Two recent environmental and toxic disasters were entirely preventable. At least the first disaster was easily preventable. I’m speaking of the Norfolk Southern Railroad derailment in East Palestine Ohio on February 3rd. The derailment involved some 50 cars carrying hazardous materials. Ten of those cars derailed. Apparently, a wheel or axile overheated causing the derailment. Heat sensors did not trigger alarms until the friction temperature was too high causing the failure. Five of those cars were carrying vinyl chloride. This gas is extremely toxic. When a person is exposed to vinyl chloride, they have an increased risk for various cancers of: the liver, brain, lung as well as the lymphatic and blood cancers; lymphoma and leukemia. The immediate remediation of this spill was to ‘burn off’ the toxins from the derailed cars resulting in clouds of toxic smoke.

The environmental impact and risk to human health are significant. However, Earth is a big place and global effects are unlikely. Environmental damage and threats to human health caused by such spills are locally horrendous but, that is not my main point in this discussion. To be sure efforts and changes in practice are called for. 

The second disaster in Arizona on February 14th is a little more complex. In this disaster there was a crash involving a tanker truck carrying nitric acid on Interstate 10 outside of Tucson, Arizona. There are as yet few details about the crash as the driver of the truck was killed. Nitric acid leaked from the tanker causing evacuations and sheltering in place. The transportation of hazardous materials on State and Interstate highways is always problematic. Traffic conditions and private driver performance are difficult to control. In 2019 there were approximately 510,000 large truck crashes nationwide reported to police. An unknown fraction of these crashes involved the release of toxic substances.

Since these were acute disasters with severe local impacts there was significant press coverage. Slow moving, but much larger disasters such as Climate Disruption (Climate Change) affect the entire globe, yet efforts to address this much greater tragedy are met with significant pushback from polluting industries.

Thus far we as a global civilization have been essentially forgiven by nature because Earth is such a very large place in comparison to the spill size. However, the size of the planet vs the immensity of our destructive practices has passed a tipping point. We are having a significant and increasing impact on the health of our living planet.

Even one of these smaller disasters occurring within a space colony would be catastrophic. The largest space island we can conceive would still be miniscule by comparison to Earths biosphere. Even fumes generated by cooking would need to be captured and not allowed to contaminate the limited atmosphere on a space habitat. The number of animals including humans would need to rigidly limited and balanced to plant life to maintain a sustainable ecosystem.

Can we get there? If we ever achieve space settlements, they can only be successful if they are in perfect environmental balance. Space is such a hostile place that it will require a very high degree of cooperative skill and shared purpose by diverse and talented people to succeed. I begin this discussion toward the end of my non-fiction book, The Evolution of Life: Big Bang to Space Colonies. My second book, Islands in The Void furthers this theme. This new book should be released sometime in the spring. Stay tuned. Some draft chapters have already been shared on this blog with more to come.

Richard Anderson, author