This would be such a bad idea. I've just read 'The Secret World of Twilight' by Sally Coulthard, which celebrates all the reasons why we need twilight, as distinct even from darkness. We're already significantly losing both twilight and darkness and projects like this would only make things so much worse.
Archimedes' Death Ray meets Star Wars, what a terrible idea! Our technology advancements are far outpacing our wisdom to use it responsibly. And no, one company and a few rich customers should not be able to arbitrarily beam light wherever they choose.
Thank you, Dennis, for the Archimedes reference (something I'd entirely forgotten) and for the reminder of how our wisdom has been outpaced. Sometimes I think we crossed that threshold with the steam engine...
It should not be such a surprise that in this day and age, some company wants to conquer the night sky half way to heaven. The idiocy of not recognizing what is happening to our planet, to endeavor to continue to make a colossal mess of it. Not to mention, how it would affect nocturnal species. Everything is 100% wrong with this idea. How I wish you ended your post with—not to worry, this idea is entirely science fiction. First thing that came to mind was the classic beginning of Star Trek: “Space…the final frontier “nighttime sunlight on demand”,sounds more like the technology needed for the ‘Hunger Games’.“Banish the night”, will there be no more sacred places to enjoy the night sky? With the Trump family interests beginning to focus on space satellite technologies, I’m sure it won’t be long before the name is connected to this project. If it smoothly flies through FCC approval, well then, I guess we’ll find out soon enough. What an incredible piece of writing, Jason, especially your ending. Rob Mulholland’s mirror sculptures, eerily appropriate.
Thank you, Lor. It does seem of a messy piece with the emptiness of today's tech and political worlds. Big ideas that are as dysfunctional as they are nonfunctioning, but the wrong people are profiting nonetheless.
I can barely stand to consider the implications for the health and well being of all life. Nonetheless, pay attention we must and speak out however we can. As always, thank you for your outstanding research and writing. 🙏
Thank you, Leah. It's hard to comprehend, isn't it, how a big team of people can work for years on a planet-changing project without thinking about the planet.
Excellent work, Jason! This is human "ingenuity" and "innovation" in action: we never run out of new ways in which to trash the ecosphere we depend on (not to mention the ethical implications).
Thanks, Erica. It's the problem of cleverness without guardrails... We're so deep into abstract ideas of how to live that we can't see outside the logic of the fictions being written for us. This Reflect Orbital nonsense, like so much else, is logical without being at all rational.
Thank you, Stella. The ecological impacts of capitalism are an easy target, but a necessary one. It's good to keep these conversations going, because there's so much to repair and restore.
Thank you for your analysis of what seems to be an insane plan. At a time when we are supposed to be concerned about human induced global warming the addition of some extra radiation would appear to be an unhelpful suggestion.
Thanks, Rupert. From my reading, I think the reflected radiation is so small that no one is worried about excess heating/radiation. But the rocket launches, re-entry chemistry, and all the impacts from the light at night provide plenty to worry about.
Thanks Jason, I was referring more to their intention than the effect of their mad plan. If it fails to increase the radiation then it is also not up to the intended task
This topic came up recently in a conversation I had with the head of a gargantuan private credit firm. We were on stage at the World Policy Conference, speaking in front of top-tier executives and officials from around the globe. As a final question in our talk about geopolitical turmoil and systemic risk, I asked her a standard closing question: “So what keeps you awake at night?” Her answer: “Space.” Your article, Jason, outlines exactly what she was talking about. Thanks for shedding your incisive and eloquent light on this.
Thank you, Terry, for your kind words and a fascinating anecdote. There are so many other answers she might have given, from the state of the oceans to potable water, from habitat loss to the ecological costs of stark inequality, but the wild west behavior in low earth orbit is a charismatic crisis, certainly.
This would be such a bad idea. I've just read 'The Secret World of Twilight' by Sally Coulthard, which celebrates all the reasons why we need twilight, as distinct even from darkness. We're already significantly losing both twilight and darkness and projects like this would only make things so much worse.
Thank you, Juliet. I'll have to take a look at Coulthard's book. It's a nice point about needing the full natural range of darkness.
“Why banish the night?”
Mirrors in space, vain high price.
Living world needs dark!
Archimedes' Death Ray meets Star Wars, what a terrible idea! Our technology advancements are far outpacing our wisdom to use it responsibly. And no, one company and a few rich customers should not be able to arbitrarily beam light wherever they choose.
Thank you, Dennis, for the Archimedes reference (something I'd entirely forgotten) and for the reminder of how our wisdom has been outpaced. Sometimes I think we crossed that threshold with the steam engine...
It should not be such a surprise that in this day and age, some company wants to conquer the night sky half way to heaven. The idiocy of not recognizing what is happening to our planet, to endeavor to continue to make a colossal mess of it. Not to mention, how it would affect nocturnal species. Everything is 100% wrong with this idea. How I wish you ended your post with—not to worry, this idea is entirely science fiction. First thing that came to mind was the classic beginning of Star Trek: “Space…the final frontier “nighttime sunlight on demand”,sounds more like the technology needed for the ‘Hunger Games’.“Banish the night”, will there be no more sacred places to enjoy the night sky? With the Trump family interests beginning to focus on space satellite technologies, I’m sure it won’t be long before the name is connected to this project. If it smoothly flies through FCC approval, well then, I guess we’ll find out soon enough. What an incredible piece of writing, Jason, especially your ending. Rob Mulholland’s mirror sculptures, eerily appropriate.
Thank you, Lor. It does seem of a messy piece with the emptiness of today's tech and political worlds. Big ideas that are as dysfunctional as they are nonfunctioning, but the wrong people are profiting nonetheless.
I can barely stand to consider the implications for the health and well being of all life. Nonetheless, pay attention we must and speak out however we can. As always, thank you for your outstanding research and writing. 🙏
Thank you, Leah. It's hard to comprehend, isn't it, how a big team of people can work for years on a planet-changing project without thinking about the planet.
Hard to comprehend indeed. What could possibly go wrong?
Excellent work, Jason! This is human "ingenuity" and "innovation" in action: we never run out of new ways in which to trash the ecosphere we depend on (not to mention the ethical implications).
Thanks, Erica. It's the problem of cleverness without guardrails... We're so deep into abstract ideas of how to live that we can't see outside the logic of the fictions being written for us. This Reflect Orbital nonsense, like so much else, is logical without being at all rational.
What a great way to get into the absurdity (and danger) of illumination from on high.
Thanks, Andy. A good opportunity for reflection, right?
This came in an email right after another about sleep deprivation.
Plenty of stories to keep us up at night...
Wow, thanks again for so well articulating the insanity of capitalism. The poor Earth and its creatures!
Thank you, Stella. The ecological impacts of capitalism are an easy target, but a necessary one. It's good to keep these conversations going, because there's so much to repair and restore.
Wonderfully well written.
Thank you, Scott.
Amen to everything you say here.
Thank you, Stacey. I'll keep on preaching... and hope that the word gets out to more than the choir.
Thank you for your analysis of what seems to be an insane plan. At a time when we are supposed to be concerned about human induced global warming the addition of some extra radiation would appear to be an unhelpful suggestion.
Thanks, Rupert. From my reading, I think the reflected radiation is so small that no one is worried about excess heating/radiation. But the rocket launches, re-entry chemistry, and all the impacts from the light at night provide plenty to worry about.
Thanks Jason, I was referring more to their intention than the effect of their mad plan. If it fails to increase the radiation then it is also not up to the intended task
This topic came up recently in a conversation I had with the head of a gargantuan private credit firm. We were on stage at the World Policy Conference, speaking in front of top-tier executives and officials from around the globe. As a final question in our talk about geopolitical turmoil and systemic risk, I asked her a standard closing question: “So what keeps you awake at night?” Her answer: “Space.” Your article, Jason, outlines exactly what she was talking about. Thanks for shedding your incisive and eloquent light on this.
Thank you, Terry, for your kind words and a fascinating anecdote. There are so many other answers she might have given, from the state of the oceans to potable water, from habitat loss to the ecological costs of stark inequality, but the wild west behavior in low earth orbit is a charismatic crisis, certainly.