Prince William criticises space race and says focus should be on 'repairing this planet'

[Still Waters]

The Duke of Cambridge has called on the focus of the "world's greatest brains" to be on "trying to repair this planet" rather than blasting off into space.

William criticised the modern space race and space tourism in an interview set to air the day after Star Trek’s William Shatner made history by becoming the oldest person in space.

The duke, who was interviewed about climate change ahead of his inaugural Earthshot Prize awards, said: "We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live."

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-10-13/william-criticises-space-race-as-he-calls-for-focus-on-earth-instead

 

[psyche101]

Someone's jelly.......... 

 

[+ouija ouija]

I agree with him. Youngsters don't have a grasp of the bigger picture and all the constant scaremongering must be very frightening. When I was in my teens we were constantly made to believe that an atomic bomb attack was imminent. There was even a public information film about what to do if one landed near you . . . the safest places to hide; to make sure you had plenty of water and food stored to use in the weeks, months, when you were obliged to stay inside and not go out at all.

William is right, let's take care of the beautiful planet we already inhabit.

[Still Waters]

Why does it have to be one or the other? Why not do both?

41 minutes ago, Still Waters said:

The Duke of Cambridge has called on the focus of the "world's greatest brains" to be on "trying to repair this planet" rather than blasting off into space.

 

[jethrofloyd]

94% of the our world oceans is unexplored. Let's first do it.

[quiXilver]

"Do Better."  Says the potential heir to the wealthiest land hording hegemonic family in the world...

His message is strong, but coming from such a source, it rings a bit hollow with irony.

[Still Waters]

William Shatner hits back at Prince William's criticism of space travel

William Shatner has hit back at criticism from Prince William saying the heir to the throne is "missing the point" about space travel.

"The point is these are the baby steps to show people [that] it's very practical. You can send somebody like me up into space."

He added: "He's a lovely Englishman. He's going to be King of England one day.

"He's a lovely, gentle, educated man, but he's got the wrong idea."

He said the flight was the first step to get "polluting industries" off of Earth.

https://news.sky.com/story/william-shatner-hits-back-at-prince-williams-criticism-of-space-travel-12434230

[Grey Area]

On 10/14/2021 at 12:16 PM, ouija ouija said:

I agree with him. Youngsters don't have a grasp of the bigger picture and all the constant scaremongering must be very frightening. When I was in my teens we were constantly made to believe that an atomic bomb attack was imminent. There was even a public information film about what to do if one landed near you . . . the safest places to hide; to make sure you had plenty of water and food stored to use in the weeks, months, when you were obliged to stay inside and not go out at all.

William is right, let's take care of the beautiful planet we already inhabit.

The two are interlinked.  This is the problem, there’s such a short sighted view of space exploration and industry.

technological innovations within this industry aside, the privatisation of space launches, coupled with the development of more and more efficient launch craft are driving down the costs of launches.

As space becomes more accessible so does the potential for industry to move into orbit, asteroid mining, off world settlements.

If we were able to move industries off world, reduce the need to mine the earths resources, that has got to be a huge environmental win.

These technologies and the skills needed to operate them need to be developed.  The efforts of the people working to make all this possible should be applauded, but it’s a process that takes a little time, but if it means that a few personalities show off in their own programs so be it, if you own a supercar, you may as well take it for a drive.

All this takes is a bit of vision, just take a step back and see beyond Shatner and the headlines, there’s a bigger story there.

[toast]

Its always some kind of funny when members of the high nobility feel forced to give advise how to save the planet. Mr. Louis is a member of that club of hypocrites and maybe he should be informed that his personal carbon footprint (boosted by multiple life places, a fleet of vehicles including airplanes and helicopters, hundreds of clerks to keep the infrastructure running etc) exclude him from any discussion about environmental protection/saving.

[+and-then]

On 10/14/2021 at 6:26 AM, Still Waters said:

Why does it have to be one or the other? Why not do both?

 

Precisely.  I can understand why some would want to prioritize the climate issue but it is irrefutable that most, if not all of our technological advancements over the past 50+ years were either a direct result of the space programs or at a minimum they benefited from that program.