Sunday, 24 January 2021

'Sold' down the River?

Perhaps, if we purchase from Amazon, we should think about another of Jeff Bezos's cunning plans, largely funded by its profits. His 'Blue Origin' (a misnomer if ever there was one!) company will charge small groups of very rich folk for brief visits to 'space' (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jan/22/spacewatch-bezos-blue-origin-really-close-flying-humans). Tests with Blue Origin's New Shephard rocket are almost complete and it is almost ready to take passengers. It appears to be a race against competitors who are developing similar 'enterprises'. What seems to be overlooked in media treatment of, what well might be a lucrative enterprise, is the impact on global heating and climate change. There is not much point cutting back on commercial aviation to reduce the release of 'greenhouse gases', if space tourism 'takes off'. The New Shepherd rockets (as will the competition's crafts) will leave enormous carbon footprints, for a few minutes of entertainment (bucket list anyone?). The climate change produced, might well be another nail in the coffin of the original Amazon (and the rest of the planet).

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