memes

I quite appreciate the visceral dislike that people have for Tesla. Given that we see their products directly in our everyday lives, I certainly don't blame people for reacting this way, and I'm happy to encourage this sort of scrutiny, especially over the longer term. I sometimes think, though, that the zeitgeist is missing some of the deeper damage that Musk's enterprises are inflicting. I don't think there's nearly enough journalism about the ongoing effects of DOGE cuts, for example.

And then there's SpaceX. In all the anger over the throttling of Starlink ("Starshield") for the defenders in Ukraine, I haven't seen a single note of awareness about Starlink and LEO satellite megaconstellations being inherently harmful (regardless of who launches them). Aside from the increased orbital collision risk, the atmospheric pollution, and the blinding of astronomical facilities (including asteroid defense), there's the threat to the ozone layer from all that reentering aluminum. All of which will only increase as lunatics continue to use near-orbital space as their dumping ground.

It's a powerful metaphor for our time. When it comes to Tesla, I think there's a good company in there, somewhere. And SpaceX absolutely employs some of the best aerospace talent on the planet, capable of advancing legitimate science and exploration in space. And yet, so many brilliant folk are caught up employing their skills in juvenile displays like flying car stunts and planet-encircling rings of disposable satellites.