Posted on 08/04/2005 8:07:09 AM PDT by goarmy
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Commander Eileen Collins said astronauts on shuttle Discovery had seen widespread environmental destruction on Earth and warned on Thursday that greater care was needed to protect natural resources.
Her comments came as NASA pondered whether to send astronauts out on an extra spacewalk to repair additional heat-protection damage on the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Discovery is linked with the International Space Station and orbiting 220 miles above the Earth.
"Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there is deforestation. It's very widespread in some parts of the world," Collins said in a conversation from space with Japanese officials in Tokyo, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
"We would like to see, from the astronauts' point of view, people take good care of the Earth and replace the resources that have been used," said Collins, who was standing with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi in front of a Japanese flag and holding a colorful fan.
Collins, flying her fourth shuttle mission, said the view from space made clear that 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."
Yeah, because I heard so much enviro-speak during my 8 years in the USAF. [/sarcasm]
We taxpayers paid for all that pollution from the rockets that gave her the soap box to make her statements.
Let her fly a desk from now on Dano.
Here you go. You were excited to see a woman commander, this is what we got.
QUEEN COLLINS?
They actually cleared all that land in order to plant crops. Today we grow probably 100 times more crops on an acre of land then we did back 200 years ago, so the need for as much cleared land has gone down remarkebly. There have certainly been places where it was cleared for railroad ties and wood energy, and there is no doubt it did damage from which we recovered as soon as it was allowed to grow back. The problem is, the astronauts look at cleared land and automatically decide it is damage. That then gets passed on as gospel and we pass a lot of absurd laws that do nothing but hurt the poorest in our society. We now have more trees in the United States than we did 200 years ago, so the argument that clearing jungle timber is doing permanent damage to the environment is not proven. We need better data than just the observations of astronauts.
Soil under the rain forest is different, and more fragile, than that under our forests. Habitat destroyed when forests are cleared is not restored simply by growing new trees. If population keeps increasing the restorations due to better technology will be lost. You're certainly right when you say that every ill-considered comment by an astronaut is seized on by ignorant partisans to support their agendas.
Canada is not deforested. Get a grip.
re #174: a picture is sure worth a thousand words, isn't it?
Because the environmental movement has very little to do with the environment. There's a reason why most "environmentalists" are on the left.
I wonder if she saw me flipping her the bird as she flew over. She never mentioned it......
I'm sorry, but the progress of the human race is far more important than conserving "nature"
See, that's the kind of knee jerk reaction comment that's totally off base.
It is possible for both the human race to progress AND for nature to be preserved. It's about making the best use of resources and not being wasteful.
The fact is, natural resources are not limitless. And the fact is there has, and continues to be much destruction with no regard to restoration or to the needs of future generations.
I'm a conservative. I'm an environmentalist. I'm not a tree hugger.
But I am very aware of the natural resources that I consume.
And that is completely consistent with the priciples of conservatism.
It's not a knee jerk reaction at all. The simple fact is that the environmental movement is more about statism and putting private property into the hands of the government than it is about protecting the environment
Agreed. There's a great deal of truth in what you say.
HOWEVER, it has grown into that because conservatives didn't take the issue that is rightfully ours. WE should be the ones protecting the environment. Not through promoting excessive regulations and land grabs, but by promoting wise use and good stewardship.
It's a leftist issue because WE let them have it.
We have more in common than it first appeared. I'm not anti environment in any way, but I'm not willing to sacrifice capitalism. I remember a report that came out years ago stating that the socialist USSR had the worst environment of any country on Earth
Understood. I just think there's an achievable balance between "human progress" and "protecting nature."
Of course there is. Good morning corin, thanks for your posts!
"...Can she see the areas in North America, where capitalism is practiced, that have more trees today than 100 years ago?
Can she see the huge reservoirs, paid for by capitalism, that hold water for millions of people?
Can she see me in my backyard flipping her commie/tree huggin' %$^ off?..."
This thread is causing a depletion of air due to intense laughter.
Her and her kind make me sick. This must just terrorize small children to death. What absolute stupidity, the world has had people up there 24/7 for years.
Remember the INTERNATIONAL WASTE (I mean SPACE) STATION.
"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (KJV)"
"Someday I would like to start up a vast array of factories.
Our only product?
Pollution.
24/7/365, my marvelous factories will belch horrible noxious gasses from smokestacks, and PCBs and other carcinogins will be dumped from rusty pipes into pristine rivers. Radiological byproducts will be shipped by the semi-trailer load in leaking barrels, and every morning, my SUV-driving employees will open the spigots on the pressure-tanks filled with greenhouse gasses that have been manufactured overnight.
"Rapicious Industries, Ltd." will someday exist, and I will be it's president."
My resume is on it's way....
after all I eat beef...
...which it turn premotes the raising of cattle...
...which in turn causes a PLETHORA of toxic gasses to be released during the passing of these gasses through the EVIL-FUME-BELCHING intestinal tracts of these animal right wing conspirators...
...sign me up....
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