Space on Earth: How Thinking Like an Astronaut Can Help Save the Planet
8 SPACE ON EARTH or floods Those same conditions may also make it harder for us to grow the food we need to feed ourselves And while some species may become extinct like coral others may enjoy the warmer tempera tures Mosquitoes for example could become a lot more common in many more places bringing malaria and other diseases with them It’s a pretty scary pic ture just as scary in fact as what would happen to those astronauts on the ISS if they didn’t take care of their environment When it comes right down to it then our planet isn’t so differ ent from the ISS Think about it as Spaceship Earth It’s bigger than the space station to be sure and that size can sometimes make it seem like we have a limitless supply of the resources we need But the plain truth is that we don’t So maybe it’s time to get inspired by the astronauts who live and work in space How do they keep their air and water clean and make sure there’s enough food to eat How do they cut down on trash and energy use Are there ideas being explored in space that could spark innovations in our own backyards The answer to all of these questions is Yes Throughout this book we’ll take a closer look at some of the key environmental problems we’re facing on Spaceship Earth and then we’ll look up way up for inspiration By the time you finish reading one thing will be very clear there’s no shortage of amazing and innovative ideas for protecting this planet we call home Dying coral reefs
INTRODUCTION Spaceship Earth 9 If you want to start thinking like an astronaut it’s probably a good idea to meet one This book can help you out with that One of the authors Dr Dave Williams has made two space shuttle flights and performed three space walks on the International Space Station He’s actually lived in space for about a month in total When it comes to space-age sustainability he knows what he’s talking about and he’s excited to share his experiences and ideas Keep your eyes open for the Dr Dave’s Life on the ISS or Dr Dave’s Living in Space feature in each chapter They’ll take you inside the International Space Station for an up-close look at how astronauts take care of their environment Dr Dave is also a scientist so he’s included a few experiments that will help bring what you learn to life Watch for the Experimenting with Dr Dave feature in each chapter ASTRONAUT INSPIRATION INTRODUCING DR DAVE
10 SPACE ON EARTH CHAPTER 1 WATER INSPIRATION Make Every Drop Count The Trouble Down Here Close your eyes and imagine our planet Got it Chances are your brain is painting a picture of Earth from outer space looking like one of those big bouncy balls you played with when you were younger Back in the 1990s before you were born a scientist named Carl Sagan saw a photograph of Earth taken from the space probe Voyager 1 and gave our planet a nickname the pale blue dot What he saw when he looked at that photo was a whole lot of blue the blue of our oceans and seas and lakes A whopping 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered in water So there should be plenty to go around right Look quickly and it would seem so but looks can be deceiving We need to remind ourselves that we don’t have a never-ending supply of water and to start treating it as the precious resource it really is
EVAPORATION The Water Cycle Wait a minute you might be saying Something's not adding up What about the water cycle Isn't Earth's water con- stantly recycled Okay you have a point Water is in some ways a pretty renew- able resource That's because the same water evaporates into the sky and falls as rain over and over and over again So we kind of do have a never ending PRECIPITATION SNOWMELT LAKE EVAPORATION GROUNDWATER FLOW PERCOLATION TRANSPIRATION OCEAN There is the same amount of water on Earth right now as there was when Earth was formed 1 GALLON 2-3 TABLESPOONS 1/3 CUP If the world's water supply totaled 1 gallon 3.75 liters the amount of fresh water would be about one third of a cup 80 millimeters The amount of usable fresh water the stuff we can access would be about two to three tablespoons 30-45 milliliters supply of water don't we Well yes and no While we're not likely to run out in the near future we might soon have a harder time finding water we can actually use Supply and Demand Only 3 percent of all that ancient Earth water is fresh water not saltwater and 2.5 percent of that is out of our reach Some of it is trapped in polar ice caps glaciers or soil And thanks to our grow- ing impact on the planet a bunch of the water we can access is polluted making it unsafe to use 1. WATER INSPIRATION Make Every Drop Count 11
