we remain doomed to not having a presidential candidate who can explain reality to the American people.
“The development of low-cost reusable suborbital spacecraft will be the next great enabler, allowing citizens to participate in space exploration and space science.
“Citizens have told us that education is not just a process that occurs within the public schools. Science fairs, hackerspaces, museums; private, religious, and home schools — all have a role to play. Today, we are listening to those citizens.
“We want to put a thousand astronaut teachers into American schools . We want to engage America’s students and reach out to the public through museums, science centers, and other venues. We want to make space research and space exploration part of the mainstream, not treasures locked away in the ivory tower.
“When Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad was asked what it was like to fly in space, he said, ‘Everyone should go!’ We agree.
I agree, too. At least those who want to. It’s too bad the people in charge of the government space program don’t agree.