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Wait, Is That a Human on the Moon?
By Adrienne LaFrance 21 hours ago
In this age of big surveillance and miniature satellites, there is an idea that—once we are able to track everything around us—the magic and mystery of the universe will be replaced with data, knowledge, and understanding.
Yet it often seems like the deeper we get into the world around us, the more we realize how little we actually know. A mountain of data may promise us answers, but first you have to sift through the questions.
The latest evidence: A YouTube video that’s circulating and shows what looks like a human figure standing on the surface of the moon.
Sure enough, go to Google Moon and find the coordinates (27° 34′ 12.83” N, 19° 36’21.56 W) and you’ll see it, too. Here’s a screenshot I took (I added the red arrow):
Google Earth/NASA
It’s been a generation since humans ruled out the possibility of life on the moon—let alone a giant humanoid just chilling on the lunar surface. So, uh, what is that thing? NASA, which has checked the image against its trove of images from the same location, is shrugging it off.
“We have other images that do not show any imperfection so most analysts believe the image reflects nothing more than a tiny piece of debris on the lens,” spokesman Robert Jacobs told me. (And in a follow-up email: “Believe me, if there was a man on the moon, we’d be recounting our own astronauts to make sure we got them all back from Apollo and then telling everyone else!”)
Fair enough. The rational explanation, after all, is quite often the best one.
And yet there’s something about the image that lingers. In a vast landscape of shameless Photoshopping and Internet hoaxes, and at a time where most people have long since given up on the Loch Ness Monster and the Cottingley Fairies, there’s still that little tug of wonder—misplaced, though it may be.
Just think: We can zoom in on actual photographs of the actual moon from our unbelievably sophisticated handheld computers. But it’s the smudge of dirt on a camera lens that makes people marvel at the depths of what we still don’t know.
Read Wait, Is That a Human on the Moon? on theatlantic.com
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Weekly Address: America’s Resurgence Is Real
| Weekly Address: America’s Resurgence Is RealIn this week’s address, the President reflected on the significant progress made by this country in 2014, and in the nearly six years since he took office.
This past year has been the strongest for job growth since the 1990s, contributing to the nearly 11 million jobs added by our businesses over a 57-month streak. America is leading the rest of the world, in containing the spread of Ebola, degrading and ultimately destroying ISIL, and addressing the threat posed by climate change. And earlier this week, the President announced the most significant changes to our policy towards Cuba in over 50 years. America’s resurgence is real, and the President expressed his commitment to working with Congress in the coming year to make sure Americans feel the benefits. Watch the President’s Weekly Address now.
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| A Look Back at 2014As 2014 winds down, President Obama stopped by the press briefing room in the White House yesterday to offer his thoughts on what the past year has meant for the country.
“I said that 2014 would be a year of action and would be a breakthrough year for America,” he said. “And it has been.” If you missed the President’s news conference, check it out here:
The United States and Cuba are separated by no more than 90 miles of water, but an ideological and economic barrier has hardened between our two countries for the past 50 years. On Wednesday, however, President Obama announced historic new steps to chart a new course in our relations with Cuba. “Today, America chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past so as to reach for a better future — for the Cuban people, for the American people, for our entire hemisphere, and for the world,” he said.
Take a deep-dive into the President’s historic actions at WhiteHouse.gov/Cuba-policy. President Obama Visits the Troops, “Just to Say Thank You” On Monday, the President traveled to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey to offer his thanks to the U.S. military members and families stationed there and across the world for their service to our country. “The message I’m here to deliver on behalf of the American people is very simple,” he said. “It’s just to say thank you.”
The President also marked an important milestone: After more than 13 years, we are finally bringing a responsible end to America’s war in Afghanistan. When the President took office, we had nearly 180,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the end of this month, we’ll have fewer than 15,000 in both countries. Over the course of six years, we have brought home 90 percent of our troops. And this month, Afghans will take full responsibility for their security. As always, see more of the week’s events in the latest edition of West Wing Week. |
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Union of Concerned Scientists … Playground politics
Here’s what a Texas lawmaker recently said: “What if we just said no [to the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules on power plant pollution]? There is a precedent in Texas to say we’re not going to be under the federal government’s boot.”1 He might as well have said, No! We don’t have to follow the rules! That sort of thing is barely acceptable on the playground—as a way of setting national policy, it’s downright dangerous. Yet it’s happening now: Twelve states are suing the EPA to block new rules on global warming pollution.2 And even if they lose, there are a string of bills in state houses around the country to gut progress on clean energy and protect fossil fuel interests—in effect, to roll back years of work and victories you and I have made possible. That’s why UCS is launching an ambitious new campaign next month to make sure states make real progress on clean air and renewal energy. States have to devise plans to comply with new EPA rules that cut global warming pollutants from power plants. If we don’t have the right resources now, our opponents will beat us to the punch, and we’ll miss out on this opportunity to move states forward. Please don’t let that happen. Our analysts and outreach staff need resources to take our hard hitting, science-based campaigns to even more states—to beat back attacks on the EPA and pass proactive legislation to ramp up wind and solar development and energy efficiency. What you give now determines just how hard we can fight in the weeks and months ahead—for science, clean air, and our families’ health. Here’s how UCS will use your support to make a difference. Here’s how we’ll win:
Those are the same ways UCS members helped secure landmark fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, impose limits on global warming emissions from coal-fired power plants, and cut sulfur pollution from gasoline—all in the last two years. It’s also how we helped kill nearly every single legislative attempt to roll back support for wind and solar development in the states. We even beat the Koch brothers in their home state of Kansas.3 And it’s how we’ll convince key states to strengthen their reliance on clean and renewable energy. On January 1, we’re immediately ramping up our work in three states where legislators are poised to adopt stronger renewable energy policies—Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota. That’s just the beginning of our state-based work in 2015. The number of states we can reach depends on your support right now. Legislative sessions open up in early January. We either get ahead of the fossil fuel industry or we don’t. The only disadvantage we face when compared to the people who protect corporate interests and deny climate science is resources. It’s just that simple. We’ve got the science, the experts, the everyday people fighting for their futures and their families’ health. We’re making a difference, but with your extra generous support right now, we can—we will—do so much more. A lot of groups have a role to play in fighting global warming. Ours is unique. We are the leading national organization built by and for scientists and people like you who look to science first when faced with threats like sea level rise, persistent drought, and toxic pollution. We are the trusted experts on climate science and clean and renewable energy. And you are the power behind each of our campaigns. The new year is just around the corner,
P.S. As a UCS member, you should know you’re well respected by leaders in the climate movement. Just recently, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) said he “always follows UCS because they’re always right.” We appreciate that, and I can tell you—with your support—we always strive for accuracy and integrity in the defense of science. I’m proud of that, and hope you are too. 1. http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20140929-litigation-looms-over-state-co2-hearings.ece |
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Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood ~~ Personal reasons for hope
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