Turning Toward Home
A lot of shocking and unexpected things have happened during the Trumpocalypse, but there's one that's especially surprising to me, one that will also surprise most people who know me.
The Trumpocalypse has significantly dampened my interest in space exploration.
Not killed it completely. I still follow the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, and I'm looking forward to the new InSight Mars Lander and the New Horizons flyby of "Ultima Thule." The Chinese attempt to land on the far side of the moon should be exciting, too. But it all feels so secondary to me now. A while back, I heard the Planetary Society's Director of Space Policy say it was a good time to pitch new space missions because Donald Trump likes big, impressive things he can brag about. To me, the idea of NASA being there just to satisfy some narcissist's ego cheapens the whole experience.
But what's worse is the threat Trump and his minions are posing to the entire world, through their denial of climate change and their quest to let business destroy as much of the natural environment as possible. If we can't stop that - and in some cases we're already past the point of no return - then we at least need to contain the damage and prepare to clean it up. That, at least, is the direction I need to take my writing.
It probably helps that I've got a classic example of what we're facing right in my own back yard. Archaeologists tell us that Native Americans lived on the California Channel Islands for 10,000 to 13,000 years, and got along just fine. Then we Europeans showed up and trashed the place within two centuries. We decided there was money to be made in ranching out there, and so we loaded the islands up with sheep and goats and pigs and cattle, devastating the vegetation and tearing up the soil. Fortunately, we put a stop to it, and now a variety of organizations, both public and private, are trying to put things right.
One such group is Channel Islands Restoration, and last week I came across a fantastic opportunity from them. They were looking for volunteers to go out to San Nicolas Island (that's it in the photo above) for a long weekend working to remove invasive plants and restore the native ones. San Nicolas is a US Navy base, so it's closed to the general public. Not many people get to visit. The Navy flies the volunteers out there, and Channel Islands Restoration pays to put them up at the hotel attached to the base, all for a few days of hauling plants around.
Not only is it a great deal, but it's going to be valuable research for me. If I'm going to write about the science involved in environmental restoration, especially science that kids can get involved with, then the Channel Islands are the perfect resource. I've got plenty of writing to keep me busy for a while, but that will give me time to learn. I want to know as much of the experience as possible - what the plants look like, what the dirt smells like, how hot it gets, how tired you end up being. What's being done on the Channel Islands right now can be done elsewhere, too. It'll have to be done all over the place if the Trumpians have their way.
Plus I get to have adventures and see neat things, and it's hard to complain about that.
I always thought I'd write about adventures in outer space - and I did, once. But the urgency of the moment has brought my attention closer to home. Luckily, there are adventures to be had there, too.
The Trumpocalypse has significantly dampened my interest in space exploration.
Not killed it completely. I still follow the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, and I'm looking forward to the new InSight Mars Lander and the New Horizons flyby of "Ultima Thule." The Chinese attempt to land on the far side of the moon should be exciting, too. But it all feels so secondary to me now. A while back, I heard the Planetary Society's Director of Space Policy say it was a good time to pitch new space missions because Donald Trump likes big, impressive things he can brag about. To me, the idea of NASA being there just to satisfy some narcissist's ego cheapens the whole experience.
But what's worse is the threat Trump and his minions are posing to the entire world, through their denial of climate change and their quest to let business destroy as much of the natural environment as possible. If we can't stop that - and in some cases we're already past the point of no return - then we at least need to contain the damage and prepare to clean it up. That, at least, is the direction I need to take my writing.
It probably helps that I've got a classic example of what we're facing right in my own back yard. Archaeologists tell us that Native Americans lived on the California Channel Islands for 10,000 to 13,000 years, and got along just fine. Then we Europeans showed up and trashed the place within two centuries. We decided there was money to be made in ranching out there, and so we loaded the islands up with sheep and goats and pigs and cattle, devastating the vegetation and tearing up the soil. Fortunately, we put a stop to it, and now a variety of organizations, both public and private, are trying to put things right.
One such group is Channel Islands Restoration, and last week I came across a fantastic opportunity from them. They were looking for volunteers to go out to San Nicolas Island (that's it in the photo above) for a long weekend working to remove invasive plants and restore the native ones. San Nicolas is a US Navy base, so it's closed to the general public. Not many people get to visit. The Navy flies the volunteers out there, and Channel Islands Restoration pays to put them up at the hotel attached to the base, all for a few days of hauling plants around.
Not only is it a great deal, but it's going to be valuable research for me. If I'm going to write about the science involved in environmental restoration, especially science that kids can get involved with, then the Channel Islands are the perfect resource. I've got plenty of writing to keep me busy for a while, but that will give me time to learn. I want to know as much of the experience as possible - what the plants look like, what the dirt smells like, how hot it gets, how tired you end up being. What's being done on the Channel Islands right now can be done elsewhere, too. It'll have to be done all over the place if the Trumpians have their way.
Plus I get to have adventures and see neat things, and it's hard to complain about that.
I always thought I'd write about adventures in outer space - and I did, once. But the urgency of the moment has brought my attention closer to home. Luckily, there are adventures to be had there, too.
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