Spaceballs

NASA has been cutting back on earth observation programs even as it continues to pursue expensive boondoggles -- most notably manned missions to Mars and a permanent moon station (both pet projects of the president's). NASA Chief Michael Griffin (a rocket scientist with an MBA who once served as technology officer for the highly controversial Strategic Defense Initiative) spoke to NPR's Steve Inskeep this morning and defended his agency from critics. If you had any doubts about where NASA's priorities lay, the following exchange should put them to rest.

Inskeep: It has been mentioned that NASA is not spending as much money as it could to study climate change — global warming — from space. Are you concerned about global warming?

Griffin: I'm aware that global warming exists. I understand that the bulk of scientific evidence accumulated supports the claim that we've had about a one degree centigrade rise in temperature over the last century to within an accuracy of 20 percent. I'm also aware of recent findings that appear to have nailed down — pretty well nailed down the conclusion that much of that is manmade. Whether that is a longterm concern or not, I can't say.

I recommend listening to the whole interview, but that gives you the gist. To sum up: The man who heads the world's leading space agency says he's 'aware that global warming exists' but 'can't say whether that is a longterm concern or not.' !!!!!!!!!

Now contrast Griffin's timid position on global warming with statements he made to the Washington Post in 2005 with regards to space colonization:

I don't know when that day is, but there will be more human beings who live off the Earth than on it. We may well have people living on the moon. We may have people living on the moons of Jupiter and other planets. We may have people making habitats on asteroids. We've got places that humans will go, not in our lifetime, but they will go there. ... I don't know the date -- but I know that humans will colonize the solar system and one day go beyond.