The Survival Imperative: Using Space to Protect Earth.THE SURVIVAL IMPERATIVE: Using Space to Protect Earth WILLIAM E. BURROWS Hell could arrive on Earth tomorrow morning. Burrows opens his book with a tale of massive destruction and chaos the world over. Its trigger: a cataclysmic cat·a·clysm n. 1. A violent upheaval that causes great destruction or brings about a fundamental change. 2. A violent and sudden change in the earth's crust. 3. A devastating flood. impact from space on the scale that happens once every 2 billion years. However, Burrows, a professor of science journalism Science journalism is a relatively new branch of journalism, which uses the art of reporting to convey information about science topics to a public forum. The communication of scientific knowledge through mass media requires a special relationship between the world of science and , describes not only the possibility of death from above but also increasingly likely earth-bound disasters. These include hurricanes, global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , earthquakes, and human-made threats such as nuclear and chemical weapons. Burrows details his belief that the U.S. space program can protect Earth from these threats and perhaps even prevent the premature eradication of human life on Earth. He explains that NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , once a source of national pride, is today an agency without a mission. That void should be filled by an overarching o·ver·arch·ing adj. 1. Forming an arch overhead or above: overarching branches. 2. Extending over or throughout: "I am not sure whether the missing ingredient . . . mission to protect Earth, Burrows says. This protection includes active defense systems against rogue meteors and nuclear weapons as well as environmental projects such as spotting pollution with satellites and giant solar orbiting collectors. Forge, 2006, 317 p., hardcover, $24.95. |
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