My Nerdiest Rant Ever About the Stupid Spaceport

Here is a little something that I posted to my class bulletin board today. We had to pick a recent event and discuss it's environmental and business environment impact.

I am posting this for any of you who stash stuff like this to use as reference for future papers etc. I am attending grad school at Embry Riddle with one sided thinkers, who tend to 'believe' that the space/aerospace are the keys to our future. I see where they are coming from but get extremely frustrated when they fail to see the immediate impact, both financially and environmentally. I suppose you could say I am the eff'n hippy of the group. I'm not ready to hug a tree or vow myself away from meat (could never do so), but I DO want people to see that for every action, there is a cost- The United States deficit can only absorb SO much here guys.... lol Enjoy my nerdiness!

For background information you can click on this Washington post link.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902508.html


I am writing about the New Mexico Space Port set to open in 2010. It is for 'space tourism'. Not many people seem to know about the Space Port, so I find the topic perfectly fitting.

"We're in the very early stage of creating a new kind of air transport system," said Steven Landeene, executive director of the New Mexico spaceport. "Space tourism is the first phase, along with the commercial launching of satellites and spacecraft that can carry cargo and even astronauts to the international space station and maybe later the moon. But it's possible to begin thinking about a point-to-point network where passengers can rocket from one place to another at speeds much faster than today."

The space port will be a place for average joe's to travel to space, at a cost of course! The newspapers report modestly about the cost to the poor farming taxpayers in the immediate towns and also fail to mention the ever rising State taxes that have absorbed the cost of building this $200 million dollar venture. They also fail to mention that the port has extended the timeline, once again for the environmental impact statement.

I am a resident of New Mexico, and understand the excitement of bringing such a project to a little town with virtually nothing in it. I am extremely conflicted to say the least. I have watched for the past couple of years as congressmen, and mayors alike pulled for the Space Port's approval, while my seven year old little girl attends a public school system (New Mexico as a whole) that ranked 43 in the nation last year... am I missing something?

See following link for 2006-2007 'smartest state' rankings.

http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm

The environmental impact on business is hard to come by. The government claims that surrounding businesses will get a huge boost from the Space Port, but last time I checked; people willing to pay $35 million for one flight won't be staying in a Motel 8, or eating at The Cracker Barrell. Those people probably don't even know the joy of roasted green chili! Ha! The government continues to spend our hard earned dollars on convincing us that the Space Port is good for our environment and culture. They compare the Space Port to the pioneers that built the town with their own hands, I find it insulting.