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Lessons from space with NASA astronaut Cady Coleman
On Jan. 4, my nonprofit, The Sustainability Lens, hosted former NASA astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman for a virtual interaction held at the Pleasanton Library.
With rain in the forecast and many people out of town, I expected about 10 attendees and nearly canceled. Instead, over 150 people showed up in person, with 80 others watching the livestream.
I started The Sustainability Lens after noticing a barrier to climate action: climate research and media coverage are often difficult for the public to interpret. The nonprofit focuses on translating complex climate science into clear, accessible knowledge that supports community action, including through our YouTube podcast, “Simply Sustainability”.
I discovered Dr. Coleman’s book “Sharing Space” at the Pleasanton Library and was intrigued by her insights from space about sustainability on Earth. I invited her to be a guest on my podcast, and she generously agreed. Since it’s not every day we hear from a NASA astronaut, I opened the event to the Tri-Valley community.
Dr. Coleman spoke about her path from chemistry and the Air Force to becoming an astronaut, her work on space shuttle laboratory research, and deploying the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
She humanized space science with practical details, even how astronauts pee and poop. She also shared her experience as a woman persisting in space exploration, including having to use a medium-sized spacesuit because the small suits that fit her were discontinued.
She closed by highlighting the importance of teamwork, mission-driven work, and diverse perspectives, all essential, she reminded us, to protecting our home planet.
– Pareena Gupta
Special teams shine
So exciting! Super Bowl LX is in California: Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots will be at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 8. In pigskin history, Super Bowl 50 was there.
Super Bowl Sunday is unofficially an American holiday. On this day, oodles of fans rush to parties hosted in bars, homes and restaurants across the nation. Scoring and safety come in games.
In football, special teams are vital for scoring. They are responsible for kicking plays and are key players to the game.
Gatherings must have a special team, and might be one person. This team can eat, laugh and talk with all throughout the game and does not drink alcohol. This sober person drives those who are drunk.
When 16 in 1992, I was hit head-on by a drunken driver and seriously hurt. I cope with my handicaps daily for 30-plus years.
Out of the 360 DUI arrests CHP made statewide on Super Bowl 50 in 2016, one person was killed and 52 were injured in alcohol-related crashes. Bring that down! Super Bowl LX highlights California, and let the decrease of drunken drivers do the same.
Feeling tipsy and ready to go home? Do not drive. Get a ride from any sober driver: special team or not (e.g., taxi).
Special teams ensure successful endings.
– Lori Martin
Greenland, Minneapolis and, oh yeah, Epstein
I have a big favor to ask of you. Please pay attention to Greenland and please pay attention to Minneapolis. The fact that I just wrote such a sentence, mentioning Greenland and Minneapolis, two places that, as far as I know have nothing in common except being cold, speaks volumes to the upside down world we live in today.
Why Greenland? Trump has stated that, “One way or another, we are going to have Greenland.” Specifically, he wants to buy it with funds from who knows where, but likely it would be U.S. taxpayers, or invade it.
Based on recent comments (incoherent rants is probably a more accurate description), he may be backing off on this, but this is a guy who has targeted Greenland not because he’s thought of the collateral damage it could cause, but because it looks so big on a map.
And we all know about Minneapolis by now – Renee Good and Alex Pretti murdered by ICE, Kristi Noem and the administration defending the murder with cruel and nonsensical rhetoric, 3,000 more ICE agents deployed to Minnesota and a 5-year-old detained and put in a detention center in Texas.
Similar surges of ICE agents are being seen in Maine and Alaska with more states to follow, undoubtedly.
So please take note – the USA is now becoming an imperialist bully and the out-of-control mayhem reeked by ICE is expanding. Let your voice of resistance be heard now; we still have three more years of Trump and his goons.
And don’t forget: the Epstein files. Trump has wanted Greenland and ICE to provide a distraction from this ongoing scandal. So in addition to being a wannabe king and a tyrant, he is also engaged in a massive pedophila coverup.
– Ward Kanowsky
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