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Environmental damage on Earth seen from shuttle
Reuters ^
| August 4, 2005
| Jeff Franks
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."
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anthrreasontoditchit; astronuatesspms; badlogicalert; blahblahblah; discovery; earth; environment; greenschmeen; idiotsavant; jewishmomspacequeen; liberalyapfodder; rocketsciencenut; shuttle; sierracluborgasm; whoaskedyou
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To: goarmy
widespread environmental destruction on Earth On what continents and in what countries?
141
posted on
08/04/2005 10:09:22 AM PDT
by
OXENinFLA
(Aug. 6th, the anniversary of Hiroshima. Let's celebrate by Nuking Tehran!!)
To: Antoninus
Antoninus said:
But that's not what the article implied, was it?
Oh yeah? The astronaut said:
"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.
What part of
some parts of the world tells you she was talking about the US? The parts of the earth with widespread deforestation are not in the US, but in the tropics, especially the Amazon basin and Indonesia. It is seeable from space. I have seen pics from some of the satellites and there are times where an amazing number of fires are burning up the forestlands there.
Here's a pic from 2003 that shows the huge numbers of fires, most intentionally set, to clar land (and it's just from a small piece of Brazil:
http://www.osei.noaa.gov/Events/Fires/Brazil/2003/FSMHSbrazil288_N6.jpg
Too big to post here here. Every single red flick is a fire. And the smoke is visible from space. And the burned clearings afterwards are too.
Some parts of the world are deforested. Some parts of the world practice good land management. No where did she say the US was guilty of being eroded and deforested. Draw what conclusions you like, I didn't see where she implied where the US was in that condition.
142
posted on
08/04/2005 10:19:27 AM PDT
by
Knitting A Conundrum
(Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
To: msf92497
Yeah, they should have a national lottery for interested parties who would like a ride up there. I would enter!
143
posted on
08/04/2005 10:24:00 AM PDT
by
ScudBud
To: liberallarry
"Science is about guessing, or at least about making judgements using best evidence."
Guessing is only one aspect of the scientific process. Guessing subjects the scientist to scrutiny, and that's why she's getting slammed here. Like many of our contemporaries have stated so eloquently on this thread, she needs to provide details (corroborated theory = fact) in lieu of brushing broad strokes.
144
posted on
08/04/2005 10:32:25 AM PDT
by
goarmy
(Sam Adams was a patriot AND a brewer)
To: goarmy
"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very thin..."Correct me if I'm wrong,but isn't it the "thin eggshell" atmosphere that's threatening the space craft's return(due to insulation tile damage?Isn't that what took down the Columbia?The big lie of the "environmentalists" is that the ecology is "fragile".
145
posted on
08/04/2005 10:33:01 AM PDT
by
kennyo
To: brytlea
Maybe they could go out a few thousand miles and she can marvel at how small the earth is.
146
posted on
08/04/2005 10:34:34 AM PDT
by
RobRoy
(Child support and maintenance (alimony) are what we used to call indentured slavery)
To: goarmy
Just great!! Now they're sending environmentalist whacko's up in the shuttle on our dime.
To: goarmy
"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very thin..." ...and the people that inhabit the Earth look like ants. and ants can hardly be seen.....oh my gosh, they are endangered!!
To: clee1
"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... Huh? And just how does this idiot propose that we replace the resources we have supposedly "used"?
It's going to take her a long time on government pay to replace the resources used to send her up in the Shuttle.
149
posted on
08/04/2005 10:38:32 AM PDT
by
RJL
To: goarmy
Didn't anyone ever tell you Ms. Collins; it is excessive hairspray use that is depleting our earths atmosphere.
To: goarmy
HOUSTON (
Reuters) - Commander Eileen Collin . . . . (snip)
probably all you need to know . . .
151
posted on
08/04/2005 10:43:15 AM PDT
by
smonk
To: goarmy
"We know that we don't have much air" That's very flamin' obvious.
152
posted on
08/04/2005 10:44:40 AM PDT
by
Darkwolf377
("The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they'll be when you kill them."-Wm. Clayton)
To: goarmy
Guessing subjects the scientist to scrutiny, and that's why she's getting slammed here Scientists commenting on contentious issues are always going to get slammed...regardless of their preparations, care, supporting evidence, soundness of theory, etc.
she needs to provide details
I'm sure she will in her report. She may already have done so (on NASA site?) but had the details removed by the media. Sensationalism is their bread and butter, you know.
To: goarmy
"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg Isn't that redundant? I mean, where else would you expect to find an eggshell?
To: goarmy
This is exactly why you don't ever want to fart in your space suit.
To: goarmy
"Sometimes you can see how there is erosion..."Its called the "Grand Canyon."
To: Knitting A Conundrum
Draw what conclusions you like, I didn't see where she implied where the US was in that condition.
She didn't. And if I had to guess, I'll bet she did single out some areas of the world which were more affected. This was most likely excised by the Reuters editor so that the article could serve their purpose.
And note that I wasn't the only one who drew that conclusion. This article, written as it is by Reuters primarily for an audience of liberal Americans and, coincidentally, featuring the Prime Minister Koizumi is meant to be fodder for the "It's America's fault for not signing Kyoto" crowd. Do you disagree?
I am fully aware that serious environmental degradation is occurring in many places around the world--very few of which are in North America. But I think we can agree that the US signing the Kyoto accord will have little to no impact on what happens in, say, China, India, Brazil, or the Philipines.
157
posted on
08/04/2005 10:53:52 AM PDT
by
Antoninus
(Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Hosanna in excelsis!)
To: brownsfan
I've noticed the same, and not just today. It's very distressing. This is a conservative forum. For those who don't know a forum is.
Some comments deserve raspberries. As someone who is occasionally subject to the flames, my rule on FR is: If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
158
posted on
08/04/2005 10:55:50 AM PDT
by
Antoninus
(Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, Hosanna in excelsis!)
To: liberallarry
Science is about guessing, or at least about making judgements using best evidence.I respectfully and strongly disagree; and leave it at that.
159
posted on
08/04/2005 11:00:44 AM PDT
by
Publius6961
(Liberal level playing field: If the Islamics win we are their slaves..if we win they are our equals.)
To: goarmy
And they're going to have to do something about the shuttle exhaust polluting the south pole.
Maybe a new coating on the external fuel tank...
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