After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.
We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.
Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.
I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.
Thank you very much.
Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.
As you can see there are many obstacles that must be overcome before we can even consider space travel far from earth. The best place to solve these problems is in Earth's orbit. Instead of a trip to Mars the resources should be invested in the International Space Station and new platforms. That should also include capturing space objects for raw materials and volatiles for manufacturing in space.
We should continue to send robotic missions to Mars and beyond so we will have as much knowledge as possible if and when we are ready for a manned mission.
I think there are quite enough challenges right here to inspire our young people. Transitioning to a green economy, stopping weapons proliferation -- it's clear these things should have been started 40 years ago instead of going to the moon. Now he wants another high tech challenge to distract us from these critical problems? I love space exploration, but we're in real trouble. We shouldn't be sending more shiny artifacts out into space to show that an ADD species once lived here.
A permanent colony at the L5 point has been technically possible since the mid-seventies. Not a dinky little station, a colony. As you suggested, capture space objects for much of the raw material. I'd go the extra step and mine the Moon. Work the material there, then launch it to the colony point with mass drivers. Overcoming the tiny gravity well of the moon will be really cheap and easy. No pollution worries either way! As for the payoff, how about energy? Build power satellites that convert solar power to microwaves, beam them to Earth. Set up receivers in the Mojave and similar places, then distribute the electricity like we do now. Its doable. And it has obvious benefits.
I think that earth science and astronomy are much more important tasks than floating around in space growing crystals. Robot explorers, multi-decade missions to explore the solar system. Sun monitoring and asteroid checking are all way better than wasting money sending people into space. The ISS has accomplished NOTHING. The shuttle trips to build it were wasted. meanwhile the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite �failed to reach orbit� on a crappy booster. Re-align the NASA budget toward earth sciences and stop manned exploration.
I think there are quite enough challenges right here to inspire our young people. Transitioning to a green economy, stopping weapons proliferation -- it's clear these things should have been started 40 years ago instead of going to the moon. Now he wants another high tech challenge to distract us from these critical problems?
ReplyDeleteI love space exploration, but we're in real trouble. We shouldn't be sending more shiny artifacts out into space to show that an ADD species once lived here.
A permanent colony at the L5 point has been technically possible since the mid-seventies. Not a dinky little station, a colony.
ReplyDeleteAs you suggested, capture space objects for much of the raw material. I'd go the extra step and mine the Moon. Work the material there, then launch it to the colony point with mass drivers. Overcoming the tiny gravity well of the moon will be really cheap and easy. No pollution worries either way!
As for the payoff, how about energy? Build power satellites that convert solar power to microwaves, beam them to Earth. Set up receivers in the Mojave and similar places, then distribute the electricity like we do now.
Its doable. And it has obvious benefits.
I think that earth science and astronomy are much more important tasks than floating around in space growing crystals.
ReplyDeleteRobot explorers, multi-decade missions to explore the solar system. Sun monitoring and asteroid checking are all way better than wasting money sending people into space. The ISS has accomplished NOTHING.
The shuttle trips to build it were wasted. meanwhile the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite �failed to reach orbit� on a crappy booster.
Re-align the NASA budget toward earth sciences and stop manned exploration.