When I was little I had a disturbing recurring dream. I was with my parents, and my little sister and brother. Suddenly, the four of them broke away and started heading for a rocket ship. They were leaving me behind. I tried to catch up, but it was one of those situations where no matter how hard I ran, I wasn’t able to get anywhere. I was scared, but also, I was pissed.
Even though I now think the rocket ship is incidental to the fact that, due to the presence of my siblings I was no longer the center of my parental universe, I have transferred my feelings of fear and loathing onto NASA. Not rational I know, but these things seldom are.
After today though, I no longer feel I have anything to apologize for, having heard comments from NASA administrator (and Bush appointee) Michael Griffin in an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep this AM. His comments were in response to a scathing criticism of NASA’s culture delivered yesterday by Gregg Easterbrook, a former global warming skeptic who has seen the light. In a nutshell, Easterbrook feels that NASA is squandering taxpayer dollars and consuming massive amounts of the earth’s non renewable resources on programs that have little evident value. Easterbrook feels that NASA should spend some of the money it wants to spend on moon landings and takeoffs on the study of the earth and global warming instead. Sounds reasonable enough to me. But Mr.Griffin feels differently.
In an interview that had me hoping I was just having another bad dream, Griffin responded to Inskeep’s queries (this is lifted from NPR’s website, italics are mine).
Inskeep: It has been mentioned that NASA is not spending as much money as it could to study climate change — global warming — from space. Are you concerned about global warming?
Griffin: I’m aware that global warming exists. I understand that the bulk of scientific evidence accumulated supports the claim that we’ve had about a one degree centigrade rise in temperature over the last century to within accuracy of 20 percent. I’m also aware of recent findings that appear to have nailed down — pretty well nailed down the conclusion that much of that is manmade. Whether that is a longterm concern or not, I can’t say.
Inskeep: Do you have any doubt that this is a problem that mankind has to wrestle with?
Griffin: I have no doubt that … a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth’s climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn’t change. First of all, I don’t think it’s within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown. And second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that’s a rather arrogant position for people to take.
Beyond the fact that his own point of view seems a wee bit arrogant, I don’t really think he’s expressing what he really feels. I think he’s one of those bloodless cyborgs who believes in using taxpayer money and NASA brain power to engineer an exit strategy once this planet stops being so hospitable. Those of us not fortunate (or powerful) enough to be part of the inner circle will be left behind left behind to choke on NASA’s non- renewable exhaust.
Vox Pop Sudari 