Who are the Most Environmentally Friendly Politicians?

Talking Green vs Being Green

Occassionally we get emails that brighten ones day. Such is the following:

Mark ---

FWIW, I work in the Pentagon, on the Iraq policy desk.

I just finished reading Children of Apollo. I loved it.

But. (always a "but" ain't there?)

You mispelled Dana Rohrabacher's name.

I worked for Dana as his original space aide and for his first six years in Congress (then I went over to the Senate Commerce Committee staff as a space expert) (they paid more).

Now, I have to tell ya, Dana pays *very well* for his staffers, given what he could pay them, and given what other Congresscritters pay. But it ain't enough for a newly-wed with kids.

I also loved the way Pete Conrad kept popping up throughout the book. I worked for Pete as his Washington guy from 1997 until his death in 1999 -- and for Universal Space Network until 2002. You got the Pete *I* knew dead-on IMHO. What a guy. *sigh*

Just wanted to drop a note. I read the blog every day (although I gotta tell ya, I'm one of the Internet Rockteer Club bozos).

-- Tim Kyger

This is praise indeed, as Tim has worked very tirelessly to advance the space frontier from a political/activism angle since I can remember.

The book he is refering to, of course, is my alternate history book, Children of Apollo, the cover of which can be seen to the left.

My apologies to the good Congressman for getting his name messed up. It will be among a number of editing glitches that will be corrected, especially in an upcoming ebook edition for the Amazon Kindle.

I am also reminded that soon I must write an essay about the Internet Rocketeer Club, how does one spot a member, and how to avoid being a member.

The GAO has offered a report on the status of the Ares 1/Orion project. What it actually means depends on where one is at. The Internet Rocketeer Club, of course, suggests that it is "proof" that the entire project is folly and should be scrapped for something else. This is not a conclusion that the report arrives at. It does recommend:

We recommend that the NASA Administrator direct the Ares I project manager to develop a sound business case--supported by firm requirements, mature technologies, a preliminary design, a realistic cost estimate, and sufficient funding and time--before proceeding beyond preliminary design review (currently planned for July 2008) and, if necessary, delay the preliminary design review until a sound business case demonstrating the project's readiness to move forward into product development is in hand.

In other words, do what you're doing anyway. Talk about stating the obvious.

Bender's Big Score: The Return of Futurama

One thing about the negative pronouncements of Obama. Clinton, and now Tancraedo is that now space is an actual, albeit small, issue in the 2008 race. This seems to make the Aerospace Industries Association happy.

Imaging other worlds by blocking our starlight.

If you can get pass the clear liberal bias against manned space flight, this piece in the Columbia Journalism Review does make an interesting point about how the media seems to have ignored Obama's plan to gut NASA funding.

Is the jostling for territory up in the Arctic just a prelude for a land race on the Moon?

In fact, maybe not just a race.

The moon may lack traditional loot — there's no gold, no oil, no trade route — but that doesn't mean it's worthless. Harrison Schmitt, the only astronaut to walk on the moon who was also a scientist (in fact, a geologist), advocates mining it for helium-3, a rare isotope thought to be an ideal fuel for fusion reactors. Since 2002, Ouyang Ziyuan, the chief scientist of China's lunar exploration team, has made his country's intentions clear: "Our long-term goal is to set up a base on the moon and mine its riches for the benefit of humanity." But by far the moon's biggest asset is its primal cachet. Lunar settlers could brandish their nationalism over all of Earth every night. Add to that the fact that the moon is perfect practice for conquest of Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond. In human history, anywhere there's value, there are eventually property rights.

It's been several hundred years since a virgin patch of Earth was successfully claimed by anyone. Now that we may be facing valuable unsullied territory again, it would be wise to come up with a better system. Do we really want to see a repeat of the Americas, colonial Africa, or the Middle East? "As I tell my students, when humans have a conflict there are only two options: to reach agreement or to fight," Gabrynowicz says. "Even agreeing to disagree or doing nothing simply puts these options further into the future; it does not create additional options. At the level of nations, these options are law or war."

Lunar war? Over helium-3? Over a barren, inhospitable rock that costs a fortune to get to? It's not worth the effort. Of course, people once said that about the North Pole.

Apparently the Chinese are very serious about waging war in space.

The Bible, The Confederate Flag, Mars, and Other Silliness at the GOP YouTube Debate

The GOP YouTube Debate started with a country and western song about the candidates. Then it proceeded with a bang when Rudi Giuliani accused Mitt Romney of employing illegal aliens and, in effect, operating a "sanctuary mansion."

The night kind of went downhill from there.

The transcript of the question on Mars at the GOP YouTube Debate is here. As fascinating as it is to actually see a space question at one of these things, make no mistake, CNN included it because they thought it weird and embaressing, on par with the Bible guy and the guy with the Confederate flag.

My response, by the way, would be, "Yes, but not by 2020."

Elon Musk is entrepreneur of the year and well deserved too.

Roger Simon continues his analysis of why all of those anti Iraq War movies have bombed. He ends with a note of hope:

But all is not lost, cinema fans. It may be that if the Surge continues to be successful, in the not-so-distant future a wholly different kind of Iraq War movie will emerge. And they will be made by the veterans themselves. If we are particularly lucky, they will seem more like Casablanca than Redacted.

The person calling himself "Chairforce Engineer", lists some technologies that he says are essential for a space faring civilization, implying that NASA is not working on them because of the return to the Moon program. Actually either NASA or the private sector are working on most of these technologies. The one thing I would put more money into is space nuclear power, but I've heard rumors that is about to happen.

One of the great political canards is how conservatives are somehow "anti-science." The recent breakthrough in adult stem cells seems to have suggested that stereotype is a false one and that it's the left, with its opposition to genetically enhanced food and weird environmental enthusiasms, who is really anti science.

Political Movies I'd Like to See

The top ten cheesiest monsters from classic Star Trek.

Tom Swift - The Movie

Addendum: Green technology? Well, OK, but I always liked Tom's adventures in space the best. Still, I disaagree with Quint about setting the series in the 1910s (very politically incorrect if you've read the books) or even the 1950s-60s (the era when I read them.) Tom is eternal and is available for each generation.

Alan Boyle has more on Obama's plan to gut NASA funding.

More on China's space ambitions.

"If China can go to the moon, eventually with a manned program, it will represent the ultimate achievement for China in making itself essentially the second most important space power, accomplishing what even the Soviets had not," says Dean Cheng, a China military analyst for CNA, a private research corporation. Watch China's lunar rocket blast off »

According to Cheng, the Chinese are now embarking on a systematic space program the world has not seen since the 1960's and for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States is facing real competition. That may explain why the head of NASA, Michael Griffin, recently warned that "China will be back on the moon before we are . . . I think when that happens Americans will not like it."

But there could be a lot more at stake than just lunar boasting rights. It's unlikely the Chinese will land at Tranquility Base and pull down the Stars and Stripes. But the goal could be mining resources. One powerful, potential fuel source is helium-3. Helium-3 originated from the sun and was deposited in the moon's soil by the solar wind. It is estimated there are up to two million tons on the moon, and virtually none on Earth.