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Launch Date Announced for Shuttle Mission STS-117
chuckpeters writes "After a two day Flight Readiness Review in Florida, space shuttle managers have announced an official launch date for STS-117 to be June 8, 7:38 PM. The launch window will run in two parts — from June 8th to the evening of June 12th when the shuttle must stand down for a June 14th Atlas launch. After that the windows opens again on the 17th. This first opening gives the standard four attempts in five days. If they have not launched by the 12th, they will replenish things such as liquid oxygen and hydrogen for the fuel cells to prepare for the 17th attempt."
Why should we assume that Griffin is "antiglobal warming," as Hansen so eloquently put it? That is, why assume that Griffin's comments are just insincere justification for toeing the Bush party line? I think his comments are a very reasonable position for an informed person to take.
Can you answer his rhetorical questions: is today's climate really the best possible one, and is human action making it worse? All we know it's making it different. Is letting nature take its course, as free as possible from human intervention, the "right thing to do?" Is anthropogenic climate change automatically bad just because it's anthropogenic? What if it has positive consequences for some?
I'm not advocating a position on this: I'm just saying that Griffin's comments should be evaluated on their own merits rather than being lumped into "pro" or "anti" categories and accepted/rejected on that basis. The guy has a point; don't dismiss him just because his argument leads to a conclusion that you don't agree with.