Duke Of Cambridge's Pot-Shot At Bezos

[Khandro]

William tells them they should Focus on fixing Earth instead of space
Prince William's comments come hours after billionaire Amazon tycoon sent Star Trek's William Shatner into space on his New Shepard rocket.
Do you agree with me that this is a ridiculous waste of recourses done under the pretence that these Billionaires are in some way benefiting science & humanity.

[andy-hughes]

Gromit - // He’s blown his chance of quitting the Royals and getting a big cheque from Amazon for a whiny series. //

LOL!

[Ellipsis]

> William, and the rest of the Royal family should keep their traps shut on anything political

Define "anything political" ... or maybe you mean they "should keep their traps shut" full stop?

[andres]

Well ,300 tons of CO2 released every time they fly up into space is not to be dismissed lightly. It stays around for a long time. William is right to be concerned. We all should.

[andy-hughes]

Andres - when you compare that to the hourly output of China's coal fired power stations, it's nothing at all to get het up about.

[andres]

[email protected] ---I wasn't getting 'het up' about it. Just stating the fact that it seems an awful lot of CO2 for a pleasure trip.
Anyway thanks Khandro.

[vulcan42]

Who knows, it's just possible that in ten years time we discover a meteorite threatening extinction and we're saved by a Bezos or Branson rocket.

[ichkeria]

“ Answer Well ,300 tons of CO2 released every time they fly up into space is not to be dismissed lightly. It stays around for a long time. William is right to be concerned. We all should.”

Well he’s wrong about that too if he said it.
These flights have zero carbon emissions

[rowanwitch]

At some point in the future flights for leisure purposes will be looked upon with horror, unless technology develops to allow for zero carbon flights, these rich men 's follies at the extreme of this concept should be questioned, and the royal family do have a history of involvement in environmental and conservation issues. William strikes me as a thoughtful and intelligent young man who is trying to carry on that tradition. The British royal family do have access to those in power, they can get messages across to those who have the ability to effect change and can reach a wider audience.

[andres]

William did not ,as far as I am aware , mention the amount of CO2 . It was in an article in the Guardian over two months ago.

[ichkeria]

Bezos’s rockets, which afaik are designed to be reusable, use liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
So, a lot of water vapour, which may itself be problematic one day, but no carbon

[rowanwitch]

The infrastructure, and manufacture ?

[gulliver1]

Please, Can we send Boris and his Crap Conservative party into Orbit Forever.

[Khandro]

ichi; Roughly two-thirds of the propellant exhaust is released into the stratosphere (12 km-50 km) and mesosphere (50 km-85 km), where it can persist for at least two to three years. The very high temperatures during launch and re-entry (when the protective heat shields of the returning crafts burn up) also convert stable nitrogen in the air into reactive nitrogen oxides.

These gases and particles have many negative effects on the atmosphere. In the stratosphere, nitrogen oxides and chemicals formed from the breakdown of water vapour convert ozone into oxygen, depleting the ozone layer which guards life on Earth against harmful UV radiation. Water vapour also produces stratospheric clouds that provide a surface for this reaction to occur at a faster pace than it otherwise would.

Exhaust emissions of CO₂ and soot trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Cooling of the atmosphere can also occur, as clouds formed from the emitted water vapour reflect incoming sunlight back to space. A depleted ozone layer would also absorb less incoming sunlight, and so heat the stratosphere less.

[smurfchops]

Good for William, 200% agree with him.,