The issue of the lack of funding for NASA has a strong connection to Earth Month. As I have mentioned before, many of the technologies developed out of NASA’s research have had advantageous effects on the environment, both on local and global scales. For my Earth Month Action Plan, I intend to spread awareness of NASA’s impacts on sustainability. As environment-friendly alternatives to everyday processes become increasingly prevalent, like using refillable water bottles in place of disposable ones and driving electric cars instead of ones that use gas, it is important to mention NASA’s spin-off technologies as to provide even more methods of “going green.” Through my actions, not only will people be exposed to new ways to live a more sustainable life, but they will learn where such possibilities come from, and therefore advocate for NASA’s improvement in its research through more funding.
In the first week of my plan, I will start with myself, and begin to use more sustainable systems, that have happened to be developed as a direct result of NASA’s research. For example, I will invest in a filter for my water, as to purify the tap water in Morrill Tower. This will help me to stop buying and drinking purified water from plastic water bottles. I have been wanting to do this for a while, but I think now is a better time than ever.
In the second week, I will extend my outreach to my friends and family. I will encourage them to use products like the tread-efficient car tires developed from NASA’s Mars expeditions, as they last longer than other tires, and increase fuel efficiency. I will also tell them about more efficient ways of using energy, like solar energy, for small devices like calculators, outdoor lights, and small appliances for cooking. Along with this, I will mention to them that we would not have solar power without NASA’s research, as well as emphasize how easily they can save money just by using solar power for small devices.
In the third week, I intend to contact the future president of the Astronomical Society, a club in which I am involved. I want to ask her if she would be interested in creating an event with me for the club, where we teach the other members about, new, sustainable technologies developed by NASA, how they came to fruition, and how they work. I think this would be both fun and educational, and possibly foster a more sustainable community of students on campus.
In the fourth week, I intend to reach out to the SUSTAINS learning community on campus to ask if they would be interested in learning about NASA’s impact on sustainability sometime during the end of this semester, or during the next fall semester. I think this would be a great opportunity to create a link between two different sciences, and encourage students outside of the physics and astronomy community to take notice of NASA’s impacts, and even advocate for NASA’s prosperity. To organize such an informational seminar, I would either volunteer to present the information myself, or contact either a “green” engineer in the area who could support NASA’s research and environmental spin-offs.
Some challenges I predict in this process include getting people to listen to me when I talk about NASA. As I am passionate about NASA’s work, I tend to talk about it a lot, and some people do not care about it as much as I do, so they do not care to listen to me talk about it. In order to prepare for this, I will talk about the environmental impact first, then emphasize NASA last when I present this information. I want to discuss NASA in a fun and interesting way, as to show that the organization has ties to everything we do as humans on Earth.