What future would you like for Australia?
At present we are told that with the end of the mining boom, we are heading for decline and we have no idea how deep that may go.
With homelessness increasing and many single parents frog-marched into poverty, the writing is on the wall for what could happen to many more Australians.
As we struggle to deal with refugees seeking to enter Australia by sea and the loss of employment in the car industry, there is a much bigger picture that we are failing to see.
We face a real crisis with rising levels of carbon in our planet’s biosphere, warming the Earth and increasing the acidity of the oceans and with an increasing human population, we struggle to see any way into a good future.
We hope we will find a way, but the signs are not good.
With the carbon level set to skyrocket as the Arctic region gets warmer [1], there is no knowing how hot we will make our planet of how dangerous the future will become.
Though the consequences of human industrial activity are dire, there is another threat that we must face that is even more deadly.
Since a small asteroid exploded over Russia early this year, we should be in no doubt about the threat from space.
If that rock had been just a little closer to the ground, the city of Chelyabinsk could have been flattened and thousands killed.
Only a few days ago an asteroid 2.5 kilometres wide sailed past the Earth and there are millions more out there.
The largest space rock to strike the Earth in recent centuries exploded over Siberia in 1908, flattening 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 square kilometres.
Around 12,800 years ago an asteroid storm struck central and north America and Europe, wiping out human populations and mega fauna. [2]
If a similar asteroid storm were to strike the Australia today, there would be no Federal election in September, because there is nothing we could do to defend ourselves or the Earth.
It is now appreciated that the reign of the dinosaurs was brought to a swift end 65 million years ago, when a very large asteroid struck the Earth.
Do we need to remain sitting ducks at the whim of cosmic billiards, or is there some action we could take?
We do have a choice at this point in human history, with many nations having increased their abilities with space development.
Should we detect a large asteroid that would strike our planet at some time in the future, is there any doubt that humankind would rise as one to meet the threat?
Why wait for it to happen, when we know that a large asteroid, or asteroid storm, will strike the Earth again, sooner or later?
If we decide to rise to the challenge of defending the Earth, we will need to develop an industrial presence in space and the key to this happening will be to build solar power stations beyond Earth, to access the virtually unlimited energy-well of our star.
Our Sun is now 35% hotter than at its birth 4.5 billion years ago and has so much fuel in reserve, it will continue to burn fiercely over the next 5 billion years, until expanding to the orbit of the Earth as a red giant star.
With an industrial presence beyond Earth, we could begin to build the defences for our planet, so that we can nudge an asteroid aside, or mine the beast into oblivion for the resources.
With direct access to unlimited stellar energy from the Sun, we would have the power to also extract excess carbon from the biosphere, to win back a safe Earth and never again face a carbon crises.
With stellar energy, we could also process extracted carbon back into a useful resource for Earth and space industries, in a future that includes total recycling.
Space development is therefore our gateway to a truly green future and far greater prosperity than we have ever dreamed of.
Space development is the next mining frontier, where we will save the Earth and defend the planet, as we acquire the skill and ability to assure our cosmic survival.
To meet this future we will need to inspire a new generation of planet healers and Earth protectors.
Is such action for our survival too much to ask?
Unfortunately, our elected representatives are not thinking in terms of survival beyond the ballot box and if we leave our fate in current hands, the consequences could be too dire to imagine.
Our only hope rests in the hands of people who care and want a future for their children that includes survival.
With the national election being held in Australia in September, we have a golden opportunity to create a new direction for our great southern land, which includes serious space development.
If a critical number of Australians demanded action, space would become a national project and instead of the end of a mining boom, we would be living at the dawn of a new resource era among the stars of the Southern Cross.
We could not achieve this on our own, but we could take a leading role and work with other friendly nations to build our planet defences and save the Earth.
By reaching for the stars, we will for the first time in our history found a space agency.
Instead of panicking at the loss of our car industry, we will retool our industries toward space development.
Rather than watch rockets rise from other nations, we will establish space ports Down Under for industry and tourism.
By investing in space development, we will inspire our youth to enter careers in science and engineering and be able to dream of becoming astronauts.
We can look to building cities in space that generate an Earth gravity by rotation, so that space denizens will be able to maintain their Earth fitness. [3]
With stellar energy and celestial resources, we will be able to design a stellar economy without poverty and as we get the ball rolling, see the benefits.
As we win back a safe Earth, we will also be able to design and build a sustainable human presence on our home planet, where long-haul transport can be by airship, to any location.
Instead of building a fast train along the eastern seaboard, we could invest in a steady airship service that reaches to all parts of the continent, as well as Tasmania, New Zealand and New Guinea.
This future now rests in the hands of the citizens of this nation, who can ask candidates about their views on space development for the future of our nation.
As we gaze into the pits at the end of the mining boom, we can also awaken our national spirit to a new vision for the future and like the diggers at Eureka, look to the stars.
NOTES
[1] ‘Is a Sleeping Climate Giant Stirring in the Arctic’
Terra Daily 11 Jun 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Is_a_Sleeping_Climate_Giant_Stirring_in_the_Arctic_999.html
[2] ‘Comprehensive analysis of impact spherules supports theory of cosmic impact 12,800 years ago’
Space Daily 27 May 2013
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Comprehensive_analysis_of_impact_spherules_supports_theory_of_cosmic_impact_12800_years_ago_999.html
[3] ‘The High Frontier’ by Gerard K. O’Neill, 1977
ABOUT Kim Peart: Born in South Australia in 1952, I was raised in Tasmania and moved to Queensland in 2007; I have a daughter and grandchildren living in Brisbane. In Brisbane in 2008 I met my present partner, Dr Jennifer Bolton, a trained research scientist and we will be getting married at the end of June, sailing into the future together. Art is my first passion, exploring the visual image through drawing and painting. In 1974 I began a life-long study of Viking culture and history and in 1975 founded a Viking Society in Tasmania. In 1976 I joining the L5 Society, which looked to the space development vision of Gerard K. O’Neill (‘The High Frontier’ 1977). I founded the Southern Cross L5 Society in 1980, which was launched nationally in Sydney in 1982 and is now called the National Space Society of Australia. Electoral experience was gained in a run for the House of Representatives in Tasmania in 1996 and many subsequent local Council elections. In January 2007 I was included in “The A List” of 200 movers and shakers by the Mercury newspaper, coming in at 115 for work as, “An urban bushland conservationist who has worked tirelessly over the years to maintain walking tracks and protect wildlife from the encroachment of bush-front housing developments.” Princess Mary of Denmark, who was born in Tasmania, made the top of that list. In 2007 I launched a Tasmanian Space Centre, where the first First Step event was held, remembering the Moon landing at the moment it happened for people around the World in July 1969. In recent years I have been working on the development of a space program in the virtual world, in which anyone in the World can participate and explore our future beyond Earth. The work attracted the interest of the Kepler Space University, who extended an invitation to join their board of editors. This work has been pursued in partnership with Dr Bolton, who is the science officer of our registered organisation, Space Pioneers. We see the virtual world as an ideal place to build models, to demonstrate solutions to the many problems that we face on Earth. In the past few years I have written many articles, a list of which are included below. Many stories have been published about my activities over the years, including in an Icelandic newspaper in 2009, covering the bicentenary of Jorgen Jorgenson’s rule of Iceland in 1809. The most recent article was published in the Sunshine Coast Daily ~ Look up: ‘Our future is in a solar power plant in space’ Kathy Sundstrom 16 Apr 2013 Sunshine Coast Daily http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/our-futures-in-space-solar-panel/1831009/
Kim Peart articles
Creating A Solar Civilization
Found on my website ~ first written in 2006 and revised in 2012
http://www.islandearth.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=64
Centenary of Powered Flight in Tasmania
Tasmanian Times 3 Jun 2013
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/weblog/article/centenary-of-powered-flight-in-tasmania/
To Sing Among Stars
Tasmanian Times 22 April 2013
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/to-sing-among-stars-linzo/
Defending Earth from Space
Tasmanian Times 1 April 2013
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/weblog/article/defending-earth-from-space/
A Deeper Level of Denial
Tasmanian Times 11 February 2013
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/weblog/article/a-deeper-level-of-denial/
A Ship Called Rusich
Tasmanian Times 11 February 2013
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/weblog/article/a-ship-called-rusich/
A Stellar Revolution
Journal of Space Philosophy November 2012
http://www.keplerspaceuniversity.com/content/stellar-revolution-kim-peart
The Mysterious Art of the Ross Bridge
Tasmanian Times 6 August 2012
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/the-mysterious-art-of-the-ross-bridge/
Susannah’s Angel
Tasmanian Times 4 January 2012
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/susannahs-angel-/
Space development the key to our survival
Independent Australia 31 December 2011
http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/environment/avoiding-calamity-by-looking-to-the-stars/
Remembering Eureka
Tasmanian Times 1 December 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/remembering-eureka/
Our survival insurance policy
Tasmanian Times 15 August 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/our-survival-insurance-policy/
The official launch of the SPACE PIONEERS and the BIFROST campaign
Tasmanian Times 15 August 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/the-official-launch-of-the-space-pioneers-and-the-bifrost-campaign/
Reach to the Sun to Save the Koala
Tasmanian Times 25 July 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/reach-to-the-sun-to-save-the-koala-/
Building the Grail Castles
Tasmanian Times 25 July 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/building-the-grail-castles-/
First Step
Tasmanian Times 21 July 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/first-step/
The Magical Expansion of Life Beyond Earth
Tasmanian Times 11 July 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/the-magical-expansion-of-life-beyond-earth-/
Christ Lightning
Tasmanian Times 23 May 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/christ-lightning/
The Passing of Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Tasmanian Times 26 April 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/the-passing-of-sri-sathya-sai-baba/
island Earth launches into Second Life
Tasmanian Times 21 March 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/island-earth-launches-into-second-life/
Flood Child
Tasmanian Times 19 January 2011
http://oldtt.pixelkey.biz/index.php?/article/flood-child/
