From the Bridge
The official launch of the SPACE PIONEERS and the BIFROST campaign.
As issue number 150 of the island Earth Daily was approaching, we decided to launch our new vision in waiting: Space Pioneers. We will continue with island Earth as our think tank and research unit. Space Pioneers will be the cutting edge of the campaign to inspire ten million people within 10 years to participate in a vision for space, one that is essential to assure human survival on Earth and across the cosmos.
The name of this campaign is Bifrost, which is a Viking word for the mythical rainbow bridge from Earth to the celestial realm. We must build this bridge to open the way beyond Earth. The key action in constructing this bridge will be the building of solar power stations in space, which will allow industry to be launched beyond Earth and also the construction of orbital space settlements.
As described in the following article, ‘Our Survival Insurance Policy’, a key reason to act is the knowledge that another giant asteroid will arrive to strike the Earth one day and if we are not in a position to deal with it, or move out of its way, it will be hasta la vista baby for us.
EARTH CHANGE
A more urgent reason to act is the warning that we may only have 10 years to know what we are doing to get through potentially very dangerous Earth change events, which could build toward a perfect storm of catastrophes. The problem could begin within 5 years, with our shaky carbon economy getting the wobbles as peak oil digs in, which could already be happening with the current economic crisis.
Beyond this, 2020 could be a problem year, or sooner, as nations struggle to deal with increasing environmental problems driven by a sudden overdose of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air from burning so much fossil fuel during the industrial era, including:
a warmer world resulting in droughts, fiercer storms, heavier rains, increased flooding and the movement of ecological areas,
a rapid increase in the level of species extinction as a consequence,
famines resulting from a loss of food reserves,
warmer oceans rising higher due to thermal expansion,
melting polar ice adding to sea level rise and
changes brought on by increasing levels of CO2, including
changes in plant biology making some food crops less nutritious and more toxic, which is also causing the drying of rain forests like the Amazon, which become more at risk from fire and
CO2 entering the oceans turning them more acidic and threatening the ocean food chain,
which along with overfishing, damage to coral reefs, warmer ocean waters and dead zones growing in size and number,
could ultimately lead to algal blooms in dying oceans releasing toxic hydrogen sulphide gas that can kill life on land and destroy the ozone layer.
It is now suspected that methane clathrates are beginning to dissolve in the Arctic Ocean, which along with the release of methane and CO2 from melting Arctic permafrost, could send so much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, that a runaway greenhouse effect may be unavoidable, triggering further release of methane ocean clathrate deposits and the drying of forests and soils, which release more greenhouse gases to drive the process with a vengeance.
As a consequence, to survive on Earth humanity may need to live on Earth more as if we were living in space, where the extra energy that could be provided to Earth from solar power stations in space may be needed to build our way through dangerous Earth changes and also used to mine excess carbon from the air as a resource, where we could use the muscle of space technology to win back a safe Earth and in the long-term, also protect the Earth from the many threats in what is really, a rather dangerous old Universe.
LIVING IN A BUBBLE WORLD
The increase in the temperature of the air is causing the atmosphere to expand like a bubble and this is making the air thinner, forcing the prospect of having to extend the tarmacs of airports so that planes can generate enough lift to take off. Using fossil fuel as our main energy source for 4 decades too long has created a bubble world on Earth, where we now need more than 1.5 Earths to keep the game going, racing toward 2 Earths by 2030.
This situation is totally unsustainable and when the bubble bursts, which it must with business as usual, this could be the trigger for global collapse and the end of our game. In a nuclear armed world, should nations panic as catastrophes strike and the need for resources becomes desperate, conflicts could slide all too quickly into nuclear madness.
We are demanding too much from the life-support systems of spaceship Earth. This crisis could have been entirely avoided, if we had begun to build solar power stations in space in the 1970s. We failed to act and now we pay the price.
The price will be very high as the crisis gathers strength, but we can get ahead of the catastrophe, if we act swiftly to build a sustainable survival presence beyond Earth, inspiring the spirit of survival in the human heart and motivating action to solve any problem, on Earth and in space.
Overdrive with space development will over-ride the forces gathering to destroy us on Earth.
SPACE PIONEERS
As governments on Earth are not looking to space, it will be up to the people at the grass roots to wake up, demand action and initiate actions of their own, that will save our hides and offer a future for our children and grandchildren.
Space Pioneers will lobby hard for our resource wealth to be invested in the building of solar power stations in space, as the essential survival insurance policy that we cannot hope to survive on Earth without. To succeed in this, a support base of 10 million people within ten years may be critical, simply to get ahead of problems on Earth that could end our days in the cosmos.
Space Pioneers is now open to all who would like to participate. A burning question is: how to be effective with our mission to inspire ten million people to participate in this vision within 10 years and actually cause action to happen. We can lobby, but talk may not be enough. The L5 Society attracted 10,000 members and would-be space colonists in the 1970s, but this number did not translate into a serious presence beyond Earth.
If it was easy to fly beyond the Earthly nest and build a human civilization in space, it would all be history now. This will not be easy, but it is achievable, when a large enough number of people on Earth decide that it must happen.
THE BIFROST CAMPAIGN
In the light of the urgency of this need, we are launching the Bifrost campaign, inviting a team of 10 people to work together to raise $10,000 within one year, which may be the only way that we can put serious muscle on our lobbying and build the strength of support and commitment needed to succeed. When it comes to survival, failure is not an option and while all our eggs are confined to the Earth, our survival remains at risk.
Honesty will be a critical quality for all involved in this mission, so that progress can be made faster with the speed of trust. Like two wings of a bird, to fly we will also need the quality of care for others. Space Pioneers will need to be engaged with helping to build a healthy society with a healthy environment on Earth, so that we can look toward a peaceful world as the best way to maximise security in space.
When the first team of ten has successfully raised their first sum of $10,000, then they will be able to divide into two teams of five and take on 5 new recruits each to form two new teams of ten, to raise $10,000 within one year.
The acid test will be with the first team succeeding, which will set the rhythm for subsequent teams.
With the 5 to 5 mix with each new team, space pioneers will also be able to work in pairs and in this way, the Bifrost campaign can grow from strength to strength, from a strong foundation to the potential of ten million committed people with a hard head for survival, prosperity and creative opportunities for all Earth’s children on Earth and among the stars. In this way numbers of space pioneers involved could grow quite large, slowly and steadily, from strength to strength.
Local HQs could be space centres, which are also involved in raising funds for the mission and include a space cafe, shop, gallery, education room for school groups and a workshop area to pursue projects and experiments, from rocketry to growing food in space and the design and management of an orbital space settlement.
The simple act of raising funds toward achieving that which is being lobbied for politically, will strengthen the arguments. Funds raised could be initially put into ethical investment fund and as funds grow, a percentage of the money raised and gaining interest could be directed toward educational scholarships in space related fields and also research projects.
In the longer term and as the campaign gains momentum, actual investment in the essential infrastructure of space can be looked toward, to build the solar power stations in space, which are the key to survival on Earth and the way beyond Earth, which will allow industry to be launched in space and the construction of orbital space settlements to begin.
In addition to promoting the space vision, lobbying for action and raising funds for survival, space pioneers would also be involved in civic needs, to help build a more peaceful Earth, so as to maximise security in space, by building good-will. Hands-on projects can include:
working with youth, which could be with a space club,
working with the poor in society and also those who find themselves homeless,
seeking ways to end poverty and homelessness in a community context
creating employment opportunities, where space pioneer fund-raising projects may also grow into real employment opportunities, offering real work with real pay and
working with communities in poorer parts of the World, with a view to a future in the Solar System when there will be no poverty or starvation.
The Bifrost campaign could also strengthen local economies by increasing demands for goods and services.
With a view to the Liberty Line, the line in space development that when reached there will be no further cost to Earth, where all subsequent development will be essentially free and the return to Earth on the investment will be infinite, we can look to a future where an investment account is opened for each child born to the Human family, to cover their health and education needs toward becoming a full participant in the Solar Civilization. In this simple way we may effectively increase security in space, by tackling the root causes of resentments on Earth and generate the level of good-will that will lead to peace on Earth and security in space.
All parents have children and wish the best for their future. A focus on the health and happiness of all Earth’s children may be the only way to peace on Earth and security in the celestial realm.
FIRST STEP REMEMBRANCE
One milestone of the year can be the remembering of the Moon landing, recapturing each year that moment in July 1969 when millions of people around the World stopped to listen and watch, all at the same time around the 24 time zones, as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Sea of Tranquillity and shared those immortal words, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” This can be a shared international event called First Step, in honour of humanities first step beyond the Earthly nest onto another world in the celestial realm.
In Eastern Australia the next First Step will be at 12.56pm on Monday 21 July 2012. For people in America, it will fall on the Sunday. Find out what the time and day of the next First Step will be in your time zone and consider participating.
A plaque on the Moon lander still on the Moon reads, “We came in peace for all mankind.” In this spirit, First Step can be dedicated to peace on Earth and an end to war.
GIANT LEAP DISCUSSION
The First Step remembrance can be followed each year by a Giant Leap discussion, happening locally wherever there are people interested and also internationally via the Internet, to consider where we go next in the Giant Leap beyond Earth.
NOT FOR PROFIT
Space Pioneers will be a not-for-profit organisation that is dedicated to establishing the basic infrastructure of survival, the bridge from Earth to space that we cannot hope to survive on Earth without. We will build the foundation of a strong economy in the Solar System, one that will last as long as the Sun shines.
SECOND LIFE
We have purchased a space station in Second Life and now hunt for the best location for this and our international showroom in the virtual world, which can also serve as a model for space centres that could be established as Space Pioneer HQs around the world.
Do you know anyone who would like to participate in this great adventure?
Failure is not an option.
Space Pioneers enquiries Email: [email protected]
Postal Address: PO Box 1848 Sunshine Plaza 4558 Queensland AUSTRALIA
The Daily Twitters
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Starfarer will be the team leader in Second Life and as above, will now compile the daily twitters.
Stjarna Szondi, with his pet dragon dreki, is heading off on his Viking dragon ship across the oceans of Second Life, in pursuit of the arts and a creative life and like a true Viking, will be searching far and wide for the treasure of ideas. He is launching a twitter book called ‘Lovebird’, set in real life and the virtual worlds. ‘Lovebird’ can be followed on twitter as it evolves:
Stjarna_Szondi
Stjarna might be expected to call into the Space Pioneers showroom from time to time, checking out the action and hunting for stories, as writers do.
About Kim Peart (Starfarer in Second Life)
Born in 1952, I was fascinated by the Space Race during high school years, kept a scrap book of the events and would like to have been an astronaut, but that didn’t happen. I watched the Moon landing on TV in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1969 and heard those immortal words from the Sea of Tranquillity, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” When I read of Gerard K. O’Neill’s vision for space settlement and development in 1976, in a science fiction magazine, which could have been Starlog, I was transfixed, joined the L5 Society in the United States and launched the Hobart L5 Society in Tasmania, later to become the Southern Cross L5 Society with members across Australia and New Zealand and which was given an Australasian launch at the observatory at the Rocks in Sydney in February 1982. I returned to space advocacy in 2006, when I wrote ‘Creating A Solar Civilization’, which was spurred by the need to expand beyond Earth to be in a position to survive a monster meteor that may come this way. In 2007 I proposed the First Step idea to remember the Moon landing, at the same time as the first step onto the lunar surface in 1969. In July 2007 I opened the Tasmanian Space Centre as part of my art gallery, Vanemonian Art, on Rosny Hill across the River Derwent from Hobart, where the first First Step remembrance was held, along with a display of newspaper stories from the time. In late 2007 I migrated north to Brisbane and in early 2008 attended the Australian Space Design Competition for high school students, held at the University of Queensland. In early 2009 island Earth was launched and has been the flag-ship for research that has carried us through to this time, this day, with the launch of the Space Pioneers.
Pic: This is our space station in Second Life, which has a rotating drum area that will allow visitors to gain an impression of what an orbital space settlement could be like. On the left is Visinda (Dr. Jennifer Bolton) and on the right is the Space Pioneers’ team leader in Second Life, Starfarer (Kim Peart).
