Act Now - Change the Future (Greenpeace International)

Barack Obama, President of the United States

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

And every other Head of State of the so-called developed nations,

Dear Sirs,

We expected the climate summit in Copenhagen to agree a fair, ambitious and legally binding treaty to protect the climate.

You know the science is clear – to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global average temperatures must peak well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and return far below 1.5°C thereafter. This requires cutting emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 80 percent by 2050.

This is needed to ensure the survival of the world’s most vulnerable nations and ecosystems and, ultimately, all humanity.

Although you and other political leaders collectively failed to get the agreement needed, the fight to save the climate is not over.

The decision to move the legal agreement to 2010 provides a last chance for you to demonstrate leadership. In order to secure agreement you, as Head of State must remain engaged until the treaty is in effect.

We expected leadership from you. We still expect you to deliver. The coming months offer the last chance for you to show us that leadership. Failure is not an option. You cannot change the science; you can change the politics. If the politics don't change, we have to change the politicians.

Industrialized countries bear an historic responsibility, have the greatest capacity to take action and have the highest per capita emissions. As a leader of an industrialized country, your responsibility is to commit to deep emissions cuts.

At Copenhagen, the so-called 'Accord' was presented as a ‘take it or leave it’ deal that was rightly rejected by many countries and not even formally adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP).  The 'deal' is in fact a major concession to climate polluting industries. It will propel the world towards a 4°C temperature rise, with all the devastating climate impacts that this entails.  A legally binding agreement is needed to avert climate catastrophe - and this is what we need you to deliver in 2010.

You must: take a lead; commit to emissions cuts of 40% by 2020; commit to provide funding to help developing countries onto a clean energy pathway, protect tropical forests and adapt to climate change impacts that are now unavoidable. And this must be enshrined in a legally binding treaty.

These are the first essential steps to getting the deal the world needs.
The world is watching. I can assure you that we will not stop until the necessary action is taken. 

Please, ACT NOW - CHANGE THE FUTURE


Sincerely,

Jesus Iglesias Saugar

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Katie, this is one is for you and all my Webber friends

A few weeks ago, a big friend of mine brought me back some memories from the good old times. It was Katie, my favorite Brit girl as I used to call her. Katie, a fantastic person (and better football player ;) I was lucky enough to share some time with a few years ago at a business school -Webber International University- somewhere in central Florida.

While routing through her Webber stuff looking for some documents for an interview, she just happened to come across an old piece of paper. An old piece of history she immediately sent to me on an inspiring, “just-made-my-day” facebook message. It was a little “poem” I dedicated to her back then. It seems I even signed it four times, maybe because my pen wasn't working that day or just out of pure overexcitement.

I wrote it for a “Humanities Survey” class, with the legendary Miss Mark, as part of a group representation of a Dead Poets Society's gathering. We put on some candles, turned off the classroom lights and “sucked the marrow out of life” for a while with our emotion-full readings.

This is one is for you, Katie. This one is for all of you: Yuiti, Emerson, Radovan, Magnus, Hernan, Nacho, Leigh, Chori, Kike, Christophe, Oyvind, Chino, Pete ... and all the great people that made the best year of my life possible. This is my little thank you to all of you guys. Will never forget those times. Will never forget you.

“Love?
Overused word, overwhelming feeling.
It's human, it's real.
It's all around, it's in the end.
It's inhuman, it's unreal.

Want to know?
Sorry then,
cannot describe, cannot tell.
Go out there, find out.
Love, and let be loved.”

Lovely yours,

jesus

PS: As they say, “You get to see everybody at least twice in your life.” I only saw you once …

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Hey there ET! This is Jesus from the Blue Planet...

If you had to sum up Life on Earth in 160 characters, what would you say? If you had to express your own life in 160 characters, what would you say? If you had 160 characters to communicate with somebody from another planet, what would you say? If you had 160 characters to tell ET about what you have lived, what you have felt, what you have dreamed, what you have loved ... what would YOU say?

Wait not more, you can now do just so. That is the original initiative -Hello From Earth- put in place by the Australian science magazine, Cosmos, within the framework of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. It is also sponsored by NASA, the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

"Hello From Earth" aims at sending a friendly, "earthy" signal to the only known-to-date habitable alien planet: Gliese 581d. This interplanetary message will be beamed to Gliese 581d from NASA's Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla (Australia) on Friday 28 August 2009. It will be composed of some few hundreds 160-characters text messages (just like an SMS) coming from just about any person in the world that wants to participate. If you are keen to do so and send a little "hello world" greeting to our most likely ET-type neighbor, you can still do so until Monday 24^th (hurry up dude!). Just pay a visit to the program official website, log in on the "register" section and … come up with your own, once-in-a-lifetime idea!!

Artist impression of Gliese 581d. Source: European Southern Observatory

Gliese 581d constitutes the first discovered (April 2007) exoplanet -an alien planet outside our Solar System-, that lies in the habitable zone: the so-called area around a planet's star where the temperature is "warm" enough to allow for the existence of liquid water (a key element for life as we know it) on its surface. As a matter of fact, our ET candidate orbits its parent star (Gliese) in about 66 Earth days. Add that up to Gliese 581d being a "rocky planet" -with a solid core the likes of Earth's in terms of composition- and you will get the possibility of oceans and continents. Waters and lands for life to emerge. There is a little particularity regarding Gliese 581 d though: it's about 8 times the size of Earth! For that reason, it receives the charismatic label of "Super Earth". Some astronomers even suggest, a bit jokingly though, that our intelligent counterparts over there, if they exist, may be up to 8 times bigger than us!! No chance for Earth on a "universal" basketball game ;-(

Habitable zone. Source: ESO/Franck Selsis, University of Bordeaux

Let's now respond to those little dilemmas that are surely "hunting" some of you: when is this "message" going to reach its destination? Are we going to get a reply? And if so, will I still be here by then? Let's play the numbers then. Gliese 581d finds itself some 20.3 light-years (194 trillion km) away from us, in the Libra constellation if you want to have a look. That implies that, as our electromagnetic signal (similar to what cell carrier's antennas transmit when you send a regular SMS) travels at the speed of light (yeaahhh) it will take 20.3 years for our bunch of binary-coded text messages to reach Gliese 581 d. Now, let's just suppose there is an intelligent (as "smart" as us at least), technology-capable civilization there. Give them a time period of, say, a year to decipher our message: extract the actual information from the "galactic" noise, figure out the codification, the English language, etc. Then, tally up the return-trip and you get a tentative total of about … 41-42 years to get a response! Yeah, my dear fellow, a few of us may still be here by that time. What a pleasure it would be...can you imagine!!

Ok, ok, things are getting a little sci-fi here, aren't they? Well, in fact, no. The likelihood of extraterrestrial intelligence existing is not at all negligible in a universe as immense as ours. As a proof to that, Dr. Frank Drake figured out the odds of ET (in our Milky Way) in the sixties. He did so in writing the beautiful equation that bears his name: the Drake Equation. Such count, though trivial at first glance, set the path for an intelligent search of intelligent life through the vastness and darkness of Space.

More around the same lines, despite the apparent craziness of the idea, this is not going to be the first time humanity attempts to communicate with its counterparts out there, much less listen to them. In the early 1970s, the Pioneers probes 10 and 11 (unmanned spacecraft) carried small metal plaques identifying their time and place of origin (Earth) as well as their creators (see the famous design of a male and female bodies in the image below) for the benefit of any other spacefarer that might find them in the distant future. Later on that decade, NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 went a step further in the spirit of the Voyagers, bearing a more ambitious message: a gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images portraying the diversity of life on Earth. For the record, the Voyagers are still going on in their exploratory trip, having already surpassed the bounders of the Solar System, they now found themselves in the interstellar medium. Definitely a super accomplishment for humanity! Other enterprises followed suit, like last year's NASA broadcast (from Madrid's, 64-meter, Deep Space Network antenna) of the Beatle's song "Across the Unvierse" to Polaris, the North Star; or Bob Marley's reggae rhythms being sent spaceward by Cosmic Call -a private venture- a few years ago. As you can witness, my dear alien-seeker, we are eager to communicate, we have stuff to say.

Pioneer's message to the stars. Source: Hello From Earth.

But what about the listening part? Remember the movie "Contact"? With Holy Hunt sitting on those huge antennas, desperately trying to unmask "artificial patterns" from the background noise of the Universe? Well, let me tell you something: this isn't just happening in the movies. Not only we have had some of our humongous, dish-like "ears" permanently tuned in on the "out there" for a while now (since the 80s); but, as our astronomical knowledge furthers, we are starting to point in the right directions. Current NASA's Kepler mission and CNES's (French Space Agency) COROT mission, both looking for Earth-like exoplanets, represent two good examples of mankind's strong efforts to narrow down the entire sky to some countable amount of stars likely to harbor habitable planets. The infinite haystack of heaven is in fact getting smaller, and so our holy needle in it will soon become a lot more "findable". And guess what, a few of us are still going to keep throwing those 5-cents coins at the "Fontanta di Trevi" in Rome, Italy, in exchange of an "space wish". Someday, it will pay off and, till that day comes around, I am just gonna continue believing…in magic ;-)

NASA's Deep Space Network antennas. Source: JPL/DSN NASA

Speaking of life in the Universe, a crucial proof to the Panspermia theory (the seeds of life on Earth having come from other celestial bodies the likes of comets and asteroids) has just been encountered last week. One of the science teams from NASA's Stardust mission found some glycine among the returned samples from the comet Wild 2. Glycine -the simplest amino acid used to make proteins- constitutes a major building block of life as we know it (organic based). So yeah, the ingredients for life are floating out there in space. It's all juts matter of probability.

Probability, you know, like the driving topic of the fascinating Chaos Theory, better know perhaps as the Butterfly Effect. Probability, like the almost zero (0.0000000...something) likelihood of me writing this article and you reading it. So, how come, you are surely wondering. Plain answer, my friend. Because the universe Universe is simply huge!! Certainly, the path that led to you and I being here right now is unique but, have a farmland large enough (say, infinite) and your one-of-a-kind vegetable will grow in pairs. The probability of life in the Universe or, in other words, the mission of the SETI Institute: to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.

In brief, from our end of the story, we are proactively bringing what it is needed to the table: being both eager to understand the information, in all its forms, coming down from the Universe, and broadcast our own. Hence, if a bunch of "evolved monkeys" are capable, I don't see why another planet like ours, or 8 times bigger for that matter, cannot be doing the exact same thing? They may have their own SETI at Gliese 581d, or even a more advanced one, who knows. Possibilities are endless. Nobody expresses it better though than Mr. Wilson da Silva, the Cosmos magazine editor: "We don't know if there's life on Gliese 581d and we don't even know if there's a technical civilization capable of detecting our signal. But we do know that it might have the conditions for life. And as soon as the conditions for life existed on Earth, life emerged." And as for the disturbing dilemmas in our minds, Jacqui Hayes -assistant editor for Cosmos- has the right remedy: "And the question is...will we get a reply? No one knows...but why don't we send a message and find out?"

Here I leave you with the good stuff. Messages from our own selves. From people like you and me that just want to know, that just want to find some company in the infiniteness of Space and maybe, who knows, share a ride together. After all, isn't it what life is all about? Drops of life and love enclosed in 160 characters...

"2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29 31 37 41 43 47 53 59 61 67 71 73 79 83 89 97 101" -Sam
from Adelaide, Australia.

"Chocolate cake: 175g margarine 175g sugar 3 eggs 150g flour 50g cocoa 1tsp baking powder 1tsp vanilla extract Oven: 180C, bake 50 minutes Enjoy!" -Michael Baek from Ishoj, Denmark

"Care to enlighten us about the beginning of the universe? We've narrowed it down to the Big Bang or God." -Swirlz from Sydney, Australia

"hi i am ELias. i am 14 and i comme in peace. i am an earth child and i wanna learn so much about the life on you planet. bye and greathings from the earth." -Elias from Mortsel, Belgium

"Kick it to me! Kick it to me!" -Peter from Sydney, Australia

"Love!Love!Love!" -Marija from Skopje, Macedonia.

"Hey there! This is Jesus from the Blue Planet. In the name of my species -Mankind-, I send you some of our best stuff: Hope and Love. Come, we'll have fun ;-)" -Jesus from Aranda de Duero, Spain.

(You may find more of those beauties in here)

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Sustain-ability ... the Spanish Way

Last July, the "Fundación Universidad Rey Juan Carlos" (URJC) held a one-week summer course at Aranjuez (a middle-sized city about an hour-drive south of Madrid). It was not, however, what you would expect from a session of this nature (summer in Spain!!), say, a half-filled classed of not-so-motivated students just hoping to get some credit hours for mere attendance. Much on the contrary, this time was indeed very different: not only the classroom was packed but, most participants, lectures as well as students ranging from a diverse pool of backgrounds and ages, contributed to a very dynamic and constructive debate. The cause? Pretty simple in fact, a very appealing and up-to-date topic: "The Energy Challenge of Climate Change: Technologies for a Sustainable Energy".

The degradation of the environment, the Climate Change menace, the complex energy equation, the implications on society and its peoples...We live in a globalized world for the good and for the bad. Nonetheless, there is reason for hope, big time. As mentioned, one could sense in this debate at URJC an atmosphere of interest and motivation. A big majority of participants were first-years college students who, despite some understandable fears towards public attention (which "old wolfs" like myself don't have anymore ;-), showed deep concerns upon these threats as well as encouraging willingness to take a leading part in the fight against them. Yeah, my friend, people, specially youngsters (whom the future belongs to), do care about global issues. I don't know whether or not we are going to meet these challenges, so as to paraphrase Barack on his inaugural speech, but, one thing is certain, the need for change is in the minds of today's generations.

Over the course of the 5-days, a broad variety of subjects were covered: starting up from (day 1) a general introduction on the challenges posed by sustainability and the expectations over energy technologies; followed by (day 2) a briefing on the future of fossil-based solutions, with CCS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration) playing a big part; (day 3) an introduction to hydrogen (plus hydrogen batteries and electric vehicles) as a key energy vector for the future together with other more conventional renewable energies (day 4); and concluding (day 5) by the point of view of the administration on green technologies and sustainability.

Many different perspectives were presented: technological, scientific, social, from the government, NGOs (Greenpeace, WWF, ...), the UN, etc. In this regard, we had speakers coming from universities (URJC, Helsinki University of Technology), private companies (Repsol, Iberdrola-Renovables, Elcogas), research centers (CSIC, CIEMAT, CNH, CIUDEN, INCAR), state-run agencies and ministries (EREC -European Renewable Energy Council-; IMDEA-ENERGIA; IDEA -Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, etc.), producers associations (APPA), etc. Besides, some of the current as well as future approaches to the possible solutions were equally treated.

But, on top of it all, the way the course was conducted represented a truly novelty, in my opinion, as it shed light on two fundamental aspects:

• First, the regular citizen's view: what we can do as individuals, communities, associations, etc.

• Second, society's perception of all these matters. Concretely speaking, how people's formed ideas can lead to the rise or falling of some solutions over others. The "people's factor" should thereby not be underestimated as, many times, can outweigh other more "scientific" reasons. This consequently highlights the role of the media, of journalists as "mediators" between reality and the perception the general public gets of it.

Let's then move onto summarizing some of the general conclusions of this successful summer course:

...

Current energy models:

• The current energy consumption rate is not sustainable, particularly in developed countries such as Spain. Thereby, a new energy model is required, one where fossil fuels will diminish their relevance as primary sources or energy.

• Oil and other fossil sources should not be used as fuels, but rather as raw materials for the chemistry industry. As things are today, to continue to burn the remaining oil reserves is nothing but "burning our own home furniture". Whenever the oil world production reaches a maximum -Peak Oil-, cheap oil will be finished forever.

Source: wikipedia

• Cleaner fuels are much much needed. Among those, hydrogen and clean electric energy, coming form renewable sources, are some of the best candidates at present time. In view of supporting a massive, industrial-scale development of these technologies, active policies must open the way urgently.

• All primary sources of energy are necessary, including nuclear. They do not compete against each other, in fact, they are complementary. Countries with a strong dependence on foreign energy resources, Spain being the case, cannot allow themselves the luxury of excluding any primary source, not even nuclear as long as power-plants are within their projected lifetimes.

Energy efficiency and savings:

• Without a doubt, the easiest and cheapest way to cut down energy consumption is to make a more efficient use of every form of energy, avoiding squanderings and improving energy performances along the way.

• Energy consumption rates must be reduced in a great amount in the countries with the largest CO2 emissions per capita, i.e., western countries. On the other hand, developing countries do not fall into this category just yet, as they still have the right to progress just as their rich counterparts did. Nonetheless, this "development" should be performed in the most sustainable manner with quantitative aid and technology transfer from the "other" side of the world.

The 2025-2030 scenario on energy technology alternatives:

• As a temporary solution (short term), natural gas can be a decent alternative for electricity production as long as it is combined with CCS techniques.

• Biofuels and hybrid vehicles (electricity+fuel) seem to be adequate, less CO2-emitting alternatives in the transition towards a "fully clean" transportation sector. As a matter of fact, second-generation biofuels (biomass from agriculture, forestry and farming wastes) constitute a pending revolution with possible strong implications on this area.

• CO2-free carbon, accompanied by CCS techniques, represents another necessary mid-term solution which utilizes the existing, non-renewable raw sources in a "clean" manner for electricity and hydrogen production.

• CCS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration) techniques are a must in the transition from polluting, non-renewable energy models towards clean, wholly renewable-based ones. In that transient phase, CCS will allow for a CO2-free exploitation of fossil fuels (still needed), unless until their alternatives reach maturity.

• Hydrogen represents a good and viable solution for the future (mostly mid to long term) as a clean fuel for transportation. However, being an energy vector, it would only be as "clean" and "green" as the primary energy source where it comes from. In this sense, clean, renewable energies are logically given preference.

• The true future regarding energy relies of course on renewable primary sources such as solar, eolian, geothermal, tidal, etc. Nevertheless, as we are going to see, the goal "100% renewables" is not going to be within reach soon and thus, in the mean time, all other primary sources are going to be needed so as to meet the growing world demand. The idea here is to make the transition as smooth as possible, rendering those non-renewable sources less and less polluting (CO2 emissions, etc.) with time.

• Nuclear fission stands as a mature, safe, CO2-free and predictable power-generating technology. Advanced nuclear reactors, 3^rd and 4^th generation, will be significantly more efficient and, most importantly, safer, further lessening the high-activity wastes problem. Consequently, they should equally play a part on the energy mix of the coming decades.

• Unluckily, nuclear fusion is not going to be available commercially within this time span.

Future energy models and renewable energies:

• From the "20-20-20" (20% less CO2 emissions, 20% renewables and 20% gain in energy efficiency) objective set by the EU for 2020, we must move onto a more ambitious but still feasible "80-60-35" for 2050.

• The 50% reduction of CO2 emissions objective for 2050 can be met if some substantial measures are put in place in order to foster rapid advancements in the following areas:

  • energy efficiency on the utilization of fossil fuels and electricity

  • processes for electric energy production

• No policy on renewable energies can be effective unless intrinsically associated with policies on energy performances and savings.

• The main obstacles standing on the way of renewable energies are, as of today, their high costs and their intermittent nature:

  • As of the latter, their intrinsic random character, would be figured out the moment we get a hold of the energy storage issue derived from it.

  • Concerning the costs, it actually represents the most limiting factor on a short term basis. As time goes by, market forces, propelled by suitable subsidies and subventions, will eventually wear it down.

• Eolian energy (or wind power) is by far the most developed of the pack. Proof of that are its low production costs, close to those of conventional energy sources, which have opened the way for a brand new market.

• Solar energy, thermoelectric and photovoltaic, is expanding quickly although it should follow on the footsteps of wind power so as to develop its respective markets, still pretty incipient.

• To put it in few words, for renewable technologies to play a far more significant role in the future, they need to develop themselves till the point of reaching 100 or even 200 times their current quota on the energy mix.

• In the transportation sector several alternatives will compete with the electric car:

  • vehicles based on advanced, high-performance, low weight and long duration electrical batteries.

  • vehicles based on fuel cells of high reliability and reduced costs.

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Techniques:

• The CO2 storage mechanisms considered to be the most adequate are those based on geological accumulation such as:

  • oil and natural gas reservoirs on the verge of exhaustion or in the final production stages

  • non-exploitable carbon layers in mines

  • deep salt-water aquifers

• The "bottom of oceans" solution, on the contrary, is not to be considered due to its scientific unknowns at present day as well as its social rejection.

• CCS technology has not been implemented as of yet on any thermal power plant in the world.

• Per contra, CCS still finds some uncertainties in the following areas:

  • Legislation: neither international regulations nor granting-permission procedures have yet been clearly established.

  • Economy: the costs implied by this technology are still pretty elevated and so its future viability will very much rely on some favorable legislation.

  • Social aspects, a major issue here, are treated in the next category.

Social perception of technology and science:

• In general, lack of clear and transparent information predisposes society to perceive certain technologies in a biased manner. This way, some risk factors can be exaggerated in the eyes of the public and thus lead to chain reactions of social rejection; eventually, turning down the development of that particular technology.

• A good example of that are CCS methods where the path towards a full social acceptance is still a long and bumpy one and should not be underestimated by any means if these technologies are to make its way into the market.

• Relative to nuclear energy, there tends to be a big public buzz regarding the risks associated to nuclear power plants and their wastes. A big outreach effort is required in this sense so as to spread awareness among the mass population not only about how minimal those risks really are, but also on its advantages compared to other energy technologies (small CO2 emissions, etc.)

The Spanish case:

• Concerning eolian energy, Spain is a top leading country on this technology together with Germany and the USA. Concretely speaking, it represents a share of 10% (huge!) in the electric energy production.

• As for solar energy, Spain has a relevant international position, specially on thermoelectric technology, a pretty suitable method given Spain's irradiation conditions (it only processes direct solar radiation).

• All in all, Spain sustains a reference status in the realm of renewable energies although there is still plenty of room for improvement, particularly regarding energy performance technologies and regulations

  • Efforts in this areas should be prioritize towards the following three major sectors: city planning, construction and transportation.

• Speaking about CCS, in Europe these technologies are on the legislative process at current times. National parliaments' approval will follow.

• The administration has the responsibility of fostering and guiding the development of a national energy plan, which must take into account all the above mentioned aspects, through the deployment of periodically revised programs, regulations and public aids.

• The region of Madrid, one of the most densely populated in Spain, is a goof example of a heavy dependence on external energy sources, with a ratio of about 95% of the total consumed energy coming from outside its borders. Coherently, efficient policies on energy savings and performances need to be applied at every level with each "player" taking an active role.

Yeah, my dear friend, as you may have noticed the way to go is still a long one in the Country of the Sun, but we are putting brains and hearts into matters now and things are shaping up nicely for this new energetically and environmentally sustainable society that we all desire. And let me tell you something, History knows well what happens when the Spaniards bring the "Armada" to the table...

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Carrying the Torch

As promised, here comes the second part of the story "Explore. Dream. Discover" from August 10^th. Once again, it makes reference to a Space.com post by Mr. Wayne Hale dating from July 19, 2009. This time around, Mr. Hale uses a magnificent metaphor, comparing Space Exploration with the carrying of the Olympic torch relay. Mankind can simply not allow itself to let the "flame of stars" dwindle, much less die out, if we are to pass those dreams of space onto next generations.

Mr. Hale's approach is, in my opinion, a very effective and to the point reasoning path. It seems very appropriate to match up the step-by-step process of conquering the interplanetary space with the brick-over-brick way our society has marched on since the dawn of civilization some 5,000 years ago. We have built upon the remains of our ancestors, over and over again.

As of the "physical" side, one has only got to go to Rome -The Eternal City- and let himself witness the grandness of history (sorry for the emotional lapse, cannot avoid day-dreaming when recalling this place :).

Nonetheless, this little fable's moral can yet again be amplified by extrapolating the mentioned analogy. For so doing, imagine the relay being, say, humanity's cumulative knowledge, and the torch carrier a representative of an age or even a generation. What we know is simply what we have learned from the past spiced up by our own personal touch. If we now have the capability of sending a man to Mars (hopefully by 2030), it is because we have been standing on the shoulders of giants: Einstein, Newton, Edison, Darwin...you name it; and, of course, the every day working class hero, you and I, the anonymous citizen carrying the torch in the shadow.

What we are is nothing but what the people before us imagined it would be. We are, in a sense, the dreams of our fathers (I think Barack wrote a book on that one hehe). And, as such, our contribution to our sons and daughters' world (including The Planet of course ;-) is just in our minds and hands at this very precise moment. That is our mission. That is the "light of knowledge" in our torches.

(That last "light of knowledge" line was from my all-time favorite movie: The Dead Poets Society)

Messieurs dames, your story.

...

I've said before that the exploration of space reminds me of the Olympic torch relay. So here is a note to all you relay runners who carry the torch every day in your work; to those who have retired from the race, and to those who dream of carrying the fire one day.

Not everybody gets to carry the torch up the stadium steps and light the cauldron in the presence of tens of thousands and the virtual presence of tens of millions. Only a very few get to carry the torch in moments of glory.

Not everyone who carries the torch is remembered, only a few names are ever announced.

Not everybody gets to carry the torch over the mountain tops, just a handful get to carry the fire through magnificent vistas.

Not everybody gets to carry the torch where it is cheered on by adoring crowds.

Somebody has to carry the torch in the rain, somebody has to carry the torch through the valley, somebody has to carry the torch through the warehouse district and the swamp. Somebody even has to carry the torch in places where the onlookers jeer.

But the torch has to be carried. If the flame is ever to reach its goal, if the cheering multitudes are ever to see the final runner holding the torch high, it must to be carried.

Space exploration is like that. Some days are glorious days, some days are awful, and most days can be tedious.

But if we stumble, and the torch falls, and the light goes out, then all the dreams and all the sweat of all of those who came before us will be for nought. And all the hopes for those who might have carried the torch after us will fade away in the night.

We don't get to chose the section of the course we run. We just get to carry the torch.

Celebrate with those who carried the torch in glory days. Know that glory days will come again.

Don't forget to hold it high, even in ordinary times, even in the presence of those who jeer.

Because those who carry the torch, carry the future in their hands.

Because even if you have to run through the desert and never hear the cheering throngs, you are still carrying the fire.

And how well you run your distance is the only reward that is truly worth having.

------------------

Yes, my dear friend, we got to stay the course on this one. We cannot stop pursuing our dreams, as we must not stop thinking about the "Out There". For we would be denying our own nature. For we would be restraining our children's dreams and freedoms.

We got to run through the desert now. Let's do it for the kids. For theirs would be the next oasis.

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Explore. Dream. Discover

The other day, while surfing the net for some Space news, I fell into a really cool article that immediately appealed to my imagination. Not only was it trying to convey a beautiful point -the need to carry on exploring outside Earth's borders even through difficult times (see economic recession)-, but also it was written in a very attractive manner: an intriguing bed-time story carrying a deep message on history and the lessons we can, and should, extract from it.

This "pearl" was indeed a post, dating from June 16^th, 2009, by Mr. Wayne Hale at a Space.com forum on the prospects of Space Exploration in the US. Mr. Hale uses this "little talk" -as he puts it- for good purpose: as part of his college world history class and for lectures he gives to a variety of audiences.

Although Mr. Hale's point focuses on the reasons why NASA's Space Program should be kept functioning -in his terms, basically because it undeniably contributes to the American leadership in the world-; to me, this kind of shortsighted view does not at all suffices. As I see it, Space Exploration is, first and foremost, a purpose in itself, a needed satisfaction to mankind's craving for knowledge. Secondly, it also represents a utopia setting the direction to follow and fostering economic, technological and social development along the way. And last but not least, this little story's reach does not end in the space science realm; in fact, it applies to any aspect of our world, calling for action those visionary people willing to take risks in order for us all to progress.

Before the show begins, I would like to seize the opportunity to remind Mr. Hale of Neil Armstrong's -his very compatriot- set-in-stone words: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind", highlighting the fact that it was indeed ALL MANKIND that set a foot on the Moon and not just one country.

After this brief but intense introduction, here comes your much-anticipated story. Enjoy it!

…...

"In my new role I get to travel around the country and talk to a lot of people. These days I am frequently asked the same question: can we afford the luxury of having a space program. In these days where the nation is fighting two wars, there is a crisis in health care, the national debt is reaching astronomical levels, and we are in an economic recession, indeed fighting hard to prevent another great depression, can the united states of America afford a space program.

It does little to point out that NASA receives 0.6% of the federal budget and if all space activities were terminated that drop in the federal bucket would not solve any of the problems facing the nation.

I believe that a strong business case can be made that the space program leads to economic growth through the invention of new products which stimulate new businesses and indeed whole new industries. But I am not going to make that case today, indeed I believe you are more familiar with it than I am.

A case can be made that space exploration excites our young people to study science, mathematics, engineering – areas which the nation is desperately short of new college graduates. But I am not going to make that case today.

A case can be made that by looking back on the Earth and studying other planets we can best understand what is happening to our climate and perhaps how to control it. But I am not going to make that case today.

There is an even stronger case that space activities help protect our nation militarily; but I am not going to make that case today.

I am here today to talk about the long term consequences of space exploration, or of not having space exploration.

I am mindful today that we chose our own destiny. We are founded by pioneers who saw opportunity and who had the courage and energy to take a chance.

History tells us that there are no guarantees. It is not a given that the United States will always be great. Today we are the world's only super power and what we do in space contributes to that position. Without continued courage and sweat, we could find ourselves no longer the leader of the world.

Everyone knows the quotation from the historian George Santayana: "Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it". And so, today, I have a little history lesson for you to think about in the days to come.

Five hundred years ago there was only one superpower in the world: China.

The Ming Empire ruled a people more numerous than the ancient Roman Empire at its height, larger in territory than modern Russia, vastly more powerful and richer than all the petty fiefdoms of contemporary Christian Europe put together.

The Ming Empire was fabulously wealthy. The emperor wanted a new capitol: they built the city we know as Beijing from empty grazing land.

The emperor needed to feed the people in his new city: they build the Grand Canal, an engineering feat not rivaled until the Suez and Panama canals.

The emperor wanted a navy, so he appointed an admiral to build a fleet of 1,500 ships. The largest of these ships rival the size of WWII support aircraft carriers; they were the largest wooden ships ever built, the largest sailing ships ever built. It was not until the age of steam and steel four hundred years later that larger ships built. There were over 30,000 sailors in this navy. China was so inconceivably rich in those days that the cost of this vast navy was an inconsequential fraction of the resources available to the emperor.

The Chinese admirals set out on many voyages of discovery and commerce to the Philippines, Malaysia, India, and as far as the east coast of Africa. For over 40 years the Ming navy made many voyages which resulted in Chinese hegemony: total political control over half the world. Not half the "known world" as those ignorant Europeans might guess, but half the total world.

From the cape of good hope through India to the Bering Strait, from Australia and new Zealand to the west coast of the Americas, trade and tribute poured into China. All of these accomplishments are well documented and well known to historians. In a recent book, a retired British royal navy sea captain, Gavin Menzies, provides evidence that the Chinese navy circumnavigated the world in 1421, discovering Antarctica in the south and coming within two hundred miles of the North Pole in the other direction. Captain Menzies has evidence that the Chinese set up colonies not just on the orient facing east coast of Africa, but on the west coast as well, Chinese colonies in the Caribbean, near present day providence Rhode Island, and on Greenland. Wow.

How did the Europeans get an accurate map of the world 75 years before Columbus and a century before Magellan? From China!

So the Chinese were the worlds greatest superpower and controlled half the world and explored the entire globe.

In 1415, the tiny principality of Portugal put everything on the line. Portugal was insolvent, its prince in debt and his court threadbare. After a huge debate, the Portuguese borrowed just enough money to finance a few ships and their crews.

With less than two dozen ships - none of them large by even the miserable European standard of the day – the Portuguese fought a successful sea battle in the Mediterranean and captured the port of Ceuta on the north African coast. This opened up, ever so slightly, trade with the orient, especially increased trade in the highly desired spices from that region.

The scrappy Portuguese decided to go forward, learning the lesson that taking risks was worthwhile, and losses could be accepted. They invented a new type of ship suited for the stormy Atlantic, the Caravel, the first really new ship design since ancient times. The Caravel became only the first in a series of continually improving and innovative ship designs that have continued even to the present.

The Portuguese earned the admiration and envy of all the European states, and every country tried to emulate them. Thus started the age of wooden ships and iron men.

Over the next centuries, the European countries repeatedly decided to go forward, by fits and by starts, for good reasons and for bad ones, always with endless debate, generally teetering on the edge of financial insolvency. But the west Europeans made the decision to go forward into the world for trade, treasure, discovery, and glory. They immersed the west in new ideas, new technologies, and new innovations.

Back in China, after a generation of astounding voyages, the great Ming admiral died at sea. The emperor also died, and the new emperor came under different influences.

These voices counseled the young emperor to turn inward. Surely China had enough problems to solve in China, why waste time and energy exploring? These advisors told the emperor that there was nothing in the world to match Chinese culture - true. They told the emperor there were no goods in the world to rival Chinese goods - true. In short, they concluded, there was nothing out there for China – a conclusion that sounded logical but was far from true.

They advised that China should protect what they had from the foreigners. Foreigners who wanted what the Chinese had. The emperor followed this advice. He completed the Great Wall to keep foreigners out. He built a new capital, a "forbidden city" to keep the citizens of his own country out.

The emperor ordered that the fleet be burned. The sailors were disbanded. It became a capital offense to build a sailing ship with more than two masts. The emperor even ordered that all the records of all the voyages be burned. China turned inward.

When the Portuguese explorers Bernardo Dias and Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope from the west to the east, they found legends of white ghost ships that had come two generations earlier. Africans all along the east coast were wearing Chinese style hats and clothes.

When Magellan crossed the pacific ocean and claimed the Philippine islands for king Charles of Spain he found silk and porcelain, all imported from China years before, but the traders that brought them had vanished.

All throughout the Indies, Europeans found remnants of a culture that had been of great influence but which had disappeared completely from the scene: Chinese culture.

The Chinese course led inexorably to stagnation, then dissolution, then decay, and finally to destruction. For there came a day when the Portuguese and the other Europeans carved up the pitifully weak remnants of China for their own colonial use.

Five hundred years later, the great 20th Chinese historian Wei Pu concluded the choice of direction was critical. The Chinese turned inward, the Europeans went forward. That Chinese historian observed: "the history of the world for the last 500 years has been the history of the West."

Choices matter. There are consequences, some unseen at the time. But one constant has held through human history; taking risks to find new knowledge, new lands, and new ways of doing things, new cultures, and new ideas has always paid off. Staying home is the short road to failure.

So are we, today, to be the Chinese or the Portuguese? Which direction will our country choose? There are no guarantees, only rewards for those who are willing to seize opportunity, take risks, work hard, and show courage.

The Chinese have learned this lesson from history. Will we?"

--------------------------------------

I guess the moral of the story is pretty clear, isn't it? Well, let me tell you what I think of it.

Firstly, there is no question about the "collateral" discoveries deriving from the Science of Space which we all benefit from in our daily lives. Society has always worked, and progress for that matter, by pushing the limits. We would not be here, much less enjoy the kind of comforts and technologies available nowadays, if not for those visionaries, dreamers, entrepreneurs and courageous people across history that once put everything they had on the table in pursue of that "crazy" idea that no else had nor believed in.

But let me tell you something I really believe in. I believe, and I firmly do, in Space Exploration being Humanity's future, without the hint of a doubt. It's like the fish that discovers the glass walls of his fishbowl. All of a sudden, it wants to know more, it wants to get out and see. It may die on the trying, but it cannot resist its very own curious nature. Same about us. From the very day, some 400 years ago, Mr. Galileo saw the vastness of the Universe through the first telescope, our entire world has been on a mission: the quest for Space, the quest for ourselves.

Yes, my friend, whether it is about finding new ways at Home or setting mankind's new frontiers in Space, the future is out there … for us to explore ;-)

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover" - Mark Twain

PS: Part II of this story, "Carrying the Torch", coming soon ...

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Human Rights, a Necessary Condition for a Sustainable Future

Le 16 juin dernier, Dominique Gilbert, secrétaire général adjoint de la Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (LDH) [1], est venu à Toulouse invité par l'Observatoire des Mydi-Pyrénées (OMP), pour partager son point de vue humaniste sur le développement durable. Sur ce, une des contributions majeures au modèle du durable visée par la LDH est certainement l'intégration des «droits environnementaux» au sein des droits de l'homme puisque toute personne, du présent comme du futur, doit avoir le droit à un environnement naturel propre.

Le même jour au matin, Mr. Jean-Marc Jancovici, nous avait fait un excellent résume [2] de la situation globale actuelle vis-à-vis de la contrainte énergie-climat («carbone»), en se concentrant davantage sur les aspects scientifiques et économiques. L'exposé de Mr. Gilbert est venu compléter donc le tour d'horizon sur cette problématique en apportant la perspective sociale et, surtout, humaine. Le titre de sa présentation parle donc par soi même: «Les droits de l'Homme, condition d'un développement durable».

Selon Mr. Guibert, l'humanité est confrontée à une responsabilité sans précédents: quelle définition et quel contenu va-t-on donner au terme «développement durable»? Quelle va être sa relation avec le concept de «croissance»? La réponse est simple ...

... «l'heure est venue de la sobriété heureuse». En effet, notre société a besoin des nouveaux modelés capables de garantir un avenir «soutenable» où on ait tous (y compris les générations futures) les mêmes droits. Pour ce faire, il va falloir redéfinir le terme «économie» en ajoutant la vision du durable et humain dans la gestion des ressources et en la mesurant par des vrais indicateurs de progrès (dont le PIB n'en fait pas parti) telles que l'espérance de vie, la mortalité infantile, etc

Ce nouveau modèle trouve son origine dans la réaction de l'humanité à plusieurs problématiques majeures dont le changement climatique. Ce dernier constitue un phénomène à des répercussions globales et intergénérationnelles où les faits à court terme ont des conséquences à long terme. A contrario, à nos jours, on vit dans un monde très adapté au court terme ainsi que très mal équilibré en répartition de richesses. Ainsi, on s'attend à des fortes inégalités entre les pays riches et les pauvres, ce qui nous mène au besoin urgent d'une solidarité à l'échelle du globe. Sachant, qu'il n'y aura pas des miracles technologiques, ce n'est que de l'organisation de la société et ses moyens que le survie de l'espèce peut s'envisager.

De plus, concernant le réchauffement de la planète, les pays développés contribuent beaucoup plus en termes d'émissions des gaz à effet de serre et, par conséquence, devraient également s'engager plus étant donné qu'ils possèdent plus des moyens (économiques, technologiques, etc.) tant pour lutter contre ce phénomène comme pour s'adapter à ces conséquences. De lors, un transfert technologique ainsi qu'une forte aide économique et sociale s'avèrent fondamentales.

Plus globalement, une nouvelle gouvernance mondiale semble indispensable en vue de s'organiser et prendre des décisions sur des questions telles que le commerce équitable entre pays, les vrais prix des choses (avec les coûts environnementaux et humains [2]), etc. A ce propos, on va avoir besoin des instances internationales qui puissent gérer proprement les affaires de l'environnement, énergie, etc. Cette nouvelle philosophie politique mondiale doit donc être basée sur trois grands piliers: l'égalité et les responsabilités individuelles et sociétales. De la même façon, côté financier, un changement de vision reste nécessaire vu l'éloignement actuel de l'économie réelle (richesses artificielles, spéculations, etc.) de la vraie «économie naturelle» liée aux ressources existants. En revanche, on ne peut pas laisser l'avenir de l'humanité exclusivement en mains des relations internationales, on doit s'organiser au delà de ceci. La vraie clé de notre avenir réside au niveau des responsabilités des citoyens, des associations, etc.

Par rapport au sujet qui nous concerne, les droits de l'homme, aux quatre piliers fondamentaux [3] (droits personnels, interpersonnels, libertés publiques et droits politiques, et droits économiques, sociaux et culturels) viendrait s'ajouter les droits environnementaux: le droit à un monde propre où l'on puisse tous mener une vie digne.

En conclusion, afin d'assurer la durabilité de notre planète, un nouveau projet global de civilisation s'impose. Celui-ci doit être fondé tant sur les relations internationales comme sur les liens sociaux et humains. Dans la recherche de ce «nouveau monde» on va avoir besoin de faire de la philosophie, d'établir des bases, des principes, etc. Ainsi, en vue de retrouver l'équilibre mondiale et environnemental souhaité, on doit agir dès maintenant sur plusieurs fronts majeurs: réorganisation de la société, refondation des droits de l'homme (en incluant les droits environnementaux entre autres), mise en place d'un nouveau système de gouvernance internationale et recherche de l'égalité entre pays, sociétés et personnes. Quoi qu'il en soit, on sait avec certitude que le coût de ne rien faire (rapport de Nicholas Stern [4]), est bien plus grand (guerres, catastrophes naturelles, etc.) que de, au moins, essayer une formule prometteuse.

[1] Ligue des Droits de l'Homme

[2] «Time for Action is … Maintenant!!»: article paru dans ce blog le 31 juillet 2009

[3] Déclaration Universelle des Droits de l'Homme (ONU)

[4] Synthèse en français du «Rapport Stern», mené par Nicholas Stern

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Time for Action is ... Maintenant!!

Mardi 16 juin 2009, j'ai eu le plaisir d'assister à deux conférences organisées par l'Observatoire Mydi-Pyrénées [1] (Toulouse, France) dont l'axe thématique principal a été le changement climatique, ses conséquences économiques, sociales et humaines ainsi que sa possible solution: un modèle global de développement durable. Des articles sur ces événements ont été publiés dans le blog «Agir pour la Planète» de l'École Supérieure de Commerce de Toulouse [2].

Premièrement, le matin, on a eu l'occasion d'accueillir Jean-Marc Jancovici, ingénieur conseil de renomme en changement climatique et «stratégie carbone» [3] qui nous a parlé, pendant presque trois heures questions comprises, sur «Les Enjeux Climatiques et Énergétiques: Que Faire Face à la Contrainte carbone?». M. Jancovici nous a conduit durant sa présentation le long de l'histoire de la civilisation humaine, tout en soulignant les erreurs commises qui nous ont emmené à la pressante situation actuelle où les ressources naturelles non-renouvelables s'achèvent à vitesse accéléré (puisque la consommation humaine a dépassé le rythme de leur rénovation naturelle), la pollution issue de notre activité menace tout ce qu'il en reste et, de plus, on se dirige vers une planète «chauffante» à conséquences vraiment inconnues (au delà de nos prédictions) mais en tout cas néfastes pour l'écosystème de la Terre dont on fait partie.

Selon M. Jancovici, la grosse maladresse de l'humanité a donc été son modèle de «développement» complètement insoutenable tant dans le temps, pour les générations futures, comme dans l'espace, en vue des grandes inégalités crées entre différentes zones géographiques, classes sociales, etc. Ceci est conséquence directe d'une présomption de base fausse: la Terre, et donc ses ressources, a été considérée infinie par rapport à l'espèce humaine, ses besoins et ses activités. Ce modèle-là, accéléré lors de la révolution industrielle a été mené à l'extrême par notre paradigme actuel, le capitalisme. De lors nos indicateurs économiques actuels tels que le PIB qui égalisent «progrès» avec consommation croissante de ressources. Cela nous a pris donc deux siècles pour nous rendre compte de la finitude de notre planète et même de notre capacité (malgré nous des fois) de l'influencer dans sa totalité comme c'est le cas avec la changement climatique.

Cependant, la solution existe ...

... et elle peut prendre deux formes différentes d'après M. Jancovici: soit la Nature réglera de façon brusque ses propres affaires et donc par des catastrophes, guerres (pour le contrôle de ressources), etc.; soit l'Homme prendra conscience de l'affaire et changera son mode de vie. Cette dernière voie, plus souhaitable, suppose donc l'évolution de notre société vers un modèle de «développement soutenable» où on doit se forcer à arriver au fameux pic de consommation (et on a entre 10 et 20 ans pour le faire, pas plus [4]) et on recule à partir de là. Ceci suppose de manière incontournable une augmentation du prix de l'énergie et des ressources en général. D'un côté, la demande ne cesse pas de croitre pour l'instant du, tant à l'augmentation de la population humaine comme à celle de la consommation par habitant et, de l'autre, l'offre continue à baisser à cause simplement de la diminution des ressources disponibles. Tout ceci entraine obligatoirement une augmentation naturel des prix selon les lois du marché. Or, ce ne suffira pas; une action visée de l'humanité cherchant à réduire la consommation reste indispensable vis-à-vis d'arriver à temps aux défis globaux mentionnés.

Ce règlement des prix répond à la question de fond de «l'insoutenabilité» de notre modèle actuel: le fait qu'on a largement sous-évaluée le coût réel des ressources en les rendant ainsi trop facilement accessibles (capacités de consommer, polluer, etc.) Une estimation plus véritable, ainsi que nécessaire, de leur valeur doit prendre en compte tous les effets (et donc coûts) réels impliqués: leur épuisement, la pollution et, en particulier, le changement climatique. Cette façon plus «logique» de procéder nos emmènera naturellement aux actions à mettre en place aujourd'hui pour, d'une part, lutter contre (mitigation, selon les termes de l'IPCC [5]) et, d'autre, nous adapter aux conséquences (adaptation).

Une seule équation est par ailleurs capable d'englober tant tous ces défis auxquels on fait face (à cause des «injustices» de notre modèle socio-économique) comme les solutions que l'on peut adopter. Il s'agit de l'équation de Kaya [6], qui décompose les émissions totales de gaz carbonique (CO₂) de l'humanité en plusieurs termes:

CO₂ = CO₂/TEP * TEP/PIB * PIB/POP * POP

• CO₂/TEP : Contenu en gaz carbonique de l'énergie

• TEP/PIB : Intensité énergétique de l'économie

• PIB/POP : Production par personne

• POP : Population

De cette façon, si l'on se fixe comme objectif global de diminuer en un facteur 2, au moins, le niveau actuel des émission de CO2 d'ici 2050 cherchant à éviter ainsi les conséquences dramatiques mentionnées, et sachant que la population humaine (POP) ainsi que la «richesse» (PIB/POP) par personne (modèle capitaliste) ne cessent d'augmenter; alors on va devoir diminuer vachement le rendement énergétique de notre activité (TEP/PIB) ainsi que le «taux de pollution» de nos énergies (PIB/POP ) pour y arriver...

Au fait non, d'une telle façon on n'arrivera jamais à temps pour empêcher «La Catastrophe». Ce qu'il faut faire, en réalité, c'est de réduire substantiellement l'accès à l'énergie, aux ressources par personne. Autrement dit, puisque l'économie est bien le moteur qui pousse les gens à agir, il faut faire croître d'un ton le prix des ressources, ce qui revient à diminuer le fameux pouvoir d'achat, celui des «riches», des gens du premier monde, le notre donc. Par conséquence, même si l'on pourrait tacher cette mesure «d'artificielle» ce n'est pas du tout le cas puisque, au contraire, cela revient à prendre en compte le véritable «coût» des ressources, le véritable prix de notre modèle de consommation (dégâts sur l'environnement, changement climatique, épuisement, etc.) Ce qui est artificiel c'est donc le modèle «hors nature» que l'on à utilisé jusqu'à présent.

Messieurs, dames, ce qu'il faut absolument faire, c'est, en réalité, changer notre philosophie de vie. Voilà la conclusion de M. Jancovici ainsi que la mienne.

[1] Observatoire des Mydi-Pyrénées (OMP)

[2] «Agir pour la Planète», blog de l'ESC Toulouse

[3] Site web perso de Jean-Marc Jancovici

[4] «C'est Maintenant», Editions du Seuil, 2009, J-M. Jancovici

[5] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

[6] L'équation de Kaya

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