From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Tue Mar 13 2001 - 06:22:12 MST
The following snippets from a post to a green group about militarization of
space development. These indicate a small note of some green ideas opposed
to general commercial development, though:
>If the US is allowed to move the arms race into space, there will be no
>return,' says Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against
>Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. 'We have this one chance,' he emphasises,
>'this one moment in history, to stop the weaponisation of space from
>happening.'
>Gagnon, the leader of the nine-year-old Global Network, based in Florida
>with affiliates throughout the world, adds: 'For years we polluted our
>lakes, rivers and oceans thinking that the solution to pollution was
>dilution. Today we know this was a mistake. But space is now viewed
>similarly - that it is vast and limitless and that nothing we do in the
>heavens will have any consequences.'
>
>'For thousands of years our relations have marvelled at the moon and stars
>while sitting by their campfires,' muses Gagnon. 'Even today, no matter
>where we live on this planet, we all still feel connected to the night sky.
>It is a common experience that we all share. Now imagine putting military
>bases on the moon, or constellations of space-based lasers orbitine the
>Earth. Imagine weapons in space, possibly powered with nuclear reactors.
>These are not images that we can accept. We must move now to protect space
>like we would any other vital wilderness. The heavens must be viewed as a
>preserve from weapons, nuclear power and massive commercial development.
The
>sky is not for sale.'
>Citizen action at the grassroots is very much needed. 'Creating a global
>democratic debate about the kind of seed that humankind should carry into
>space is the ultimate goal of the Global Network,' says Gagnon. The group
>seeks to organise 'a collective voice that calls for protecting space from
>the evils that we have sown on this Earth.'
>The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space PO Box 90083,
>Gainesville, Florida 32607 USA. Tel: +1 352 337 9274
>globalnet@mindspring.com: www.space4peace.org
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