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NASA and the Library of Congress have just announced the selection of David H. Grinspoon to be the first Baruch S. Blumberg NASA-Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology.
Astrobiology is the study of the origins, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. It addresses three fundamental questions: How did life begin and evolve? Is there life elsewhere? What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?
Grinspoon will examine the choices facing humanity as we enter the Anthropocene Era, the epoch when human activities are becoming a defining characteristic of the physical nature and functioning of Earth. His research will include studies of the role of planetary exploration in fostering scientific and public understanding of climate change and the power of astrobiology as a model of interdisciplinary research and communication.
More about Astrobiology . . .
Good Golly Miss Molly! "...fostering scientific and public understanding of climate change..." Will this include Ice Ages and an understanding of how, when, and why huge portions of the Earth's surface periodically become covered by ice?
Somehow, I doubt it.
Answering the question "What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?"
A bit of hubristic gobbledegook, I'd say.
Oh well . . .
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WORD FOR TODAY
Hubris {HYOO-bruhs}
Extreme pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.
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The TV news anchor yesterday told me that this year no Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded. What does that mean? That there was no fiction written deserving of the prize, or... what?
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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
(Anarchist)
Born April 17, 1854Died June 22, 1939
(1 month after I was born)
From August 1881 to April 1908, from age 27 to 54, Tucker published the periodical, Liberty, widely considered to be the finest individualist-anarchist periodical ever issued in the English language.
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It is not wise warfare to throw your ammunition to the enemy unless you throw it from the cannon's mouth.
--Benjamin Tucker
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