BBC: Shuttle crew see damage on Eart

[mrfrapp]

Discovery Commander Eileen Collins described on Thursday how widespread environmental destruction on Earth is highly visible from the shuttle.

"Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there is deforestation," Commander Collins said during a conversation from space with Japanese officials in Tokyo, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Commander Collins, who is making her fourth shuttle flight, said her view from space emphasised how Earth's atmosphere must be protected too.

"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very thin," she said. "We know that we don't have much air - we need to protect what we have."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4745963.stm

[carnie_sf]

1. Sometimes it seems

like humanity is a malignant tumor on the earth

[SharonAnn]

4. I think it's Republicans, or is it Corporations, that are the tumor?

[Uncle Joe]

22. I believe it is corporations,

the Republicans are just naturally more aligned to shield them, however there are Democrats that will happily take up the slack if the Republicans bomb out. We have in essence created super citizens above us with more rights and protection against lawsuits. Corporations have no soul and care only about the next quarterly profit report. The environment is only an obstacle to be overcome, not something to protect. They believe in capitalism as long as they do not have to compete with someone else. They do not believe in welfare for the average American, however welfare for corporations is a different matter, they love that. They do not believe in independent journalism, that is why five corporations now own 80+% of the so called mainstream media. This makes it much easier to keep the average American living in a "Matrix" (see movie for details) of sorts. This also makes it much easier for their CEO's pay to go from about 25 times the average salary of their employees in 1980 to 300 times the average salary. There are however a few exceptions, enlightened CEOs if you will, but they are almost as rare as a contrite Bush moment.

[ixion]

5. As Agent Smith of Matrix fame said:

we're a virus.

[Dogmudgeon]

8. "Virus", in Latin, means "Scum"

--p!

[Igel]

34. Also 'poison'. n/t

[Dogmudgeon]

39. That makes sense

Not just for Latin, but for Humanity.

Hopefully, we'll become mutualistic rather than pathologically parasitic. Real soon.

--p!

[pauliedangerously]

10. That is why I have chosen not to reproduce...

I don't hate humanity, but human population is out of control and no-one in the forefront is addressing this issue.

You know, I have visions every day of raising kids: telling them stories, explaining things to them, taking them to museums and planetariums, going to the beach and making sand castles....

Ah, humanity.

[vptpt]

14. You should join some type of program like

Big Brother/Big Sisters or work with children in group homes. You may have made the decision not to have children, but there are lots of children already here who would love to hear your stories and go to planetariums and museums.

[Up2Late]

24. Or adopt one or more of the newly orphaned children from Iraq or

Afghanistan.

With one of them, you really could change a life.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. Cdr. Eileen Collins, on her LAST space flight, said ...

Looks like there is going to be a vacancy in the US Space Corps. When the next generation of Earth-to-orbit vehicles come into service, Cdr. Collins will be piloting a big old desk.

--p!

[xxqqqzme]

7. just what I was thinking.

guess she'll B retiring 2 spend more time w/ the family as soon as she is back on terra firma.

[pauliedangerously]

12. Aptly put

Very easily written off, though. Them scientists don't know nuthin'. Dey just want our tax money for them stupid studies that don't mean a damn thing. Who cares about the spawning habits of the snail darter?

[ixion]

3. thanks to chimpenator's so-called 'Clear skies' initiative

that egg shell becomes more fragile by the day. :-(

[klyon]

9. oh now I get it

he is clearing the skies of atmosphere

KL

[etherealtruth]

11. He just wants to restore the atmosphere to it's former state ...

... full of methane.

[BlueEyedSon]

6. From the cold vacuum of space, the importance of our oasis

is more obvious

[Jack Rabbit]

13. The GOP attack machine will start targeting her next week

It's not permitted to contradict the Emperor on science.

[bluedog]

26. thought the same thing

ooooooooooopppppsssssssssss.........there goes NASA's money for space...she told them the "truth"

[dajoki]

15. environmental damage on earth can be seen from space shuttle

"widespread erosion and deforestation" said shuttle commander. she also said from space it is clear earth's atmosphere must be protected. very interesting article, reuters 8/4/05 7:50 am http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-08-04T115014Z_01_N0475285_RTRIDST_0_USREPORT-SPACE-SHUTTLE-DC.XML

[Gato Moteado]

16. wonder what the freeper filth has to say about this

nt

[UpInArms]

17. the BFEE hates earth

http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/05-08-04/editorial.shtml

A few days before the final vote on the energy bill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to hold back a report on gas mileage efficiency of the U.S. automobile fleet scheduled for release last Tuesday. Over the weekend The New York Times reported that, according to the EPA. document, fuel efficiency is substantially lower on average now than it was in the 1980s. The law as passed contains nothing on fuel efficiency and little on conservation or reduction of dependence on fossil fuel; several amendments along those lines were proposed, but all were eventually eliminated from the legislation.

The episode puts a fitting bookend on the process by which the energy legislation passed last week was constructed. That process began, as it ended, in secrecy, with the Bush energy policy composed behind closed doors in 2001 by ex-Haliburton exec Dick Cheney and a group of oil industry lobbyists. Information about those meetings was denied to the public on account of Bush administration claims that it was not subject to open meeting laws, a claim recently upheld by an appellate court.

The resulting legislation, not surprisingly, is largely a bonanza for traditional energy companies, doling out goodies while eliminating a bunch of pesky regulations. Of roughly $14 billion in tax subsidies, these companies are receiving about $8.5 billion, despite the fact that record gas price levels are leading to record profits in the industry. The nuclear industry also did well, with provisions offering loan guarantees and “risk insurance” against regulatory delays for initial power plants to be built.

...more...

[Gregorian]

32. Wow. I'm not going there again.

What a zoo! It gives a whole new respect for the intelligent lifeforms on DU. I took it for granted.

Phew.

[truthseeker1]

18. Freepers are going nuts

Check out the discussion board over on yahoo
http://post.news.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=NEWS&action=l&ft=1&board=37138445&sid=37138445&title=NASA%3A%20Shuttle%20Flights%20May%20Be%20Delayed%20Until%202005&tid=nmspaceshuttledc&date=02-17-2004&url=story.news.yahoo.com%2Fnews%3Ftmpl%3Dstory%26u%3D%2Fnm%2F20040217%2Fts_nm%2Fspace_shuttle_dc_1&.sig=hj1hE1xjgy6FL7SECZ_4ZA--

- let's see.....claims that the article is propaganda, Collins should be fired, Collins is a registered liberal democrat....um, let's see what else....oh right, time to shoot down the shuttle - wow. The idiots on that board never cease to amaze me.

All I can say is thank you Eileen Collins for truth telling when you know it will probably jeopardize your job and Bushco will be coming after you probably even before the shuttle touches down.

[wallwriter]

19. I can't see any deforestation at the shopping mall. It must not exist.

[0rganism]

25. Gotta shoot the messenger, right?

The play isn't over until Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead!

[Felix Mala]

30. Strong words from last manned space flight...

Until some new, intrepid people come along and make it a priority again. Hate to see Bush overseeing the transition of our once great nation to a mediocre warrior state.

[MisterP]

31. what if the Shuttle crew defects?

funny how everyone thought it would be some strapping he-man weapons-fondling asteroid-miner out of Heinlein, not the wonderful teacherly persons up in the heavens right now

[anotherdrew]

37. I can't stand to even look at their filth

[Delphinus]

41. {Shaking head} ...This is so sad.

I do not belong in this world. I do not belong in this world. I do not belong in this world.

[slor]

20. And in other news, the president has decided...

that the shuttle will attempt re-entry, WITHOUT repairing the thermal blanket issue. He was reported as saying, "no need for repair" and "good luck making it back to earth".

[Algorem]

21. Can they see the huge pantload in Texas?

[Up2Late]

23. I wish they would show the world THIS Man-made Damage!

This is the Aral Sea in Central Asia, in the 1950 it was the 4th Largest inland Lake (The Caspian Sea, Lake Superior, and Lake Victoria are the first 3). The Aral Sea has now shrunk to 9th or 10th (if it's even still that). Just imagine if Lake Erie completely dried up, in 40 years, and you still wouldn't approach the devastation of what's happening to the Aral Sea.

Here's the Aral Sea you see on most maps:
or this

Here's a bathymetry map from 1997 (8 years ago), see below for a link to a recent satellite view of the Lake currently.


This map shows the bathymetry of the Aral sea in 1 meter steps for the eastern part of the Aral sea and in five meter steps for the steep western portion of the lake. The blue outline illustrates the size of the lake in the year 1960. The map shows the bathymetry of the lake The red line shows the sea level of the Aral sea in 1997. The level has decreased by 17 m, the size of the lake by 55%, and the volume by 80%.



Clicking on the thumbnail takes you to the NASA MODIS Gallery which has thumbnail several large Satellite images that are too big to link directly to here. The top image is from September 2004, it had continued to get worst since then.

If you have a slow connection, I recommend clicking on the FSI Viewer, look for this logo:

Below are more links if you are interested.

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/678898.stm>

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/773449.stm>

[crikkett]

27. I'm not surprised at these statements, what do they have to lose?

considering that their landing is going to be a nailbiter and they're spending so much time making sure they won't repeat the last landing. Makes sense that they're feeling a bit profound.

Ground control to Major Tom...

My hopes & prayers for a safe landing...

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

28. Will someone bitch slap Chimpy and show him this?

Oh that's right he doesn't like bad news

[Gregorian]

29. Healthy Forests! (see pic inside)

Thank you space shuttle!

See the quiltwork? And this is a 2001 photo. Since then, MAJOR parts of this photo are barren.




Edit- One more thing- yesterday's ride went from clearcut to forest, and the temp in the clearcut was 95, whereas the temp in the forest was 72. Go figure.

[Up2Late]

33. If you've ever wanted to see a photo of the "Amazon De-forestation"

Here ya go, today's MODIS "Image of the Day":


(click on picture)
Deep green stretches of forest reach into the marshy Matto Grosso region of Brazil in this true-color Terra MODIS image acquired July 2, 2005. Fires in and along the edges of the forest send tendrils of blue-grey smoke drifting into the atmosphere to join white clouds. At the bottom left corner of the image, an especially large fire on the border of Bolivia sends thick streamers of smoke due south. While many of the other smaller fires may be agricultural in natures, this one is almost definitely a wildfire.

To see a closer view, click the links on the right that say:

Resolutions:
1km (653.3 KB)
500m (2.4 MB)
250m (6.3 MB)

Or click on the FSI logo:

[evolvenow]

35. So sad. What planet will they go to?ET's must be shaking their heads.

How stupid can they be? Sawing off the branch you live on? We have got to act personally and locally. There are things we can do, that can have a big effect. Going vegetarian, and finding alternatives to driving, and actually all the space flights breaking the shell is ironically very damaging. We need to get sustainable now or face severe consequences.


There are so many cool technologies that have been repressed. If only that ad not kill ed Tesla at the turn of the century, we would never have done so much damage as a country.

Do research, find all of the ways, little and big to make a difference.


Does anyone live anywhere where it biodiesel is available? What about getting enough people together in an area to create a biodiesel station, and then teach others how to do the same?

Boy cott any corporation that is not sustainable, which is tough. Check out " Your money, or your life." Loads of great info for living more simply.

We really need to run out of oil SOON, so we can get on with the next step of evolution, and stop with all of the killing and destruction and use all of that energy for creating GOOD.

[evolvenow]

36. Boycott damaging and animal testing corporations, buy local/ environmental

products. think bigger, where did it come from, was suffering inflicted in the making of the products. Let companies know that you are returning, not buying again as long as they continue to harm living beings, people, animal, environment. They do not give a damn, but they do need to make a profit to continue causing harm.



kick


Also checkout the Disclosure Project.org

[Keshon]

38. So true. . .

I've thought for a long time that humanity will not change until forced to do so at the oil pump. I had hoped $2.25 gas would help, but I guess not as people are still lapping it up. The only way to stop them is to make it much more scarce - which we'll be getting soon.

My first post - hope I did OK.

[evolvenow]

40. Welcome Keshon! Excellent and thoughtful post. Agree, Oil has gotta go

kick towards sustainability and the war criminal club locked up in the Hague.