SpaceX to Fly Two Tourists to the Moon in 2018
By Sydney Robinson
Private space exploration company SpaceX has announced its most ambitious mission yet—a plan to orbit the moon in 2018.
The company headed by scientific and tech mind Elon Musk claims that their mission is on-target, including having recruited two astronauts that have elected—and paid a hefty chunk of change—to have the privilege of going into space.
If everything goes as planned, the two space tourists would launch in late 2018 in a Dragon 2 capsule launched by SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. They would float past the moon before being pulled back in by gravity and returned to the Earth's surface.
If SpaceX is successful in their venture, the two volunteers will be the first of humanity to take the trip in more than 40 years. Since the successful trips around and on the moon more than 40 years ago, no man (or woman) has made it anywhere close to the big cheese in the sky—mostly due to the fact that scientists felt they had gathered enough information and could not justify another expensive and dangerous trip around the moon just for the sake of doing it.
Still, SpaceX clearly has something to prove and taking a trip around our small orbiting crater is an important next step. SpaceX has announced plans in the past to take humanity all the way to Mars in the next few years, so this trip will be considered a vital prerequisite for that ambitious project.
Meanwhile, some are skeptical that SpaceX is attempting too much too soon.
Mary Lynne Dittmar, executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, said in the New York Times:
"It strikes me as risky. I find it extraordinary that these sorts of announcements are being made when SpaceX has yet to get crew from the ground to low-Earth orbit."
While the tourists would be trained, they would mostly be relying on automated systems during their trip, meaning that they would have nowhere near the survival training that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts experience. If something were to go wrong, they wouldn't be much help in saving themselves or their spacecraft.
This new venture of private companies tackling the space race is a test for the government and society. If SpaceX can prove its worth by safely transporting these tourists and returning them back home, safe and sound, it will go a long way in proving that the private tech and space company has what it takes to get us to Mars.
Reposted with permission from our media associate The Ring of Fire.
Teenagers See Renewables as Fuel of Their Generation
By Andy Rowell
Donald Trump this week is launching an "energy week," pushing the argument that the U.S. will become a net exporter of oil and gas.
The president and his cronies are talking about a new era of "U.S. energy dominance," which could stretch for decades to come. However, no one believes the president anymore.
France to Ban All New Development of Shale Oil and Gas
By Andy Rowell
There is a growing feeling within European capitals that a quiet, but deeply positive, revolution is happening under Emmanuel Macron in France.
Macron's opinion poll rating is high, especially boosted in how the young French president has reacted to Donald Trump on the international stage.
Schwarzenegger and Macron Take Selfie Video to 'Make the Planet Great Again'
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger posted a selfie video Friday with French president Emmanuel Macron, in what some are reading as Schwarzenegger's latest jab at President Trump on climate change.
This Blog No Longer Accepts Comments, Thanks to GMO Trolls
With regret, I asked my site managers at Cre8d to block all future comments to my site, Food Politics.
The GMO trolls—people who post deliberately hostile comments—have defeated me.
SeaWorld Subpoenaed for Executives' Comments on 'Blackfish'
According to Bloomberg, "SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. received a subpoena earlier this month from regulators investigating disclosures and public statements by executives, including comments about the Blackfish documentary that caused a public backlash against the confinement of orcas.
10 Fashion Brands That Will Keep You and Planet Earth Looking Good
By Mary Mazzoni
In 2013, shoppers were reacquainted with the tragic story of their clothing when a massive factory collapse claimed the lives of more than 1,100 Bangladeshi garment workers.
The nonprofit Fashion Revolution, formed in response to that disaster, continues to track the apparel industry's progress on environmental stewardship and human rights. But four years later, big brands are still not doing enough to disclose their efforts to customers, the organization concluded in a recent report.
Huge Milestone: Renewables Now Provide More Electricity Than Nuclear Power
The latest issue of the U.S. Energy Information's "Electric Power Monthly" (with data through April 30) reveals that—for the first time since the beginning of the nuclear era—renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar—inc. small-scale PV, wind) are now providing a greater share of the nation's electrical generation than nuclear power.
Tour the World's Largest Indoor Vertical Farm
Check out this great 360° virtual reality video by NowThis on the world's largest indoor vertical farm, AeroFarms. Located in Newark, New Jersey, AeroFarms grows more than 2 million pounds of greens a year without sunlight, soil or pesticides.
As reported by EcoWatch in July 2105, the $30 million, 70,000-square-foot AeroFarms headquarters dwarfs Japan's (already impressive) 25,000-square-foot vertical indoor farm, which had been the world's largest until now.
'There's No Such Thing as Clean Coal'
"There's no such thing as clean coal," according to this ATTN: video.
Watch above as ATTN: explains the many hazards of coal beyond carbon emissions, that no matter what there's no reviving the coal industry and how investment in renewable energy is the best way forward.
Share this video if you think America needs real energy solutions.
