I met Chip Proser at a National Space Society meeting in Denver a few years ago – actually we shared a ride from the airport to the conference hotel – and he wasn’t shy about sharing his enthusiasm for space and its role in helping solve environmental problems. Chip is a Hollywood writer/director/producer/cameraman, and he brought his camera to Denver and the following year to San Jose, to interview a number of space advocates about what space can actually do. The result has finally appeared, at least as a promotional release for a DVD that will be available soon: Gaia Selene.
Two premises here – (1) we humans have some serious problems here on Earth, with the environment, that we have to deal with. And (2) the Energy problem that’s at the core of our problems can be solved if just one of a handful of solutions involving the Moon can be made to work. It’s similar to the premise in Dennis Wingo’s book (another Huntsvillian) that lunar resources may be key to our future economy. In any case, Proser’s video looks like it’ll be a wonderful introduction to the problem and potential real solutions. Enough to make a difference?
A “review” copy of the video arrived in the mail the other day – we watched it tonight, and the kids actually sat through it! Entertaining enough, at least. He makes a great case for a return to the Moon, and not just for energy reasons (tourism, as a way to save life in case of disasters threatening all life on Earth, etc.) Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see if this gets any publicity – apparently it’ll be going out to film festivals etc. shortly.