Weve trashed the oceans; now we are turning space into a junkyard for billionaires

[lordsummerisle]

Experts say rocket emissions affect our climate and cause ozone loss, yet too few people seem to care.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/11/weve-trashed-oceans-now-turning-space-into-junkyard-for-billionaires-elon-musk-tesla

[VMA131Marine]

1. Space is big

"Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mindbogglingly big it is. I mean you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space."
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

[ms liberty]

3. This. n/t

[bullimiami]

2. Space doesnt care and doesnt matter except

For how it aggravates us.

The oceans we need to keep healthy for our survival.

[hunter]

4. Of all the things I worry about, that's not one.

Automobiles and airliners are far more loathsome, largely because they are so common.

The Falcon rocket burns liquid oxygen and kerosene. It's cleaner than the Space Shuttle's solid boosters. The rocket's turbopumps burn rich, you can see the sooty turbopump exhaust in this photo of an engine test:



wikipedia

Rockets burning liquid oxygen and liquid methane might be one way of dealing with this problem.

Unlike Musk, I don't believe humans will ever have a significant presence in space beyond low earth orbit. The environment is simply too harsh for fragile human biology.

If we don't screw up as a species maybe our intellectual descendants will explore space. Imagine artificial intelligences or genetically engineered creatures who can walk around stark naked on the surface of the Moon, Mars, or even Pluto. If we maintain good relationships with them, if we are good parents, maybe they'll take a few of us along for the ride.

The way things are going now, I don't think humanity is going to end up as anything more than a peculiar layer of trash in Earth's geologic record, and a negligible amount of trash in space. As others have noted, space is very very big. Humans are very, very small.

This Earth has seen many innovative species come and go. We're not the first and we won't be the last.