'Starwashing': The new space race has an environmental problem

> All the emphasis these companies place on technological progress is a distraction from dealing with the climate crisis, said Gregers Andersen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern Denmark who has written a forthcoming book about Silicon Valley overpromising tech solutions to climate change. “The problem is, of course, that it takes attention away from actually solving the problems that are here on Earth,” he said. “And I think that’s also what’s meant by the term of ‘starwashing.’”

This is an example of the fallacy of relative privation[0]. Private space ventures have essentially zero impact on climate change. They do not utilize the same resources that combatting climate change involves. Changing anything about space ventures will have no impact on the effectiveness or timing of climate change solutions. The global space industry is roughly the same size as the global cosmetics industry - it is exactly as ridiculous to say space is distracting us from the climate crisis as it is to say we should stop producing cosmetics until the climate crisis is solved. Environmental protection is important, but so are other things, and we neither will nor should stop everything to focus on one problem at a time.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies#Fallacy_of_r...

Space companies shouldn't try to help us out of this crab bucket. They should work to try to make this bucket full of crabs better. We should pull down any crabs that try to get out of this bucket.

Points for identifying an emerging environmental issue.

OK on science communication.

"Starwashing" thesis is poorly argued and framed.