Category Archives: Moon Colonization

Photo: Toshifumi Kitamura (Getty Images)

A Japanese fashion magnate, who has booked an all-civilian SpaceX flight round the moon for 2023, has now announced that hes also making an earlier trip this December to the International Space Station. On Thursday, billionaire Yusaku Maezawa tweeted: Going to the ISS before the Moon . Sounds perhaps slightly more action-packed than the 2023 moon trip, which will consist entirely of orbiting a rock where nothing happens, and gazing at the Earth, a location where everything happens. Perhaps ponder the fact that money is no good on the moon, and then go home.

The trip is facilitated by space tour agency Space Adventures, which has arranged space tours for a handful of monied clients, primarily tech entrepreneurs, including billionaire engineer Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, and Anousheh Ansari. Maezawa will board the Russian Soyuz MS-20 from Kazakhstan and spend 12 days in space accompanied by a cosmonaut and his personal production assistant.

In a statement published by ABC News, Maezawa said Im so curious, Whats life like in space? So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world. He can tweet about it while hes up there.

Maezawa has also famously arranged the 2023 SpaceX mission dearMoon, aboard SpaceXs Starship rocket, a commercial civilian space flight. Maezawa has solicited the public for eight creatively-minded people to join, all expenses paid (applications are now closed). They expect to circle the moon, which will take six days in total.

I want to be reminded of how small, how insignificant I am, Maezawa said in a mission trailer. In space, I think I will realize anew how small I am, how much more I have to experience.

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But his star may fade after SpaceXs first all-civilian mission, to launch later this year, for nobody remembers space travelers unless they did something first up there. My colleague Tom McKay might urge Maezawa to cement his relevance as the first man to blow up the moon, which is madness, but would at least head off the inevitable global moon colonization Cold War.

Read this article:
Japanese Billionaire Making a Stop on the ISS Before His Big Trip to the Moon on Elon's Rocket - Gizmodo

The following is a list of books for adults and for young readers focused on the history, culture, survival, and contemporary lives and storytelling of Indigenous peoples.

Return to the main feature: Retelling the History of Indigenous People.

ADULT:

ATRIA

From the Ashes: My Story of Being Indigenous, Homeless, and Finding My Way

Jesse Thistle, June

The Mtis-Cree authors memoir of overcoming trauma, prejudice, and addiction as he struggles to find a way back to himself and his Indigenous culture.

BISON

Black Snake: Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Environmental Justice

Katherine Wiltenburg Todrys, June

Spotlights four leadersLaDonna Allard, Jasilyn Charger, Lisa DeVille, and Kandi Whiteand their fight against the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline that made world headlines in 2016.

BLACK PRIVILEGE

State of Emergency: How We Win in the Country We Built

Tamika D. Mallory, out now

An in-depth, intersectional look at America's history of colonialism and systemic racism, offering a hopeful look to the future and tangible solutions for dismantling white supremacist structures.

CELADON

Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana

Abe Streep, Sept.

Follows a high school basketball team on a reservation in the American West along with their teammates, coaches, and families, as they balance the pressures of adolescence, shoulder the dreams of their community, and chart their own individual courses for the future.

COMMON NOTIONS

Feminicide and Global Accumulation: Frontline Struggles to Resist the Violence of Patriarchy and Capitalism

Edited by Silvia Federici, Liz Mason-Deese, and Susana Draper, Aug.

Gathers stories, memories, and experiences of struggles against the murder and assassination of women and violence in all its forms, based on the first-ever International Forum on Feminicide among Ethnicized and Racialized Groups.

HARPER

By the Light of Burning Dreams

David Talbot and Margaret Talbot, June

Uses exclusive interviews, original documents, and archival research to explore critical moments in the lives of a diverse cast of iconoclastic leaders of the twentieth century radical movement, including Russell Means and the warriors of Wounded Knee.

The Taking of Jemima Boone: The True Story of the Kidnap and Rescue That Shaped America

Matthew Pearl, Oct.

Explores the kidnapping of legendary pioneer Daniel Boones daughter and the dramatic aftermath that rippled across the nation.

HARPER PERENNIAL

Horse Girls

Halimah Marcus, Aug.

An essay collection that smashes stereotypes and redefines the meaning of the term horse girl, broadening it for women of all cultural backgrounds, including "Unconquered," an essay by Braudie Blais-Billie about how horses bridged a connection between her Seminole and Quebecois heritage.

HENRY HOLT

Ridgeline: A Novel

Michael Punke, June

An account, based on real people and events, of the violence and horror of a Wyoming massacre that presaged the Battle of Little Big Horn.

HERALD

The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery

Sarah Augustine, June

The author, a Pueblo (Tewa) woman, reframes the colonization of North America as she investigates ways that the Doctrine of Discoverya set of laws rooted in the 15th century that gave Christian governments the moral and legal right to seize lands they discoveredcontinues to devastate Indigenous cultures, and the planet itself, as it justifies exploitation of both natural resources and people.

HIGHWATER

Splxm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence

Nicola I. Campbell, Sept.

The authors memoir as an intergenerational survivor of Indian Residential Schools, and her journey of overcoming adversity and colonial trauma to find strength and resilience through creative works and traditional perspectives of healing, transformation, and resurgence.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky: A Novel

Margaret Verble, Oct.

In 1926 Nashville, Two Feathers, a death-defying young Cherokee horse-diver on loan to Glendale Park Zoo from a Wild West show, must get to the bottom of a mystery that spans centuries.

INHABIT MEDIA

What I Remember, What I Know: The Life of a High Arctic Exile

Larry Audlaluk, out now

The author describes his familys struggle to survive following the High Arctic Relocation of the 1950s in which Inuit families were relocated by the Canadian government to Grise Fiord, one of the coldest inhabited places in the world. Juxtaposed with excerpts from official reports that conveyed the relocatees plight as a successful experiment, he describes broken promises, a decades-long fight to return home, and a life between two worlds as southern culture begins to encroach on Inuit traditions.

The Man of the Moon

Gunvor Bjerre, illus. by Miki Jacobsen, July

Published in English for the first time, a collection of Greenlandic myths and legends that have been passed down orally for generations, featuring young protagonists.

IVP

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

Terry M. Wildman, Aug.

A dynamic equivalence translation of the Creators Storythe Christian Scripturesfollowing the tradition of Native storytellers' oral cultures, capturing the simplicity, clarity, and beauty of Native storytellers in English, while remaining faithful to the original language of the New Testament.

MICHIGAN STATE UNIV.

Bkejwanong Dbaajmowinan / Stories of Where the Waters Divide (Makwa Enewed)

Monty McGahey, out now

A collection of stories from the elders of Bkejwanongformerly known as Walpole Island, Ontariowho understand the importance of passing on the language to future generations to preserve the legacy of the community. With English translations, this resource is essential for Anishinaabemowin learners, teachers, linguists, and historians.

The Founding Mothers of Mackinac Island: The Agatha Biddle Band of 1870

Theresa L. Weller, Aug.

A comprehensive history of the lineage of the seventy-four members of the Agatha Biddle band in 1870, which began as a small handful of unrelated Indian women joined by the fact that the U.S. government owed them payments in exchange for land given up in the 1836 Treaty of Washington, D.C.

Louise Erdrich's Justice Trilogy: Cultural and Critical Contexts

Connie A. Jacobs and Nancy J. Peterson, Oct.

A collection of essays focusing on the three novels that comprise Erdrich's justice trilogyThe Plague of Doves, The Round House, and LaRosewhich are set in northern North Dakota, where small towns and reservation life bring together a cast of characters whose lives are shaped by history, identity, and community.

MILKWEED EDITIONS

Peyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity

Darrel J. McLeod, Aug.

Following up his award-winning debut memoir, Mamaskatch, which portrayed a Cree coming-of-age in rural Canada, the author confronts how both the personal traumas of his youth and the historical traumas of his ancestral line impact the trajectory of his life.

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Naadamaading: Dibaajimowinan Ji-Nisdotaading

edited by Anton Treuer, illus. by Jonathan Thunder, Aug.

Together with their other friends and family, Makoons and her friend Nigigoons go berrying and fishing, and listen to the stories of the elders. Created to encourage learning Anishinaabemowin, the language of Ojibwe people, these original stories are written in Ojibwe and a monolingual text presented only in Anishinaabemowin.

The Good Berry Cookbook: Harvesting and Cooking Wild Rice and Other Wild Foods

Tashia Hart, Sept.

The author, an ethnobotanist, follows the Anishinaabeg people of the Great Lakes region through seasons and spaces to gather wild foods and contemplate connections among the people and their plant and animal relatives.

The Cultural Toolbox: Traditional Ojibwe Living in the Modern World

Anton Treuer, Oct.

Provides the personal stories of one Ojibwe family's hunting, gathering, harvesting, and cultural practices and beliefswithout violating protected secrets.

Voices from Pejuhutazizi: Dakota Stories and Storytellers

Teresa Peterson and Walter LaBatte Jr., Oct.

Stories, from five generations of the family of Tasina Susbeca Win, that bring people together, transmit traditions, teach how to behave, and deliver heroes, especially those who do not appear in school or history books.

NIMBUS

I Place You into the Fire: Poems

Rebecca Thomas, out now

The first poetry collection from the Mi'kmaw spoken-word poet and former poet laureate of Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Nova Scotia.

NORTH ATLANTIC

Afrikan Wisdom: New Voices Talk Black Liberation, Buddhism, and Beyond

Edited by Valerie Mason-John, July

A spiritual, political, and interdisciplinary anthology of wisdom stories from today's Black liberation thought leaders and teachers, including an essay reflecting on the author's African and Native American ancestry, mapping the erasure and oppression of both groups and the socially complex history they shared.

PRINCETON UNIV.

After One Hundred Winters: In Search of Reconciliation on America's Stolen Lands

Margaret D. Jacobs, Oct.

Confronts the harsh truth that the United States was founded on the violent dispossession of Indigenous people and asks what reconciliation might mean in light of this haunted history.

The rest is here:
New and Forthcoming Titles on Indigenous Peoples - Publishers Weekly

The Telegraph

Moroccan MPs on Wednesday admitted the country had waved thousands of migrants into Spain as part of an attempt to exert political pressure on Madrid. Rabat was outraged by Spanish authorities' agreeing to treat the leader of the Polisario Front, a pro-independence movement it has long fought in the Western Sahara, for coronavirus. Brahim Ghali, 71, was hospitalised in Spain under an alias earlier this month. The EU on Wednesday said it would not be "intimidated" by Moroccan blackmail in response to the mass influx into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta of around 8,000 people, including some 1,500 children, as local security forces watched on. However, it appears Spain has in fact buckled to the pressure, with Madrid now pushing ahead with a prosecution of Mr Ghali for alleged war crimes. On Tuesday video emerged showing Moroccan border guards opening a gate in the security fence that surrounds Ceuta, and shepherding a line of young migrants through the gap. On Wednesday morning, Spanish soldiers in combat gear and police officers were escorting some swimmers directly back to Morocco, while Moroccan police drove hundreds of young man away from the border fence.

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Spectacular early morning eruption of Mount Etna - Yahoo News

In Nasas bravest decision since the start of the Apollo project in the 1960s, on Friday (16) the American space agency selected the SpaceX spacecraft to enable the transportation of astronauts to the lunar surface in its Artemis program. This made the trip to the moon a bold all or nothing.

Two other proposals were submitted, one from Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos company, owner of Amazon, backed by heavyweights like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman) and one from Dynetics (in partnership with Sierra Nevada). SpaceX, as usual, was the cheapest and least conventional with a single-stage vehicle to land and take off from the moon.

Under the contract, the company will have to make two flights: a full test of the Starship system for unmanned student landing and the first manned demonstration flight. At the time the proposal was made, the first astronaut landing on the moon would be in 2024, but NASA is reviewing the program and the date is unlikely to be maintained although the impossible with the SpaceX bet has only become unlikely.

This is because the company is relatively advanced in the development of the spaceship and is expected to conduct the first orbital test later this year. On the other hand, its an extremely innovative (and therefore risky) project. The fact that NASA selected him is a tremendous vote of confidence.

The $ 2.9 billion order is a bargain. In contrast to what NASA spent on its own high-performance rocket, the SLS, and its capsule for flights to the moon, Orion: the agency spends the same amount in just one year, and its development has been going on for more than a year. An Orion has even made a single flight, and the SLS has yet to make its first launch, which could happen this year.

NASA intends to maintain all of this architecture initially. When landing on the moon, the spaceship is put into orbit, refueled in space and then put into orbit. There he and the crew would be coupled to an Orion launched by an SLS that would descend on the spaceship to the surface of the moon and ascend with him to a new encounter with Orion that would bring them back to Earth.

Now nobody can forget that SpaceX planned the spaceship so that it leaves Earth already manned and can return in this state. This means that if the system becomes reliable, the expensive SLS-Orion duo loses its function. Nor does it hurt to remember that the spacecraft was designed by Elon Musks company to promote the future colonization of Mars something SLS and Orion could never do.

In essence, NASA will fund the maturation of an inexpensive, reusable vehicle that can open the doors to the occupation of the solar system. Or you lose the moon without being able to land there in the next few years. Pure boldness.

This column is published in Folha Corrida on Mondays.

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NASA signs a $ 2.9 billion contract with SpaceX to take astronauts to the moon KSU | The Sentinel Newspaper - KSU | The Sentinel Newspaper

Elon Musk has set his sight on Mars err, the moon. The Tesla CEO and SpaceX boss who has been obsessed with colonizing the red planet has now set his eyes on a different celestial body: The moon. But it may not be all literal, and it may be the result of the billionaires personal vested interest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin. Elon Musk has an obsession with the two cryptocurrencies The billionaire SpaceX CEO and Tesla boss every so often post something about the Internets favourite meme cryptocurrency that drastically shoots up the price every time he tweets about it. And it seems his obsession and enthusiasm isnt dipping anytime soon.

Late on Saturday, Musk posted a vague tweet, going to moon very soon. While this seems ordinary enough, crypto enthusiasts will know it is actually part of an original phrase that bitcoin miners and cryptocurrency nerds often use when talking about the prices and value of the cryptocurrency, for example, Were taking Bitcoin prices to the moon! And whether Musk may not have meant it about cryptocurrency for a rare change, but prices of Bitcoin still jumped up all the same.

Bitcoin surged above $60,000 for the first time since March, approaching record highs on Saturday, according to Business Insider. As of 9:00am eastern time on Sunday, the currency was at $59.604.06 on the Bitstamp exchange. The cryptocurrency is up over 700% from a year ago when a single bitcoin was below $7000. This year, bitcoin is up over 100% after a February rally brought the cryptocurrency over $50,000 for the first time.

Could Musks tweet be the reason?

Probably. This isnt the first time Musk has done this. This isnt even the second. (At this point were losing count.)

On April 1, Musk shared a tweet that read, SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon. While the cryptocurrency is invisible, and not a real-life object you can physically touch, the literal bit may be debatable. What Musk could imply would be either putting a representation of what Dogecoin is on the moon, in the form of a statue, or art installation, or a visual representation of the cryptocurrency with the Shiba Inus face. It could alternatively mean, he would somehow set up a computer or platform to trade the cryptocurrency out of, on the mooon. Musks tweet didnt clarify.

Musk in February had posted a Twitter poll, asking his 45.8 million followers to choose the future currency of Earth. He gave two options: Dogecoin to the Moooonn or All other crypto combined.

The poll resulted in 71.3% of the 2.4 million voters saying that Dogecoin to the Moooonn would be the future of currency. Looks like Musk plans on actually ensuring it.

Read all the Latest News and Breaking News here

Read more from the original source:
Elon Musk's Mars Colonization Plans May Have to Wait, He's Going to the Moon 'Very Soon' - News18

In this era of climate crisis, space mining is a topic of increasing relevance. The need for a net-zero carbon economy requires a surge in the supply of non-renewable natural resources such as battery metals. This forms the background to a new space race involving nations and the private sector.

Read more: How business is taking the space race to new frontiers

Canada is a space-faring nation, a world leader in mining and a major player in the global carbon economy. Its therefore well-positioned to actively participate in the emerging space resources domain.

But the issues arising in this sphere are bigger than Canada, since they involve the future of mankind on Earth and in space.

On Earth, attempts to address global warming include switching to a net-zero carbon economy through mass rollouts of electric vehicle fleets and investments in large-scale renewable generation infrastructure. Doing this successfully would require vast quantities of battery metals (lithium, cobalt, nickel), critical minerals (copper) and rare Earth elements so much so that market analysts have warned of a potential metals supercycle. In a supercycle, demand wildly outstrips supply, relentlessly driving up prices.

For this reason, the mining industry is actively looking towards new frontiers in mining. These include the circular economy (recycling and enhanced mine waste management), deep sea mining and space mining. Space mining holds the potential for rich rewards, but also comes with robust challenges.

One of the most serious challenges is the lack of a cohesive regulatory framework for governing mining in outer space. While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty has been signed by all space-faring nations and is widely considered to be the constitutional document of outer space law, it has interpretation gaps.

Importantly, it determines that no nation can claim any celestial body (such as the moon) for itself but its silent on whether derivative resources can be owned.

Earth lawyers contemplating space-mining projects are likely to look at four aspects: security of tenure, the fiscal regime, the bankability of the project and the projects feasibility. Lets break them down.

In mining terms, security of tenure means having secure and stable rights throughout the mining cycle. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty is unclear on who would own any extracted resources, and interpretations vary.

So far, Luxembourg and the United States have enacted domestic legislation that favours the possibility of claiming extracted resources, thereby bringing security of tenure to space mining companies located in those jurisdictions.

This issue refers to the payment of taxes, royalties or the like. Here, the 1979 Moon Agreement comes into play. Only two space-faring countries are party to it: India and Australia.

Read more: Australia has long valued an outer space shared by all. Mining profits could change this

Theres disagreement on the role that the Moon Agreement should play in outer space law. Some argue that its not pertinent to non-party countries; others point to its language and suggest parallels with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Both instruments refer to the common heritage of mankind.

UNCLOS has set up an international regulatory body, the International Seabed Authority, to licence mining in the deep sea on a royalty payment basis. Royalties are then to be distributed equitably among all nations on Earth. Some argue for a similar system to apply to outer space.

The third issue, project bankability, concerns the capacity of the project to attract funding.

To a large degree this will be determined by the prior two issues: security of tenure and the applicable fiscal regime. This again demonstrates the need for agreement on a clear legal framework before rushing into action.

The last issue, has several facets. Technical feasibility is currently enjoying a lot of attention, with much research and development going into the advanced robotics and automated systems that would be needed for space mining operations.

Read more: Made in space: tangible reality or daydreaming?

Technological breakthroughs to date include the discovery of water crystals on the moon and on Mars, and the harnessing of 3D printing technology in space for manufacturing purposes. These make space mining more viable.

With the worlds two wealthiest people now both engaged in the space race Jeff Bezos with Blue Origin and Elon Musk with SpaceX we can expect rapid technological acceleration.

Economic feasibility means that space mining would have to make financial sense. The looming shortage in non-renewable natural resources coupled with technological advances and the mind-boggling mineral wealth present in even a single asteroid may well make it so.

Theres an additional reason why international agreement and co-operation in the outer space domain is crucial: the peaceful use of outer space, as required by the Outer Space Treaty.

In October 2020, eight countries signed a NASA-led initiative called the Artemis Accords. These included the United States, Canada, Australia and Luxembourg. Notably absent were Russia and China, who have since agreed to collaborate with each other on space initiatives.

Legal issues about the ownership of space resources must urgently be addressed to avoid space wars over natural resources between superpowers like the U.S., Russia and China. This includes the legal status of the Artemis Accords. Ideally, it should be done before space mining starts.

Finally, space mining raises certain ethical questions, such as whether the moon could be considered a legal person, if space mining would entail a new form of colonization and how the common good of mankind could best be served through mining in space.

Read more:
Space mining is not science fiction, and Canada could figure prominently - The Conversation CA

Books of My Life

Q and A with Stacey Boden, who we are pleased to announce is Rosslands new Library Director.

Many patrons will remember Stacey from her time as Interim Director just over a year ago. Stacey comes to us with an impressive resume of library - related experience, most recently at the Trail Public Library. Staceys volunteer contributions to Women Against Violence Against Women as well as the Downtown Eastside Womens Centre in Vancouver shaped her interest in a career in public service and honed her keen interest in the importance of providing welcoming, safe, community spaces. Stacey lives in Trail with her husband and two wonderful children and loves to read as much as possible. When not reading, Stacey enjoys camping and is learning to appreciate winter sports.

What is your favourite childhood book?

My favourite childhood book is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is such a heart wrenching tale of loss, friendship, compassion, and the overall goodness of humanity. It is a great reminder that there is a huge capacity for good in each of us, plus the many beautiful editions and artwork that have graced the covers and pages over the years.

What book did you most enjoy in school?

The book I liked the most in school was Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. I was blown away by the alternate take on Jane Eyre from the perspective of Rochesters first wife and without giving too much away, its a short novel about colonization, relationships, and mental illness that Ill never forget.

Name one classic youre embarrassed to say youve never read.

In spite of being a long-time fantasy genre lover, I have never finished Lord of the Rings. I get about halfway through the first one and while Tolkien is the master of description, a person can only read about a forest for so long before it is easier to just be in one. Peter Jackson did such a phenomenal job with the films that I feel all right about this.

Name a book youve pretended to have read.

I never made it all the way through Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and skipped through the book for school. Ive tried a few times to get through the entire thing but the characters that fascinated me the most got the least amount of development and so I read other books like Wide Sargasso Sea to fill in those gaps and never quite made it back to Jane Eyre. I made sure to get the Cliff Notes for school projects and managed to pass any classes that covered it but havent actually read it. Ill keep trying!

What book do you read over and over?

I have completely lost count of the number of times I have read A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Theres nothing better for lightening a mood than the humour of Douglas Adams, closely followed by watching old episodes of Monty Pythons Flying Circus. The tongue in cheek exploration of humanitys highs and lows are such a fun read and who cant relate to Arthur trying to save the universe in his house coat equipped with a towel and a rag tag group of friends to help him along the way?

Name the last book that made you laugh.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle made me laugh, cry, and feel inspired. Her candid way of writing her latest memoir provides great insight into her life and her sense of humour shines through in every chapter. Theres a good reason why it was at the top of the bestseller list for most of 2020.

Name the last book that made you cry.

This has to be Refugee by Alan Gratz. Gratz takes historical happenstance and weaves it into a compelling and interesting young adult novel. It follows three children in three different time periods all connected through stories of being forced to leave their homes and endure harrowing journeys to safety. Refugee is so relevant for current events today and it was great to read it with my children and discuss the bigger picture issues that are raised.

Name one book everyone should read.

Everyone should absolutely read 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph. This short book dives into the Indian Act in a way that history hasnt always made clear and provides insights and offerings that we can all take to heart to create a better future for Canadians everywhere.

Name an author / book that changed your life.

Reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer changed the way I think about food and where it comes from, and is something Ive carried with me ever since.

(A great companion is The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan). Foers investigative and biographical approach makes for a great read and the subject matter is so thought-provoking.

What are you reading now?

I have a few books on the go right now and they are all very good!

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice is a beautifully written, post-apocalyptic tale with a real undertone of heaviness as it deals with subjects of loss, survival and colonization. Its only a little over 200 pages so its a quick read and Im looking forward to the discussion that will follow in an Indigenous Authors Book Club I belong to. Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown is another book club read and Im enjoying that its written from two perspectives, a modern-day woman and a 1950s housewife who wrote recipes left behind for someone else in the house to find. The writing is fast-paced, and the story is so intriguing! I am curious to see how their lives intersect and what mysteries unfold!

RPL Announcements and Information

Annual General Meeting

The RPLA Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 14th at 7 p.m. via Zoom. To participate, email info@rossland.bclibrary.ca

If you are interested in becoming a Trustee, pick up an application form and information package at the front desk.

RPL Book Club

RPLs April Book Club meeting is at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 29th, via Zoom, and features The Overstory by Richard Powers. The Overstory interweaves the lives and unique relationships between people and trees and was short-listed for the 2018 Man Booker Prize and won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. To participate, register at ravenreadsbookclub@gmail.com.

Kootenay Library Federation Book Club

The April KLF Book Club features Birds Eye View by Elinor Florence. This novel chronicles the life of a young woman from Saskatchewan who joins the air force during World War II and travels to England where she is trained as an aerial photographic interpreter. In June 2016, Birds Eye View was listed as a Canadian fiction bestseller in The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. To register and obtain a copy of the book, email kootenaylibrariesprogramming@gmail.comThe meeting is also on April 29th but at 6:30 PM.

Art

Sue Deanes Hemlock now hangs behind the front desk. Please come in to view this beautiful painting.

Kobo

The library has one Kobo reader to loan. See front desk staff if you are interested.

Staff and Patron Recommendations

Are displayed at the front entrance. Librarian Sabine recommends the 2007 novel The Shack by Canadian author Wm. Paul Young. Originally self-published, this novel became an international best-seller and was made into a movie in 2017. The Shack, wrestles with the question: Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain? as a father struggles in the aftermath of the kidnapping and murder of his young daughter. According to the author, the shack is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you get damaged ... the thing where shame or hurt is centered.

Former library student page Diego recommends bestseller Red Rising by Pierce Brown, a 2014 dystopian science fiction novel set on planet Mars of the future. Red Rising is the first of five books in the series by the same name.

Libby

You can easily access hundreds of magazines from your Libby app. On the main page click on Library, then Whats Available. You will find a description of books, audio and magazines. Click on Magazines and scroll through the list of titles.

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Here's what's happening at Rossland Public Library - Rossland Telegraph

It is dawn at Thacker Pass. The sun rises over the Santa Rosa Mountains, and light spears through the blue-green leaves of the sagebrush that spreads out in all directions.

A herd of mule deer orbits our camp. Each evening, they meander westwards along the south-facing hillside of the Montana Mountains, browsing and grazing on the way to their evening beds. And every morning, they come out of the canyon and make their way back east, to a small canyon where they will wait out the sun.

This morning, the deer are joyful. The younger individuals run back and forth, pronking at top speed. Half the herdthe elders, I assumegraze placidly while the youngsters tear across the hillside, first one direction, then another, spinning and leaping, chasing each other. There is no predator in sight and nothing has spooked them. They are simply happy, enjoying the springtime. They have made it through the hard hungry winter. The grass is green again. The temperatures are comfortable. The sun is shining, they are with their loved ones, and the does are pregnant. Another generation stirs at Thacker Pass.

The meadowlarks are singing. They flit from sagebrush to sagebrush, varying their songs, speaking to each other and to us. Their dawn chorus awakens me every morning. A new day is born. A new spring. New nests to build, and young to raise.

The first time I heard a meadowlark singing, I fell in love. No human voice can match their whistles and warbles, their trills and scales. They are songbirds. Their world revolves around music. Foraging, mating, travel, nest-building, all accompanied by song.

Thacker Pass has its own rhythms. The cycle of morning and night: birdsong and deer moving across hillside. The cycle of weather patterns: sagebrush drinking in ephemeral rain and snow, yellow flowers emerging from soil beneath sheltering stones. The cycle of seasons: the slow grind of winter, the long sigh of spring, the stuffy stillness of summer, the building anticipation of fall. The cycle of deep time; creeks carving their way through stone, plants migrating across land. This is the pulse of life itself.

For thousands of years, people have been part of these rhythms of this place, which is called Peehee-mm-huh, Rotten Moon, in the Paiute language. An elder named Eddie Smart who grew up on the Fort McDermitt Reservation tells us stories of the history of Peehee-mm-huh. Of the seasonal rounds. Digging wild onion and wild potato in the spring. Hunting deer in the summer. Gathering firewood and medicine in the fall. And hunkering down in the winter, like everyone else, to wait for the sun to return. Different from other creatures, but not separate. Part of the whole.

I wish I were here to simply enjoy the beauty of this place; to watch the deer at play and the taste of fresh trout seasoned with wild onion. But thats not why I am here. I am here, camped on this mountainside, as I have been off and on for nearly three months, because this entire placethe pronking deer, the singing meadowlarks, their nests among the sagebrush, the yellow flowers under the boulders, the Paiute medicines, the yellow morning light on fresh spring sage, the green grass of spring emerging from the soil, all of themare under threat.

A Canadian mining company called Lithium Americas plans to turn this place into a vast open-pit lithium mine and chemical processing facility. Where once was a wild expanse of habit alive with birdsong, they plan to did a two-square mile pit 400-feet deep into the hillside. Where rabbits run and coyotes howl, they plan to bulldoze and build a sulfuric acid plant. Where now we hear the wind and the see the herd of deer, they plan heavy trucks at all hours. What was once wild, destroyed. Explosives. Bulldozers. Poisoned water. Strip mining and infrastructure, new power lines and toxic tailings waste. Razor-wire fences and 24-hour spotlights.

What kind of sick mind can imagine destroying this dance? Not just taking one deers life to feed your family, but laying waste to an entire mountainside?

Jack D. Forbes, a Renape-Lenape scholar and native community organizer, says that the mindset behind the industrial destruction that threatens Thacker Pass is not simple greed. He uses the term wetiko disease to describe a person who is mentally ill or insane, the carrier of a terribly contagious psychological disease based on an endless drive to consume. This mindset is not rare in our culture. Forbes writes that wetiko behavior and wetiko goals are regarded as the very fabric of European evolution, and drove European colonization which spread the wetiko mindset worldwide. He contrasts this with sanity or healthy normality, which involves a respect for other forms of life and other individuals.

I know of no better way to describe what threatens this place, and by extension, our entire world: people driven mad by an ideology of consumption and progress, and an economy and political system that rewards them. Why else would you destroy the planet?

Tears have been coming easily lately. Ill be walking along, or reading, or having a conversation, and suddenly Im crying. My heart lurches in my chest. I start to tremble. Its because of this place. Its because I am in love with Thacker Pass, with Peehee-mm-huh, with the deer and the antelope and the meadowlarks and the golden eagles and the pair of red-tailed hawks nesting on the cliff behind camp. And I dont know if I can stop the destruction.

Fighting a project like this is not easy. Its exhausting. I miss my fiance. I miss my home. I am tired from day after day of organizing, writing, photography, interviews, strategizing, planning. I havent been clean in a week. But I keep going, because that is what you do when youre in love. You dont abandon your loved ones.

I am asking you to become the person that Thacker Pass needs, the person that the world needs: the warrior-poet, the water protector, the inspiring leader.

There is a hard thing about falling in love. Once it happens, you are accountable to your beloved. You are responsible. Love has a way of helping us to surpass ourselves, to learn and grow and become better people. And so Im here at Thacker Pass. I need your help. This place needs your help. We cant do this alone. This is an invitation to those of you who are sitting on the sidelines. Come to Thacker Pass. Join us. Be a voice and body and mind standing against the destruction. Not just for a day. Commit to this fight (and the next, and the next).

Stand with me at Thacker Pass, with meadowlark song and the sweet scent of sage in the air, beneath the circling Golden Eagles. Stand up and say: No. You will not destroy this place.

If you are interested in joining us, visit our websiteto learn more about getting involved. And speak out on this issue. We cant save the planet by destroying it. Transitioning away from fossil fuels and fixing humanitys broken relationship with the planet will require a more critical approach.

Max Wilbert is an organizer, writer, and wilderness guide. He has been part of grassroots political work for nearly 20 years. His second book,Bright Green Lies: How The Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It, co-authored with Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith, has recently been released.

The opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of the Sierra Nevada Ally. Our newsroom remains entirely independent of our opinion page. Published opinions further public conversation to fulfill our civic responsibility to challenge authority, act independently of corporate or political influence, and invite dissent.

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Dispatches from Thacker Pass - The Song of The Meadowlark. - The Sierra Nevada Ally

Architecture on Mars: Projects for Life on the Red Planet

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February 2021 has been a historical month for Mars exploration. While humans have been exploring the red planet for well over 50 years, first landing on its surface in 1971 and then launching the first successful rover in 1997, this year has seen several firsts, namely the first time that three countries (China, United States, and the UAE) have launched three simultaneous probes.

While each expedition has different objectives, they will add to the database of information available through terrain analysis, sample collection, and other diverse research methods. Along with shedding light on the planet's many unknowns, this recent missions aim to pave the way for manned spacecraft to land on Mars, a plan that Elon Musk predicts will come to fruition in 2022.

With 3D printers, automated systems, and cutting-edge building technology, some architects have started exploring the various methods that could facilitate human colonization beyond the planet Earth.

Even NASA has launched competitions such as the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, the likes of which have played a fundamental role in exploring news technologies and methods in space exploration.

In this article, we highlight 14 project proposals--ordered chronologically-- that demonstratethe ever-growing possibility of human life on Mars.

German architectural firm ZA Architects, as a part of the Mars Colonization Project, designed an underground network of caverns for human inhabitation on the planet. By using robotic technology, the firm proposes forming large caverns in the planet's basaltic rock surface to house a basalt processing plant as well as an artificial underground glacier that would supply oxygen and water to the inhabitants.

The ICE House project was the winner or NASA's 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. The basis of the contest was to use native Martian materials, 3D printing, and SEArch and Clouds AO technology to create an ice dwelling that would protect its inhabitants from radiation. By channeling ice's ability to filter and deflect the sun's rays, ICE HOUSE prioritizes life on Mars' surface, making it a stand-out among projects that overwhelmingly opt to build underground.

Team Gamma's project won 2nd place in the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge." The design uses a semi-automated regolith fabrication system (RAM) to create a protective shield around an inflatable modular structure. The layout includes a free form deployment that yields surprising results.

LavaHive's project took home 3rd place in the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. The design consists of a modular, 3D printed dwelling manufactured using a cutting-edge building technique called "lava casting," in which materials from space vessels are recycled and reused. The project is centered on incorporating discarded materials into new, inhabitable structures.

After presenting their project for living on the Moon, Foster & Partners followed it up with a design for a modular home built for life on Mars, which they exhibited during a contest held by NASA. The design, aptly named Mars Habitat, consists of a settlement built by pre-programmed and semi-autonomous robots. 3D printing would render robust living quarters from native Martian rocks that could house up to 4 inhabitants. The project was among the 30 finalists in the competition.

Spanish architect Alberto Villanueva, from the IDEA Architecture Office, proposes combining native Martian materials with mycelium and fungus, known for its strong structural capacity and ability to withstand extreme climates, to create a small, protective atmospheric layer to make it more hospitable to human life. He also advocates for the use of bioluminescent bacteria as a source of light on the planet.

Created by a team of engineers, scientists, and designers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in collaboration with BIG architectural office, this project simulates Martian conditions right here on Earth, facilitating research and testing of different building strategies to best withstand Mars' heat and radiation. The project, aptly named Mars Science City, was built using 3D printing techniques and sand from the Emirati desert.

Architects Fatima Olivieri, Efrie Friedlander, and Rolando Lopez teamed up with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), NASA, and the Teaching and Learning Research Institute (TLRI) to create a virtual city on Mars, simulating a self-sufficient habitat able to accommodate 100 people. The architects hope to receive financing for the construction of a life-size model of the city on Earth before eventually building the real thing on Mars.

The Zopherus Project, designed by Trey Lane, Corey Guidry, Tyler McKee, Mark Hendel,and Austin Williams was the winner of the 3rd phase of NASA's 3D Printed Habitat Competition." The proposal includes a autonomous robot with an internal printing chamber that creates 3D hexagonal structures within its pressurized cabin by using materials extracted from Mars' surface.The process requires no human interference.

The MARSHA prototype from AI SpaceFactory was the 2nd place winner of NASA's 3D Printed Habitat Contest. Built using 3D printing methods as well as robotics technology, the project mixes basalt from the surface of Mars with vegetable-based bioplastic to create a durable building material. MARSHA challenges the image of architecture in the space age, concentrating on highly inhabitable structures that focus on human needs.

This project was a collaboration by Hassell Studio with Eckersley O'Callaghan (EOC), and was pre-selected as one of the top ten proposals in NASA's Centennial Challenge. The design is centered on the human element of space design, which tends to focus more on maximum efficiency and output rather than comfort. It's exterior consists of a Regolith framework built by autonomous robots while the interior is made up of inflatable "pods" that contain all the necessities for life on Mars.

Mars Case is a minimalist housing prototype for human inhabitance on Mars. For the design, OPEN Architecture visualized the ideal house that combines technological, architectural, and artistic perfection. It integrates electronic fixtures from Xiaomi to form a singular synthesized product. By using heat re-circulation, condensation, and other byproducts generated by each electronic gadget, the house recycles energy, water, and air in an integrated and self-contained ecosystem, minimizing the consumption of resources.

Investigating alternative materials for building the first Martian settlements, Malaysian architects Warith Zaki and Amir Amzar proposed building a settlement from bamboo, primarily for its ability to withstand the extreme conditions on the planet and ability to propagate without the help of pollinators. Not only this, bamboo could easily grow on the planet thanks to the abundance of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, making it a likely source of food for human settlers as well.

The Nwa Project from ABIBOO Studio is the result of extensive scientific research undertaken by SONet for The Mars Society. The design consists of modular, scalable fixtures situated on a cliff, forming a self-sufficient and self-sustaining vertical city able to accommodate a million inhabitants. The cliff itself provides natural protection from the Martian atmosphere.

Link:
Architecture on Mars: Projects for Life on the Red Planet - ArchDaily

By Charly Castillo and Sruthi Suresh

From constructing space transportation technology to planning the eventual colonization of Mars, the American company SpaceX has been making breakthroughs in the aerospace industry through its innovation. Even though substantial progress has been made in the field in recent decades, new ideas are needed to revolutionize the future of aerospace. To drive the next generation of scientific advancements, it is paramount that students push schools to incorporate aerospace-related topics into their curriculums from the elementary to high school levels.

As students in New Jersey public schools, we have personally seen the lack of aerospace topics covered in science courses and believe that by discussing them, students will find interest in aerospace careers and make a difference in the industry.

Currently, the aerospace sciences are not universally covered in New Jersey school curriculum, which may deter the next generation of potential STEM professionals from choosing to study the subjects in college, and eventually enter the industry. To garner interest in space science careers, exposure to the subject must start at a young age, but in reality, education in these subjects is not common in American high schools.

According to Larry Krumenaker, Ph.D., an astronomer, educator, and discoverer of the Milky Ways only microquasar, 4% of American high schoolers took an astronomy course in 2008, which is staggeringly low compared to other science subjects. Krumenaker attributes this to increased standardized testing due to the No Child Left Behind Act, as schools have begun redirecting their focus toward tested subjects like English and math. By not introducing students to the space sciences, schools are putting their students at a significant disadvantage since some may not choose to pursue fields they dont know the basics of.

Because of their lack of aerospace education, students, regardless of their interest in aerospace concepts, miss out on non-academic skills gained in courses addressing the field, including observational and exploratory techniques. According to Abdeel Khalid, Ph.D., professor of Industrial Engineering at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, introducing subjects like aerospace engineering to students is very useful. He states: Aerospace Engineering is a discipline in which a lot of learning is done by hands on, experimental, operational, observational, and exploratory techniques. These techniques can be taught and enjoyed by students of all ages including middle and high school students.

Such skills would be useful in a multitude of fields and industries, including aerospace. The National Science Teaching Association lays out guidelines for potential aerospace education programs. Non-academically, students engage in activities that are hands-on, minds-on, and collaborative approaches to learning. The NSTA encourages teachers to discuss the economic, historical and social perspectives of the subject, along with its scientific parts, showing the multifaceted nature of aerospace science and can strengthen a students performance in other classes, too.

Some may argue that the point of high school education is to develop fundamentals, while college is to begin to specialize. However, school is also meant to spark interest and develop important critical thinking skills that are transferable to other subject areas. High schools must focus on giving students the opportunity to explore different fields and find their passions so they can have a clear path toward higher education. Implementing aerospace science curriculum in New Jersey high schools would accomplish that.

The second man on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, hails from New Jersey. But the states rich history of space exploration extends beyond its most famous astronaut and includes Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan, the first American woman to do a spacewalk; Scott Kelly, the American astronaut with longest time in orbit; Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, the astronomers who discovered echoes of the Big Bang; along with countless aerospace engineers who have contributed to the study of space.

March is STEM Month in New Jersey -- a time to reflect on the contributions of New Jersey scientists, inventors, engineers, and mathematicians, but also to look toward the future generation of STEM professionals.

It is evident just how necessary aerospace courses are for a students education. While not every high school student who takes an aerospace course will eventually pursue it as a career, students interest cannot foster without the introduction of such topics at a younger age. By encouraging their schools to cover aerospace science topics, students are taking initiative that can lead to the next generation of scientific discoveries.

Charly Castillo is a junior at Weehawken High School, prospective astrophysics major and a 2021 Governors STEM Scholar.

Sruthi Suresh is a senior at the Middlesex County Academy of Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies and is working with a Rutgers University professor to improve the security of Cyber Physical Systems, such as drones.

Read more:
Space is the future of science, so why dont we teach it in school? | Opinion - NJ.com