Tim Seaton

Space exploration is a hotly debated topic right now in the world. Some people question if it is worth the time, money, or if it is even important. Countries put millions into space programs, so obviously it is important to them, but what is the result of this investment? Is investing in space exploration so important it is worth the time and money spent on it? If it is, then we should continue investing in it; but if not, then why waste the effort on it?

There are some reasons why space exploration is not a good investment. Some of these reasons are people thinking it will use too much of our resources, we could use the fuel used for the space program here on earth, space exploration is only important to a select few right now, and almost all the planets are too far out to reach in a lifetime.

We could manage our resources by not focusing on space travel right now. We could be improving our technology now and then using it to create more affordable space travel. It could save us tons of time and money instead of starting it now. Also, natural resources are limited on the earth. When we are sending people into space, we are using up some of those resources that can’t be easily replaced, if at all. We should be using our resources to better our planet now, and when it is better, then we should invest because that is when it will become important.

Also, we could be using our fuel for gas here on earth where we could lower prices, save money, and use that extra money to go into research for items that would make space exploration more affordable and easier than it is now. We would be wasting fuel by going to Mars and trying to establish a colony there because Mars is so far away, and they would have to take our limited amount to there at one time. It would be a waste of fuel and space to try and take it all up at one time, so why do it at all? Wait until we can use fuel more efficiently. We use money for the use of other projects that in turn can help the pace program, but we should use the money for projects that will definitely help us on earth until it is necessary.

Right now, space exploration is only important to a few people compared to the whole rest of the world. The price from a Virgin Galactic airlines space flight that is 5 minutes long for one person is $250,000! That is a whopping $50,000 a minute. A flight in a two seater rocket from Xcor will be $95,000 a person. All of the available options right now are much too expensive for anyone but millionaires and billionaires, and even they may be hesitant when they see the exorbitant prices set in place, even when they have the money to do it. They will want to use their wealth on things that are better than what other celebrities have. No common folk can pay these prices, so why invest in what you can’t and won’t make much money on? Put that toward something actually useful like making new technology for businesses that are producing items every person can use.

Also, most of the stars and planets are too far off to reach in a lifetime. Jupiter at its closest is 377,866,000 miles away from us. It would take us 4 years to travel to Jupiter with our modern technology, but as our technology advances, we are able to decrease that time and the amount of money spent to make that trip there and back. We should wait until we can use our resources better and make the time shorter.

There are also many good reasons why space exploration is important. Some of them are understanding and protecting our planet, new technology, answering big questions, international co-operations, long-term survival, fuel, and promoting scientific education, new discoveries, and mapping the solar system and seeing back to our planet.

First, space exploration is important because it helps us understand and protect our planet. For example, when we were trying to build a spaceship to fly through space, we had to learn what the gravity was so we can know how much thrust and fuel we need. We had to know what materials weighed so we could find the escape velocity of the ship. Every little variable played a key part of getting that ship into space. From this we learned just a few of the many wonders and interesting ideas the universe holds for us to discover. If we have all of what we have here on earth, what could we find on other planets humans have never set foot on? We should explore to find out what is there, and so this is important to us as humans and our society advancing. We need to keep exploring what will help us as a society.

Another reason space exploration is important is because of the technology that can be created for the space program. When we are making spaceships, we are finding and creating more and more technology we can use for other reasons. We are finding ways to make ships faster and more aerodynamic. We can apply this to other man-made objects like cars to make them better. We are creating new computers that are smaller and making programs for them we can use in those objects. Many of the technologies we are creating for spaceships can be applied to many other products, so it is important because it helps us improve what is happening here on earth as well as other planets. One example is the parachutes spaceships use upon entry back into the atmosphere. The parachute material was found to be a great material to make tires out of, so now there are tires and parachutes made out of the same material. Also, there are the red light emitting diodes. There is chemical detection used for leaks in spaceships, and so we use that here on earth as a chemical detector in radioactive plants to detect leaks. They help growing plants in space, and they have been converted to help on earth with healing humans. We can keep innovating things like this so we can use more and more of this technology on the earth. We can use pretty much anything if we are creative enough to find uses.

Space exploration will also help with answering big questions. One of the most hotly contested questions is are we the only ones out there in the universe? Some others are how did the universe come to be? and how did life originate on the earth? When we are flying through space, we are able to explore places and find answers to these questions. We can use space exploration to answer questions if we look hard enough, long enough, and use the right resources and manage them. Space exploration will also open up new questions to us as we explore more and more of space. If we keep exploring, we will have new questions opened up to us that will help us understand the world and space more. One example of this is the probe we sent past Jupiter. It found out the big red dot was a storm and Pluto was a dwarf planet. We can keep answering these questions we have by exploring more and more of the galaxy.

Space exploration fosters international cooperation. When countries see a common goal, they will combine. The space program promoted global cooperation. The United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, England, and many more made an agreement to work together for the good of humans to explore space. Before, the U.S. and Russia had the Cold War in which they were both trying to get to the moon before the other did. This feud stopped when the U.S. got there first and an international alliance was made for the sake of space exploration. Many ships sent into space have had crews of many different countries. Space exploration is drawing countries who used to be enemies together as allies. The more we keep finding common goals like this, the more we can keep cooperating with those countries.

Long-term survival may also rely on space exploration. Right now, the earth’s population is growing at a crazy rate. Eventually, the world will not be able to hold everybody. Currently, manned missions are being planned to go to Mars to start a colony. The companies running it are hoping for the astronauts to start up the livable arrangements so others can move in and make more room on the earth. If we moved 1 billion people, then we could free up considerable space for others on earth. We have some technology to be able to get to planets, but we are not prepared yet. It is important to get there because humans’ long-term survival may rely on us getting there and being able to live. When others say space exploration is only important to a few, it isn’t. We don’t know when we will need more space, so why not start now? We should be prepared for the worst to happen. If something like a nuclear war happened, would we not want to be able to leave and go to a clean and unspoiled planet?

There is also fuel we do not have here on earth. The fossil fuels here on earth are slowly becoming a less and less reliable source because they are being used up and unable to be replenished fast enough, so sources will eventually run up along with the oil. We will need more fuel soon, and that can be solved by mining fuels on the moon. The main one that would provide us with the most fuel is helium 3. This substance could fuel us a lot better than what we have now. It could last longer and give us more fuel. It would also help with our long-term survival. This is definitely a good reason why we should explore space.

Exploring space also helps up with being able to map out space and find new objects. With the Hubble Telescope, we have been able to find out about new galaxies and stars. We have been able to track weather patterns with satellites. Space exploration has made all of this possible. We are able to warn people of hurricanes coming toward them days in advance because of the satellites and space exploration. We have been able to map out our galaxy because of space exploration. Many things here on earth have been made possible by space exploration, so it is obviously important to us and we should continue doing it.

We should also explore because once you start exploring and advancing technologically, you start decreasing your ability to keep creating more new technology. We should be able to continue that exploration of finding new technology by continuing the space exploration. One example of this is zero gravity. If we had not explored space, we would never know about this. We should keep exploring because we will find more out.

Finally, space exploration is important because of kids. Space exploration encourages scientific education and kids to delve deeper into the science of it. When people have something that interests them, they want to learn more about it. Through the space program, kids hear about it and are interested in it. They want to know about it and what they can do with it. It interests them in a whole new topic. It pushes us to the limit of what we can do. We are always facing new problems we find, and so it is showing when you face a problem head on, it be easier than trying to avoid it. One example of this is being educated in science class. When we learn about space, we are able to learn about science and the interesting pieces of it, so students get hooked and want to learn more.

In conclusion, there are many parts to each side of this argument. Because of the ability to further our technology, protect the planet more, help students become better educated, obtaining resources we don’t have here on earth, long-term survival, international cooperation, and answering big questions, I say the benefits outweigh the harms. Therefore, I think investing in continuing space exploration is a good idea.

Tim Seaton

The world as we know it is declining in its beauty and increasing in the amount of pollution that harms it. We see more and more factories in place of the trees. We see more smoke than we do clouds in numerous places. We see the artificial lights of man instead of the stars of the heavens. We see roads and stores where nature used to reside. All of this is because men are taking nature and turning it into places for them to make money. We make the world worse for our gain. If we continue this, we may not have anything left to gain from.

There are lots of negative ways we are making the environment less healthy because of our advancements. Some of them are pollutants leading to acid rain, deforestation, landfills, the creation of nuclear energy that leads to radioactive waste disposal, pesticides, smog, and soil pollution. These are all pollutants men have enabled to happen with the technology we have. We could have none of these if we figured out a way to effectively use and create energy.

First off, there is acid rain. Acid rain is any form of precipitation with high levels of nitric and sulfuric acids. It can also occur in the form of snow, fog, and tiny bits of dry material that settle to Earth. Acid rain comes down and decreases or totally ruins the plant it falls on. We can stop this by decreasing the usage of the objects that create the acid rain. Andrew L. Lewis Jr. said, “Saying sulfates do not cause acid rain is the same as saying that smoking does not cause lung cancer.” He is stating things we do and create are causing us problems as definitely as smoking causes cancer, so we need to stop. We need to stop creating what is making the problems, because, until we do, there will be problems.

Next deforestation is a big problem. Deforestation is the destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year. This could be a rain forest or any other type of forest or even just some trees. We can stop illegal deforestation by putting people to patrol areas where it is illegal or have some sort of security measure. We can stop legal deforestation by being content with what we have and not needing to be bigger and better than everyone else. Prince Charles of Wales said, “Forests are the world’s air-conditioning system — the lungs of the planet — and we are on the verge of switching it off.” He knows that as deforestation is happening, the air that flows in the world becomes thicker. Even though each tree makes very little difference, altogether, if every tree is dead, we will be dead. We need to take any efforts to stop deforestation from happening.

Pesticides are another way of pollution. We use pesticides to kill bugs or other harmful organisms. We use harmful substances to the bugs and other organisms, but they end up harming our plants also. When we are using the pesticides, we are basically killing off part of our economy. We use money on the crops and the pesticide and end up wasting them both. We need to stop using pesticides and find something else that will help kill the bugs off but keep the plants alive. Masanobu Fukuoka once said, “The final principle of natural farming is no pesticides. Nature is in perfect balance when left alone.” He is pointing out that before we added harmful things to the plants and nature, it was perfect, so why do we need to add them?

Nuclear Energy is another negative way we affect the environment. We are harming the universe. It is defined as the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat, which most frequently is then used in steam turbines to produce electricity in a nuclear power plant. The term includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay, and nuclear fusion. We can stop nuclear energy by finding different ways to create lots of energy efficiently and easily. Mark Z. Jacobson has been quoted saying, “Every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on clean renewable energy and one more dollar spent on making the world a comparatively dirtier and a more dangerous place, because nuclear power and nuclear weapons go hand in hand.” He is noting that when we spend a dollar on nuclear energy, we may as well be spending a dollar to make the world dirtier.

Radioactive waste disposal from nuclear energy is also a problem. It is burying what we humans cannot handle. Even when buried, it will slowly spread out, although after a long time the waste will be totally dissipated. In this time, there is the possibility it could seep into waterways or into the ground our animals eat from. It is also harming the ground it is in. That ground will not be able to be used for a long time after that, so we should not even consider this option. James Buchan said, “For 50 years, nuclear power stations have produced three products which only a lunatic could want: bomb-explosive plutonium, lethal radioactive waste and electricity so dear it has to be heavily subsidised. They leave to future generations the task, and most of the cost, of making safe sites that have been polluted halfway to eternity.” He is taking a stance on the fact that right now, we are not doing anything positive with nuclear energy and the waste it makes, so why use it at all.

Next are oil spills. They are made by man’s error in their creations. They are the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity and is a form of pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. It often kills many animals in the water and makes that water unusable, but it also happens on land. It makes the land unusable like water, but it can release fumes that affect the area around it. It can kill wildlife and forests there. It also wastes the oil and the resources spent to obtain it. We can stop this problem by creating objects less flawed or by finding other effective means of getting the oil. Billy Nungesser said this about the BP oil spill in 2010: “They said the black oil wouldn’t come ashore. Well, it is ashore. It’s here to stay and it’s going to keep coming.” Even when we don’t think oil spills could hurt the environment much, we couldn’t be much farther from the truth. Almost every animal who comes in contact with it is hurt for life, if they don’t first die because of it. The land is rendered unusable for a long time after it happens.

Next is smog. Smog is defined as fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants. Some of the ways we can stop smog are to stop creating smoke or other pollutants. We can have more eco-friendly cars such as electric or hybrid cars that use the sun for some of their “fuel.” We can create objects that will cut down on pollutants. Michael Connelly once said, “The setting sun burned the sky pink and orange in the same bright hues as surfers’ bathing suits. It was beautiful deception, Bosch thought, as he drove north on the Hollywood Freeway to home. Sunsets did that here. Made you forget it was the smog that made their colors so brilliant, that behind every pretty picture there could be an ugly story.” He is stating that even when something like sunsets look beautiful, there is often an ugly story behind it, in this case, the smog.

Another pollutant problem we have is soil pollution. This is when humans put things we are not supposed to into the dirt. Some examples of this are toxic chemicals, pesticides, lead, sewage, and metals. Others include acid, solvents, and herbicides. Leftover ash can get in the ground through coal production and disposal. Pesticides are also a type of soil pollution. When it is sprayed, the excess seeps into the ground and can stay there for longer than 40 years. When we are putting these in the ground, we are putting harmful substances there. We can stop this by just stopping the polluting we are doing. Wendell Berry said about soil pollution, “The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” He is saying that with the soil being polluted, we will not have most of our lives and our needs cannot be fulfilled.

Landfills are places where lots of damage is being done. People think landfills are great ideas, but they have their flaws also. They are a place to dispose of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil, especially as a method of filling in or extending usable land. They are harmful, though, in some ways. When we put electronics in landfills, we are accidently putting in toxins such as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, PVC, solvents, and even some lead. All of these are harmful not just to the land but potentially to the humans working there as well. We can eliminate this risk if we find better ways to dispose of the waste, such as recycling our waste. We can use this possibly to create more energy or at least not have to release more pollutants creating more energy. “A landfill-based system presents substantial long-term risks of increased water and air pollution. Landfills are often viewed as nuisances in communities, they provide few jobs to the local economy, and may depress surrounding property values. Once a landfill closes, the land has limited use for future development. Thus, the social costs of shifting to a landfill based system are great, especially in communities.” This shows landfills aren’t that much of a help to the world right now. It lowers the value of everything around it and doesn’t allow for much to be done with it after it is closed.

We also have many good ways we help nature. Some of these are finding ways to create less pollutants, wildlife conservation, recycling, and landfills. They are all ideas that have shown how to create energy efficient ideas that don’t create pollution either. They can be made even better if worked on and spark ideas for even better inventions.

First off, there are many ways we can create less pollutants. One example is alternative fuel/hybrid cars. These are vehicles that run on a fuel other than traditional petroleum fuels. It also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involve solely petroleum. Some of these cars are the Toyota Prius, Ford Escape, and the Honda Civic. They all use gas at some times, but their main fuel is the battery that charges between drives. Most companies are starting to develop hybrids that run mostly on fuel. They are able to be used and not be polluting the universe any more than necessary. Companies are making more and more hybrids to save money, gas, and not pollute the earth as much.

Next there is wildlife conservation. This is protecting areas of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study. We have been able to keep endangered species from becoming extinct. This has happened with the gray wolf, the brown pelican, the Aleutian Canadian goose, and many others. There are hundreds of wildlife conservations and national parks, which both provide safe havens for animals worldwide. We make more and more every year. Security around some conservations are extra protection for the animals, yet some poachers still get into them and kill animals. We need to try and have all animals in wildlife conservations or other safe havens or they might go extinct as well. With wildlife conservations, we can also protect the plants that are there. We need to protect them because they are a key part of our nature’s way of life also.

Recycling is another great way to protect nature. Recycling is converting waste into reusable material. We do this by first loading our recycling into trucks. We then put items into hoppers in which the material is funneled into different stations where workers sort it into what it is made of. Trash continues on the line and is sent to landfills, and recycling items are sent to be sorted more. They are then put into machines that smash glass bottles and put them in separate containers to be recycled. All the other material goes into a conveyor that drops off metal and plastic and lets cardboard and papers go. These are hand sorted and go into sorting bins that lead to a fiber baler to be recycled. Plastic bottles go into the container baler. Metal cans are put on a separate baler to be recycled. David Korten said,

To achieve true sustainability, we must reduce our “garbage index” — that which we permanently throw away into the environment that will not be naturally recycled for reuse — to near zero. Productive activities must be organized as closed systems. Minerals and other non-biodegradable resources, once taken from the ground, must become a part of society’s permanent capital stock and be recycled in perpetuity. Organic materials may be disposed into the natural ecosystems, but only in ways that assure that they are absorbed back into the natural production system.

He is pointing out the fact we need to be able to return what we have used so we do not run out of resources or make the earth a terrible place. If we do, then we will not have a society that runs or works like we have it intended to.

Finally, there are landfills. As stated earlier, landfills are a place to dispose of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil, especially as a method of filling in or extending usable land. Landfills have some good properties that come along with the bad ones. They are able to extend land that is somewhat useable. They let the government monitor the waste disposal. Maybe the most needed reason for landfills is it allows all the problems stray waste can leave to be concentrated in one area. People may ask, how is this good? It allows all the chemicals to be concentrated in one area, leaving all the other land to be good for things that need soil such as growing crops. It lets us gather waste so the country can know what is being used. We can learn much about people just from the trash and waste they produce.

In conclusion, we definitely need to find more ways to create energy efficiently yet eco-friendly because it is one of the biggest problem causers for pollution. We need to find better ways to kill the nuisances that don’t harm crops, the ground, or the farmers spraying it.  We need to find ways to make oil transportation that will not fail, and we need to find ways to make more safe ways of making energy and eco-friendliness. We need to make the world a better place. We need to take care of the world God gave to us. He wants us to care for it, not make it a place filled with pollution and war. Not a wasteland of hate and ugliness. We need to be better stewards of the land we have been given.