4 ms·

A Modest Proposal: Let's Change Earth's Orbit

39 points by dilawar 5y ago

robotomir 5y ago
What could possibly go wrong?
- a3n 5y ago
  Gohmert could be re-elected.
prepend 5y ago
This proposal is not practical. Refused.
mojomark 5y ago
Reminded me of the concern about the island of Guam 'tipping over'[1]. What are we (the U.S.) doing that results largely in the pool of political candidates comprised of people who are so out of touch with reality and lack basic common sense? How do we instead incentivise our best minds to run for office? 1. https://youtu.be/X5dkqUy7mUk https://youtu.be/X5dkqUy7mUk
- nnwright 5y ago
  And his defense of his mind numbing stupidity was that he was at a Bureau of Land Management meeting and so it was a completely coherent thing to say. Clear cut forests, build a really tall jenga tower, and push the moon from there... was that the idea?
  - perl4ever 5y ago
    The idea was that because in his mind, climate change is only caused by changes in Earth's orbit, the BLM can't do anything to help. Asking if they could change orbits was sarcastic.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > How do we instead incentivise our best minds to run for office? Stop electing the idiots when they run?
  - ajuc 5y ago
    The only reason idiots get elected is idiots having majority among the voters. Almost all problems in democracy start with education.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- perl4ever 5y ago
  I thought that (Guam) was Gohmert for some reason, but I found it attributed to Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat. After reading the Snopes page on the comment, clearly it was deadpan humor that for some reason people made way too much of. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tipping-point/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tipping-point/ "Only Johnson knows for sure what he was thinking as he questioned Admiral Willard, and he later claimed he was “speaking metaphorically” and “kidding” (although critics noted no trace of humor was apparent in his words, tone, or body language, nor did he react or offer correction when Admiral Willard addressed his concerns about the island’s “tipping over” as if they were meant literally)"
pope_meat 5y ago
I propose we send the earth in to the sun instead of away from it. It might be harder, but I think it will be worth the effort.
TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
Wouldn't it be easier to move the Sun? It's just a big cloud of gas, after all.
HWR_14 5y ago
So, this is what we do if bringing giant ice-cubes into the ocean doesn't work? Thanks Futurama.
a0-prw 5y ago
The person who suggested this was elected: voted into their position by a majority. That worries me far more than the prospect of anyone actually trying to implement this spectacularly stupid idea.
- zardo 5y ago
  The majority of people from a polygon drawn to ensure his victory.
erulabs 5y ago
I love this article and enjoyed it and the writing style, but I wish we would stop countering bad-faith arguments with bad-faith, or in the case of the comments, assumptions of complete stupidity. Gohmert, who asked about “moving the moon”, knows very well that task is beyond our capabilities. He was suggesting that effecting the earths climate -at all- is beyond our capabilities. He’s completely wrong, and being a jerk, but he didn’t genuinely ask if we could move the moon. This reminds me of when the last president said “I could shoot someone and still be popular” and people genuinely thought he literally meant that. Being an asshole is worth calling out - we don’t have to pretend they’re completely brain dead. The more interesting conversation is: can the BLM and forestry services effectively curb climate change with a bigger budget? In this case it was malice, and not stupidity, although the rule of assumption stands - this is the exception to that rule. One could argue being unaware of how we -do- effect the climate is stupidity, and I’d agree - but if you comment “this guy really thinks we can move the moon!?!??!” You’re falling into a well constructed trap designed to prevent a real conversation between the isles.
aazaa 5y ago
> During a congressional hearing last week, Republican Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas asked a U.S. Forest Service official if her organization or the Bureau of Land Management could change the orbit of the moon or Earth to reverse the effects of human-caused climate change. ... Given the political affiliation and lack of context for the questioning, my assumption was that Gohmert was trying to point out how ridiculous it is to think that people can act on a scale large enough to affect the planet. This applies both ways: to create climate change or to reverse its effects. The man may indeed be dumb as a bag of rocks, but without some more context to this exchange there's no way to know.
sergiomattei 5y ago
This reminds me of the famous SpongeBob episode[0] where Patrick, in a desperate attempt to save the town, suggests they "take Bikini Bottom and push it somewhere else". [0] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t0sTNLdNhuE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t0sTNLdNhuE

39 points by dilawar 5y ago

robotomir 5y ago

What could possibly go wrong?

a3n 5y ago
Gohmert could be re-elected.

prepend 5y ago

This proposal is not practical. Refused.

mojomark 5y ago

Reminded me of the concern about the island of Guam 'tipping over'[1]. What are we (the U.S.) doing that results largely in the pool of political candidates comprised of people who are so out of touch with reality and lack basic common sense? How do we instead incentivise our best minds to run for office? 1. https://youtu.be/X5dkqUy7mUk https://youtu.be/X5dkqUy7mUk

nnwright 5y ago
And his defense of his mind numbing stupidity was that he was at a Bureau of Land Management meeting and so it was a completely coherent thing to say. Clear cut forests, build a really tall jenga tower, and push the moon from there... was that the idea?
- perl4ever 5y ago
  The idea was that because in his mind, climate change is only caused by changes in Earth's orbit, the BLM can't do anything to help. Asking if they could change orbits was sarcastic.
dragonwriter 5y ago
> How do we instead incentivise our best minds to run for office? Stop electing the idiots when they run?
- ajuc 5y ago
  The only reason idiots get elected is idiots having majority among the voters. Almost all problems in democracy start with education.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
perl4ever 5y ago
I thought that (Guam) was Gohmert for some reason, but I found it attributed to Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat. After reading the Snopes page on the comment, clearly it was deadpan humor that for some reason people made way too much of. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tipping-point/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tipping-point/ "Only Johnson knows for sure what he was thinking as he questioned Admiral Willard, and he later claimed he was “speaking metaphorically” and “kidding” (although critics noted no trace of humor was apparent in his words, tone, or body language, nor did he react or offer correction when Admiral Willard addressed his concerns about the island’s “tipping over” as if they were meant literally)"

pope_meat 5y ago

I propose we send the earth in to the sun instead of away from it. It might be harder, but I think it will be worth the effort.

TheOtherHobbes 5y ago

Wouldn't it be easier to move the Sun? It's just a big cloud of gas, after all.

HWR_14 5y ago

So, this is what we do if bringing giant ice-cubes into the ocean doesn't work? Thanks Futurama.

a0-prw 5y ago

The person who suggested this was elected: voted into their position by a majority. That worries me far more than the prospect of anyone actually trying to implement this spectacularly stupid idea.

zardo 5y ago
The majority of people from a polygon drawn to ensure his victory.

erulabs 5y ago

I love this article and enjoyed it and the writing style, but I wish we would stop countering bad-faith arguments with bad-faith, or in the case of the comments, assumptions of complete stupidity. Gohmert, who asked about “moving the moon”, knows very well that task is beyond our capabilities. He was suggesting that effecting the earths climate -at all- is beyond our capabilities. He’s completely wrong, and being a jerk, but he didn’t genuinely ask if we could move the moon. This reminds me of when the last president said “I could shoot someone and still be popular” and people genuinely thought he literally meant that. Being an asshole is worth calling out - we don’t have to pretend they’re completely brain dead. The more interesting conversation is: can the BLM and forestry services effectively curb climate change with a bigger budget? In this case it was malice, and not stupidity, although the rule of assumption stands - this is the exception to that rule. One could argue being unaware of how we -do- effect the climate is stupidity, and I’d agree - but if you comment “this guy really thinks we can move the moon!?!??!” You’re falling into a well constructed trap designed to prevent a real conversation between the isles.

aazaa 5y ago

> During a congressional hearing last week, Republican Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas asked a U.S. Forest Service official if her organization or the Bureau of Land Management could change the orbit of the moon or Earth to reverse the effects of human-caused climate change. ... Given the political affiliation and lack of context for the questioning, my assumption was that Gohmert was trying to point out how ridiculous it is to think that people can act on a scale large enough to affect the planet. This applies both ways: to create climate change or to reverse its effects. The man may indeed be dumb as a bag of rocks, but without some more context to this exchange there's no way to know.

sergiomattei 5y ago

This reminds me of the famous SpongeBob episode[0] where Patrick, in a desperate attempt to save the town, suggests they "take Bikini Bottom and push it somewhere else". [0] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t0sTNLdNhuE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t0sTNLdNhuE