Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Admittedly I am ignorant about a lot of stuff. Can anyone out there answer this question for me?
RosieG

Admittedly I am ignorant about a lot of stuff. Can anyone out there answer this question for me?

Why is it that we have the technology to send humans to the moon and bring them back but we do not have the technology to control fires that are burning currently in Australia and have also devastated California? Fires that burn for months at a time are beyond our control. HOW CAN THAT POSSIBLY BE?

Posted - January 4, 2020
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Responses


  • 16927
    It's called global warming. The forests are drier and the air is hotter than at any other time in recorded history. With China, India and the US doing nothing to reduce emissions (Australia isn't helping either), things will get a lot worse before they get any better.
      January 4, 2020 4:36 AM MST
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  • 113301
    By getting a lot worse what do you mean m'dear? The planet is already being incinerated! After it is totally and completely destroyed what will be left to get "better" with? I'm not being a smart a**. Seriously R how much longer can this degree of destruction last till all is gone? Add to that the crazed bull paper tiger don starting an ego war? I'm all shook up (I know Elvis said it first)! Thank you for your helpful reply. So we just live through it and survive it and it will come to an end with some of us still here? Can I take that to the bank? :( This post was edited by RosieG at January 4, 2020 4:42 AM MST
      January 4, 2020 4:41 AM MST
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  • 16927
    He can't declare war without the full approval of Congress (US Constitution,  Article I, Section 8, Clauses 11-16). Hasn't happened since 1942.
    Authorized use of military force is less structured but still requires more than just the Prez, which is why he has Pompeo in his pocket.
      January 4, 2020 6:59 AM MST
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  • 113301
    Right. You TELL HIM that and see how far you get! Did Congress ever declare war in Iraq? Afghanistan? We've been there fighting and dying for almost two decades at last count. So without getting Congressional approval the crazed bull paper tiger don committed an act of war and what's worse the military obeyed him.  Why is that? I'm gonna ask. Thank you for your reply R! :)
      January 4, 2020 7:14 AM MST
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  • 3719
    It's not a matter of "technology". We have that. It's a matter of having enough equipment to fight so many bush fires raging over such huge areas.

    One failure though, seems to be a lack of sufficient fire-breaks, for whatever reason. They did exist but had not been maintained or renewed.  
      January 4, 2020 3:22 PM MST
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  • 16927
    Gladys cutting the funding is one reason. Allowing logging on the western face of the Ranges is another. Although HR burns are conducted by volunteers, they're not free - and the funding just wasn't there.
      January 5, 2020 2:08 AM MST
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  • 44705
    That is an 'apples and oranges' comparison. I have heard that argument, using the space program to compare the ills of the world, so many times it is almost cliche'. A better question is why the hell are we spending all of that money that could be used to solve more earthly problems? Slarti was correct...global warming is the problem. I have no idea what the solution to that is.
      January 5, 2020 1:16 PM MST
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  • 16927
    Renewables should be part of the solution. We should have stopped burning coal for power generation years ago. Powering transportation with emissionless fuel us another - forget BEVs, H2 fuel cells are the way of the future.
    What's needed is truly efficient photovoltaic cells. They sky is raining soup, we're trying to catch it in a teaspoon rather than a bucket.
      January 6, 2020 4:46 PM MST
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  • 44705
    Algae...it's free. Check it out.
      January 6, 2020 6:42 PM MST
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  • 1152
    The problem with controlling massive brush fires is much like the problem with Trump's suggestion that we nuke hurricanes to disperse them: the scale involved is much larger than we imagine.

    The people we sent to the Moon occupied a vehicle about the size of an RV. It took nearly 10 years, and an investment of money and scientific talent 4 times larger than the Manhattan Project to make that happen.

    How does one compare that with trying to address a problem covering millions of acres within the space of days? The scales are completely different.
      January 6, 2020 6:39 PM MST
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