Trash is piling up around the globe, from overflowing landfills to plastic waste washing up on shorelines. However, this problem extends beyond Earth itself. In this essay, Iris Gottlieb highlights a newer and often overlooked dumping ground: outer space. Gottlieb describes the human-made debris orbiting the planet and littering the Moon, arguing that outer space is a “public resource” that should be protected.
- What kinds of objects have humans put in outer space and on the Moon? What is a major reason why the number of objects in outer space is increasing, according to Gottlieb?
- How does the garbage orbiting around Earth affect both active satellites and ongoing scientific research? Consider the problem of the tragedy of the commons. What might happen to the shared resource of outer space if corporations and governments continue to send new objects into orbit?
- Where in her argument do you see Gottlieb responding to the “so what?” and “who cares?” questions? Point to specific sentences or phrases.
- Gottlieb writes, “Similar to how we treat the ocean, we regard the places we can’t see or use as fair game to be dumping grounds.” Do you agree, disagree, or both with this argument? What is another place – besides the ocean or outer space – that you think might be treated as “dumping grounds” due to the place being less visible or not “useful”?
- In her first paragraph, Gottlieb references the famous 1972 NASA image of “The Blue Marble” and uses the words “majestically,” “pristinely,” and “pure, unmarred” to describe this image. What story do Gottlieb’s words and this image tell about Earth? What role do human beings have in this story? Look at this image and reflect on it. What does this image mean to you?
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