Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/25/add-environmental-to-starlinks-list-of-possible-hazards.html
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If aluminum oxides are the problem, regulation to address the composition of the satellites seems better than abandoning the service entirely.
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There is a place for communication satellites, maybe even a place for services like Starlink, but as the article explains the best way to bring reliable service to the largest number of people is to expand ground-based infrastructure and use satellites only to fill in the remaining gaps instead of using taxpayer dollars to help Elon blast a bunch of e-waste with a 5-year-lifespan into low Earth orbit.
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But how will Elon expand his wealth if he can’t cover the skies with satellites and replace all ground-based infrastructure, as is his right as an already wealthy man?!? /s
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this is a key line from the study:
“The environmental impacts from the reentry of satellites are currently poorly understood.”
So let’s find out and err on the side of caution while investigating. It could be having impacts in surprising ways or it could be minimal impact. Either way, we need to understand it.
The volume of stuff that is being put into orbit is staggering.
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It is. But it’s still about a hundred times smaller than the mass of meteorites that burn up in the atmosphere.
but how do those two things relate to each other?
trees discard more leaves by weight than the plastic bags we discard. so the plastic is all good right?
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Aside from the material composition of these satellites, another big difference is that we aren’t using untold material and energy resources or dumping tons of carbon into the atmosphere for every meteorite that passes through our planet’s atmosphere.
Indeed, I forgot to apply the “Is that a big number?” question. Yes, it is a lot more satellites than we have had in the past but relatively speaking it is still a small amount of stuff burning up in the atmosphere compared to what is naturally occurring.
But let’s keep an eye on it to ensure that it doesn’t become a problem. At one time we never had a problem with burning all our rubbish, now we try to be a bit more smart about it.
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