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Shifitng Gears

It's time for a change

Go!

PSA

Claim

Humans are running out of time.

Scientists say we have until 2030 until climate change runs us into the ground. The fate of the world is in our hands, yet we are doing nothing about it. Meanwhile, space exploration -where most of our tax money goes- produces only a couple of pictures of unreachable galaxies every few years. Leaving us to wonder: Is space worth it? Simply put, no. Now is not the time for space, there are oceans waiting to be explored, and the elephant in the room: The immense threat of climate change. Now is the time for Earth.

Oceans

Oceans are often neglected in the shadow of space exploration. But there is so much that is yet to be discovered down there! According to "Mars Can Wait Oceans Can't," there is major importance deep in the depths. The author states, "Ocean organisms are said to hold the promise of cures for a variety of diseases. An examination of the unique eyes of skate (ray fish)led to advances in combating blindness. The horseshoe crab was very important in developing a test for bacterial infection." Another issue is water shortages. The same text explains the severity of this problem."By 2025, 1.8 billion people are expected to suffer from severe water shortages. That number will jump to 3.9 billion by 2050, well over a third of the entire world’s population." Oceans contain the answers to many of the world's problems. More funding would help find a cheap way to convert salt water to drinkable water. This can change the way humans get water and will give us access to a majority of the Earth's water. Supporting Earth instead of space would be beneficial and would change billions of lives.

(Continue to the next slide for the next piece of evidence)

Climate Change: Ice Caps

Global warming. That term has been brought up many, many times in the 21st century. Because of global warming, one of our defenses against radiation, the ice caps, are rapidly wasting away. NASA's article, "Vital Signs of the Planet," shows the importance of the ice caps. "The ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica store about two-thirds of all the fresh water on Earth. They are losing ice due to the ongoing warming of Earth’s surface and ocean. Meltwater coming from these ice sheets is responsible for about one-third of the global average rise in sea level since 1993." Not only do ice caps protect us from the sun, they contain drinking water. And when the rest water mixes with salt water, it is harmful to the native sea creatures. The ice sheets are melting at a rate of 424 tons per year and are raising the ocean levels. (Via NASA)

The ice caps reflect harmful radiation and heat from the sun

The melting ice caps mean a higher sea level

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Another issue that is contributing to climate change is rising carbon dioxide levels. Yet another problem that has been brought up over and over. According to NASA's "Vital Signs of the Planet" (again) article states, "Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the planet, causing climate change. Human activities have raised the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide content by 50% in less than 200 years." Studies also by NASA also show that there are over 420 carbon dioxide molecules for each 1 million dry air molecules. There are several space missions that track carbon dioxide and claim to help the Earth, like the OCO-2 mission. But ironically, it also contributes to the problem. See, the spacecraft released more carbon dioxide when it blasts off, and it was also very expensive, at over 7 million dollars. This is the case for all spacecraft when they have to blast off into space. Earth research should be done on Earth, where it belongs. Not in space, where transporting equipment is harmful and expensive.

Climate Change Part Two: Deforestation

Conclusion

Space exploration is not worth it. It's time will come, just not when we have our hands full on Earth! Climate change and ocean explorations are just a tiny bit of what's in store on our planet. Time to make a change

‘Outer space is a concept, not a place.’

- C. S. Louis