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Talking about the weather may be mere elevator chit-chat but, come rain or shine, there is no honest conversation that does not make some reference to the weather. With the recent droughts in the southern region, floods in the southeast region and atypical weather in the Northeast, terms like El Nino, La Nina and convergence zone have made their way into our everyday vocabulary and become the topic of many conversations.

Obviously the online community could not remain silent on the issue. Especially not in the face of Brazil's readying for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20.

But what do Internet users actually think about these recurring ecological disasters and atypical climate changes? Is the conversation a mere reflection of the fact that we now have access to weather occurrences throughout the world and are aware of disasters occurring at micro- and macro-regional levels, or are we indeed in the midst of a worldwide climate change with disastrous consequences?

Storm approaching in Marau, Rio Grande do Sul, 2009. Photo by Mateus Waechter on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

As reported in an article [en] published on Global Voices in 2009 concerning the effects of heavy rains in Salvador that were mitigated on account of information circulated among the online community, while some claimed that the heavier rains were due to climate changes, João Miguel Lima left a comment claiming that:

Para os climatólogos, ainda não quer dizer que o volume de chuvas seja mudança climática. Seria necessário um intervalo de tempo maior para se perceber um padrão novo para afirmar isso; até agora é uma instabilidade do clima.

Now that three years have passed, has it been long enough for us to draw more solid conclusions? Some Internet users believe so.

“Is the weather in your city wacky?“

The question was posed on a Yahoo! Answers forum by a user who triggered an online version of the ever prosaic elevator conversation:

Eu moro em Guarulhos-SP [São Paulo] e o tempo aqui cada vez está mais estranho, uma hora faz calor, outra o tempo fica nublado e friento, e outra chove e depois para de chover e faz bastante calor e depois frio. Tá uma doideira o tempo em Guarulhos, e na sua cidade?

The same question has reverberated in many online discussions; and there are few answers to the many questions raised. According to some specialists, climate change is real. A study published by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE according to its Brazilian acronym) in June 2010, for example, points out that floods are occurring with more frequency in the city of São Paulo.

As mudanças no clima (…) indicam aumento de dias com chuvas intensas e mais freqüentes e as projeções de crescimento da população na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, que deverá dobrar de tamanho nos próximos 20 anos, especialmente nas periferias.

Climate changes, combined with urban growth and rural development lacking adequate planning to ensure protection, lead to even greater social and economic consequences in both cities and suburbs.

The site Climate Changes is entirely dedicated to encouraging understanding and information-sharing regarding this phenomenon. In an article published on the site in 2009, the head of the Climate Change and Energy Program for the WWF-Brazil, Carlos Ritti, states that “climate change is the greatest environmental and development challenge of the 21st century.”

Uma série de eventos climáticos muito intensos ocorridos nesta última década já indicava que o clima do planeta está passando por uma transformação significativa.

Nonetheless, between clouds and torrential rains, many people end up not knowing the difference between climate and weather, and they end up not understanding the true dimensions of this phenomenon. According to Gabriel Cabral, in an article written for the site Education World:

O tempo refere-se ao estado momentâneo que ocorre em um determinado local a partir do ar atmosférico que pode ocorrer de maneira lenta ou rápida. Em diferença, o clima refere-se ao conjunto de condições atmosféricas que ocorrem em determinados locais de forma marcante.

Rio+20 for change?

Rio+20, the United National Conference on Sustainable Development, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, 20 years after the city also hosted the Earth Summit [en], where the concept of sustainable development was first endorsed, has already included climate change and the worldwide effects of climate change in its agenda. The UN itself already has a Convention on Climate Change [en], most recently held in Durban in November and December 2011.

According to the organization, “the Convention on Climate Change sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.  It recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

Smog in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Pierre-Yves Dansereau on Flickr. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Despite the objectives of Rio+20 including:

um comprometimento político renovado com o desenvolvimento sustentável, avaliar o progresso feito até o momento e as lacunas que ainda existem na implementação dos resultados dos principais encontros sobre desenvolvimento sustentável, além de abordar os novos desafios emergentes,

some specialists have noted that the conference does not have a clear and specific agenda. Marina Silva, the former presidential candidate, stated in an interview granted to the newspaper Folha de São Paulo and published on the site The Echo that the draft published by the organization, containing the zero draft of the Rio+20 outcome document:

é insuficiente. Genérico, não faz uma crítica ao modelo de desenvolvimento atual e dos padrões de produção e consumo. (…) Tudo parece apontar para aquele conhecido roteiro: decepção e paralisia dos governos, enquanto a crise socioambiental só se agrava -foi assim na COP 15, 16, 17…

One need not be a specialist to realize that something is changing and that the repercussions go beyond the confines of the elevator. This is no longer an isolated fact affecting merely one city, but rather a combination of various elements that bring to light the impact of these climate changes. Instead of questions, however, we need to focus on the answers.

Written by Fernando Sapelli · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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The Indian media and blogosphere have been locked in fierce battle over two words: “extensively,” and “totally.” If you’ve been following Indian news at all, you know that it is about the global health community’s tuberculosis debate.

India’s media sphere exploded last week with reports from Mumbai of a tuberculosis strain completely resistant to all known treatment. The Indian newspapers coined it “totally drug-resistant tuberculosis” or TDR-TB. But just a few days later the Government of India released a statement refuting the term TDR-TB, saying that the World Health Organization has no clear definition for TDR-TB, and that the TB emerging in Mumbai, India is merely another strain of extremely drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). They’re now calling it XXDR-TB, or “extensively drug-resistant TB.”

Electron microscope image of mycobacterium tuberculosis, responsible for tuberculosis. Image by Flickr user Sanofi Pasteur (CC BY-NC-ND).

The blogosphere and headlines erupted with experts and Indian citizens wondering why the Government of India and the big players in TB treatment were arguing over what to call it, rather than what to do about it.

Bharati Ghanashyam, a blogger for Journalists Against TB, summed up the outrage that erupted in the global health blogosphere following the Indian Ministry of Health's statement, “Call it any name but banish it.”

Ghanashyam commented that the TDR-TB fiasco arose on the heels of the news that India had been declared polio-free for an entire year. His question: how could India achieve such a milestone but drop the ball so badly with TB? He then noted that there was “considerable debate, denial and discussion on whether this new form can be termed TDR-TB.”

As per a report in the Indian Express, “The doctors from Hinduja have unnecessarily raised a panic alarm. The term TDR is not recognized by the WHO or the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). As of now, they are only slotted as XDR-TB cases,” said an official from the Directorate of Health Services.”

Twitter user TBVI_EU agreed with Ghanashyam:

@TBVI_EU:  “So true! @bghanashyam It makes little difference what we call different forms of TB. What matters is people are dying,”

Blogger Alanna Shaikh, an expert in health consulting, got some attention from the development community for her blog post on End the Neglect: and calling the new form “TDR-TB.”

TDR-TB is exactly what it sounds like. Doctors have not yet been able to identify a treatment for this TB that will work,” she wrote. “This is a bad, bad development for global health.

The WHO claims on their website, that there is no way to determine whether strains of TB that appear resistant to drugs in the laboratory, are actually resistant to the drugs in the patient. This may seem counter-intuitive since the 12 patients suffering from a particularly virulent form of tuberculosis in Mumbai have obviously show they are not susceptible to the available drugs, the WHO is simply attempting to state that it lacks a standardized test to determine just how effective different combination of the drugs are in the laboratory vs. treating real patients.

Incidentally, India’s Ministry of Health issued a report on January 20, 2012, stating that nine out of the twelve reported patients were stable on their current treatment while three had died, confirming that the strain is susceptible to some antibiotic treatment.

One thing remains certain, the #tuberculosis Twitter stream and TB online advocacy community are adamant that tuberculosis needs to remain a high-priority for donor governments and international donor organizations like the Global Fund and the United Nations.

This page is part of our special coverage Global Development.

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Hi, can you please introduce yourself to us?

Heba Mitkees: I’m 23 years old, turning 24 in July. I’m also a Cancerian. =)
I was born in Montreal, and brought up in the UAE. My mother and I moved back to Egypt in 2002 after my father’s death. I finished my last 2 years of high-school and went to college in Cairo. I studied Broadcasting, specializing in video editing.

What's your story with cancer?

Heba Mitkees: Given that I’m an only child who came after 10 years of marriage, I’ve always held a very special place in my family’s heart. My father was a scientist/inventor. He was an intelligent, kind, loving, and hardworking man, who did everything within and beyond his power to make his family and loved ones happy. My father was diagnosed with lung and bone cancer in 2001. He did 3 chemotherapy sessions and died only 1 month later due to sudden Septicemia.
…
My father had always been a very strong man. Even at the peak of his illness, he never gave up or showed any sign of worry or fear. He laughed it off, made jokes about it and made us really believe that he was ok. He ALWAYS had a smile on his face. However, that day at the airport was different. It was heartbreaking. Chemotherapy had destroyed him. Even though he tried really hard to pretend he was fine, there was too much to hide underneath that beautiful smile.
…
The doctors in Egypt said that he was responding to chemo and that he was making significant progress. If that were true, what went wrong? Back then, I was too shocked to question his death. I was also too young. Deep down, I knew something went terribly wrong but I couldn’t pin point the source of this feeling.
For some reason, I completely blocked out the true cause of his death (Septicemia). I chose to believe that it was cancer that killed him. I believed that Septicemia was only a result of his illness. It was easier.
This went on for several years until I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer on the 13th of March.

How did you discover your illness? And how did your mother receive the news given that you are her only child and your father had died of the same illness?

Heba Mitkees: On the 12th of March, I was speaking to a friend on the phone and I told her about my lump. She insisted that she should take me to an oncologist on the same day and so she did …

Heba Mitkees, the weekend before she was diagnosed

Dr. M asked about my age. When I told him I was 23, he looked at me and said “23? You have nothing to worry about! You start worrying about these things when you’re over 30, but let’s get it checked”.
…
As he was examining the lump, I could tell by the look on his face that there was something wrong … I asked him if there was something suspicious. He couldn’t give me a straight answer, but he asked me to get a breast ultra sound and a mammogram, and return to him no later than the next day.
…
Only 2 nights before my diagnosis, I was out having fun with my friends and now I’m being faced with a life threatening disease. Too many decisions had to be made. Too many people had to be informed. I kept thinking about my mom. I didn’t know what to tell her. I was too worried that she would break down.
…
I saw almost 6 doctors altogether. All in one week. They all said the same thing with different approaches. All the oncologists suggested chemo prior to surgery and the surgeons suggested the other way around. A few days later I told my mom and I thank God that it went much better than I expected. She was shocked just like me, but didn’t break down.

From here, I think it's better to let Heba continue telling her story without interrupting her with questions.

Heba Mitkees: I eventually decided to proceed with treatment with Dr. M. My mom and I went to see him at his clinic and he scheduled my first chemo session for the next day (21st of March).
…
I got dressed when it was time to leave the house. On the way to the hospital with my mom and her friend, I kept thinking about my father. I kept thinking about how weak and helpless he looked during chemo and how painful it was.

Two months later, she decided to go for alternative treatment. She discussed in her blog why she doesn't consider chemotherapy a cure, and believed it kills more than cancer.

Heba Mitkees: Four days before my ‘last’ session, my uncle’s wife from Kuwait called my mom and told her that she knew someone in Egypt who could help. She said he was a Reiki master who’s had experience with similar cases. My mother asked if I was interested and I thought to myself, why not? I have a friend who’s a Reiki practitioner and she’s cured my headaches before.
…
Reiki is meant to stabilize and balance the energy fields in our body. It helps maintain a healthy energy flow, which is believed to promote healing and clear energy blockages in main energy centers in our body called chakras. It’s based on the idea that an unseen ‘life force energy’ flows through our body. If this energy is low, we are more likely to get sick, and if it is high, we are capable of being healthier.

She then went to describe her first meeting with Dr. Fahmy, the Reiki master.

Heba Mitkees: He totally lost me when he very bluntly and in confidence said that if I solely relied on orthodox treatment, I would most likely have a recurrence within a couple of years. He could tell by the look on my face that I didn’t like the sound of what he was saying.
…
I told him that I knew people who have been cured and haven’t had any recurrences so far, but then again, my argument was based on the limited number of people I’ve heard of and at the same time, disregarding the other number whom I know have had recurrences.

She continued.

Heba Mitkees: At that stage, I had no intention to stop chemo; the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. I had no information about all the chemotherapy risks and side effects. I hadn’t done any research about cancer and the different treatment options. I trusted my oncologist, and ignored everyone else.
….
At first, I thought Dr. Fahmy was a Reiki master, but then I realized that the amount and quality of knowledge and information he had about cancer required a person to have some sort of medical background. I was fascinated … He said that Reiki was only a small part of what he does. He explained that over the past 30 years, he has been researching and incorporating different healing methods which promote the curing process of a person … He said that rather than following one treatment technique or protocol, he found it more effective to integrate different techniques, which have been proved to work effectively together … Rather than merely dealing with the physical symptoms of a disease, holistic treatment acknowledges the significant effect of our mental and spiritual state on our body. It’s based on the idea that any physical symptom of a disease is nothing but a sign of imbalance in our system (Mind, body & soul) … It all started making sense. This specifically explains why we have very high recurrence rates in the world of cancer. The way orthodox medicine deals with cancer is by suppressing the tumor through chemo or removing it with surgery (the physical symptom) and disregarding the disease itself.

He then told her a list of do’s and dont’s. She blogged everything as far as she remembered:

• He told me that the only fabrics I was allowed to wear were cotton and linen since other types are chemically treated and the toxins eventually make their way through our body.
• He told me that I should only see positive friends and cut out all the negative people from my life in order to avoid any negative frequencies or vibes which could affect my health.
• Wearing a lot of the color white was highly recommended. Black was a big no.
• He told me that I should stop going to parties and avoid loud music, which is also believed to weaken the body’s energy level and therefore affect my health.
• I wasn’t allowed any sugar, caffeine or protein. I had to become vegetarian.
• I was only allowed to eat alkaline forming foods, which meant that tomatoes and oranges were a big no.
• I wasn’t allowed white wheat or dairy (except for cottage cheese).

Heba Mitkees: The list goes on forever, really. The whole idea behind his way of treatment was to turn my body alkaline in order to fight off the disease. He said that cancer lives in a highly acidic and de-oxygenated environment;
Along with this nutritional system, he told me that I had to see him around 4 or 5 times a week for energy sessions. I didn’t bother ask what these sessions were like or for.

At the time, she was still having orthodox chemotherapy treatment in parallel. But one day her doctor wasn't pleased with the results of the usual blood test she used to have before here chemotherapy session and the White Blood Cell Count (WBC) there. So, he decided to add an extra day of a drug called Neupogen for her. But then when she had another blood test, the results shocked her.

Heba Mitkees: I made a blood test and when it came out, the results were shocking. My WBC count was 27,700 this time. Closer to Leukemia. She immediately called Dr. M to ask him about the major count fluctuation.
…
He told her that it was an effect of Neupogen and that it was normal, but it didn’t make sense to her. Neupogen is meant to boost the WBC count, but what if it sustains it at its highest level? What would happen then?
…
I started researching chemotherapy and what it does to the body. Everything I read was terrifying! Something inside me told me that chemo was going to kill me. I felt so violated after everything I had read. Only then, I understood the true cause of my father’s death.

A book her friend's mother gave her and internet research made her think more about her best treatment options.

Heba Mitkees: ‘Knockout‘, a wonderful book written by Suzanne Somers. In this book, she interviews doctors who are curing cancer. Most of the interviewed doctors do not use any chemotherapy or chemicals. They are curing cancer without chemo! The book also exposes the Food and Drug Association (FDA) and the pharmaceutical industry, which work together to generate billions of dollars a year, especially off ‘the cancer business’.
I also read that, Tamoxifen, one of the drugs used to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer, increases the risk of developing uterine cancer by 30%.

She faced her oncologist with her findings.

Heba Mitkees: I asked Dr. M about this shocking piece of information; he told me that ‘unfortunately’, I had to take it in my next chemo cycle.
No I wasn’t!
He thought it was unfortunate, but why do I HAVE to take it?

She didn't like her Reiki doctor at the beginning, but later on she wrote why she thing she wasn't comfortable. She also described the struggle she at this stage between the two schools of medicine.

Heba Mitkees: Dr. Fahmy opened my eyes to everything I needed to see. Discovering all the scary, negative things about orthodox medicine was very hard to deal with. It was too much for me to comprehend. I blamed him for my own confusion and for my personal struggle.
At some point I was torn between my love and loyalty to Dr. M and the strong belief that chemotherapy was not a cure and that I needed to stop. I didn’t want to upset him.
I was only able to make that decision when I put myself first.
I’ve been off chemo since 18th of April 2011. I can feel my tumors shrinking and I’m still alive! :)
My hair hasn’t started to grow back yet but my eyebrows and eyelashes have!

The last post in her blog was in June, and in it she seemed to be comfortable with her choice.

Heba Mitkees: Even though I have strong faith in my current treatment, I cannot advise people to follow my path. It’s too much of a burden and responsibility on my side to make such a call before I’m 100% cured.
However, this does not mean that I am questioning the effectiveness of alternative medicine. On the contrary, I am positive that I made the right decision and that I will soon make this call.
Such a decision has to be well informed, and this is exactly why I strongly advise people to do their own research and then decide, just like I did.

She didn't publish any more posts into her blog, but she tweeted every now and then, her latest tweet was on the 23rd of November, and she died about a month later.

@MizMitkees: In #Amman… Wish I was in #tahrir right now! #noscaf

Despite the fact that she is not going to post anything on her Twitter account again, after writing this post I decided to follow Heba Mitkees (@MizMitkees) on Twitter.

Battery dead! Bye bye

— Heba Mitkees (@MizMitkees) October 20, 2011

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Every time a year comes to an end, evaluations of it are made. Sometimes we tend to be very objective and other times, subjectivities float to the surface. Most of the time, these assessments, recollections and lists of the ‘best of the year' do not satisfy everybody.

Some members of the team of translators at Global Voices in Spanish [es], who during the past twelve months have worked behind the scenes to translate the best of what Global Voices Online publishes in English on a daily basis, decided to briefly express what we liked the most or what impacted us the most of what we have translated or seen posted. And as we say colloquially, let's put the ‘floro‘ (palaver) aside and get to the point:

Elisa López tells us about the post she enjoyed translating the most, and adds a note of personal information:

I really enjoyed translating Estados Unidos: ¿La NASA ha descubierto un planeta habitable? [es] (Has NASA Discovered a Life-Friendly Planet? [en])

I found the topic appealing. My husband and I are always discussing science-related events, and we had been discussing that particular topic a couple of days ago. And when I started working on the translation, I found the article well-written: clear, concise, and showing different points of view. Interesting information and good writing, a great combination!

Natán Calzolari shares his feelings and sentiments about Global Voices' involvement with world events:

This is one of the posts that I most enjoyed translating: Egipto: Los internautas se levantaron en apoyo a los egipcios en su Día de la Rabia [es] (Egypt: Netizens Rise for the Support of Egyptians on their Day of Rage [en])

While I was translating it I found myself really moved by how the whole world was helping the Egyptians to put their word out there. Needless to say, Global Voices did an incredible job amplifying their voices, and it was really exciting to be a part of it.

Isabel Guerra shows her amazement about a fact she wasn't aware of:

I enjoyed translating this one Filipinas: Debate sobre proyecto de Ley de Divorcio [es] (Phillipines: Debate on Divorce Bill [en]) because I wasn't aware that there was still a country that does not allow divorce!

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Rivera tells about her sadness while translating a post from Libya:

For me, Libia: De duelo por la muerte de Mohammed Nabbous [es] (Libya: Mourning Mohammed Nabbous [es]) was a very special and sad post to translate. Since Libya's revolution started, I followed ‘Mo's' reports and even watched his live feed. I just couldn't believe it when the news broke on Twitter that he had died. I knew, right away, I wanted to translate the post related to his death as soon as it was published as a tribute to a man I consider a hero and an inspiring citizen journalist. The post did him justice. It was sensitive, complete and very well phrased. Needless to say, I shed some tears while writing it and felt very connected - by heart - to the Libyan people and their struggle.

Although she didn't translated the post, Catalina Restrepo comments she was impressed with the situation women face in many countries:

It's no translated for me but was wonderful when I saw this article in Spanish: Arabia Saudita: Condenada a 10 latigazos por conducir un automóvil [es] (Saudi Arabia: Outrage Over 10 Lashes for Female Driver [en])

Generally Women here [Colombia] are not worried about their role in the society but about the fashion or beauty. When I read this story, I discover again that it's necessary for women [around the world] reflect on the importance of being a woman in honor of others who do not have the same “freedoms”.

Gabriela García Calderón shares her sentiment about the first news of what later would be known as the Arab Spring:

Even though it is actually a post published on late 2010, I think the most important post I've translated is Túnez: El intento de suicidio de un desempleado provoca disturbios [es] (Tunisia: Unemployed Man's Suicide Attempt Sparks Riots [en]).

This post tells us the plight of 26-year old Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire out of desperation for not being able to earn a living for himself and his family.

This at first isolated and individual action was the spark of was later known as the Arab Spring, a series of events that set the standard for the whole year. As usual, Global Voices was there to inform its reader about important events, almost while they are still happening.

Adriana Gutierrez tells us about her chosen post, also related to the Arab Spring:

It's kind of hard to pick just one memorable post for me (every single entry is special, one way or another), but I enjoyed translating this one: Egipto: Graffiti - Por una revolución colorida y un recuerdo inmortal [es] (Egypt: Graffiti - For a Colorful Revolution and an Undying Memory [en]).

I found very moving and creative the way egyptians took a very “simple” and ordinary thing as a street wall and converted it in a canvas to express their thoughts about revolution and to pay tribute to the martyrs, claming the street as theirs.

Indira Cornelio was also impressed by the circumstances some women have to live with:

I enjoyed translating this one Global: Bloggers debaten opiniones contra el nicab [es] (Global: Bloggers Take Issue With Anti-Niqab Punditry [en]) because it really got me thinking about the importance of tolerance as sometimes I find hard to understand how women in other countries live, and the laws or practices they have.

And said:

As a fan of hyperlinks, I like texts that starting off with just two or three lines can take you to new and various texts that may, sometimes, represent a lot of reading. It's just like opening a little wormhole on the generated mental image and taking to another dimension, just to come back to take off once again. That's why, I love posts just as CEE: More on Václav Havel and His Legacy, due to their concentrated richness.

With this small and humble sample we, the Global Voices Spanish team, wish to encourage authors all over the world to write their articles and to go on doing so. We want them to know that their texts not only inform, but also generate sentiments, discoveries and awareness in all the readers.

Thank you, and a happy 2012.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

Written by Juan Arellano · Translated by Gabriela García Calderón · View original post [es] · comments (29)
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However, on December 5, 2011, the United States space agency, NASA, announced the Kepler Space Telescope discovery of Kepler-22b, a planet within the right distance of its star for potentially having a habitable temperature. Science bloggers have reacted to the news with analysis and theories of their own.

Diagram comparing Earth's solar system to an artist's rendition of Kepler-22b, a star system containing the first "habitable zone" planet discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

Hampshire College astronomy professor Salman Hameed is excited about the discovery:

Yes. Astronomers have the first confirmed detection of an earth-like planet located in the star's habitable zone - the distance from the star where water can exist in liquid form…The discovery is amazing, if not really surprising. There are just too many planets out there, and we are bound to find planets in places that match conditions of the Earth. And life is also likely to be quite common. Life that can build telescopes? Don't know.

He gives more details:

So what do we know about this planet? It is called Kepler 22b. This is the sexiest name that astronomers could come up with (actually, it is because it is discovered by Kepler telescope). It is located about 600 light years away - just far enough that we can't start thinking about packing our bags for a trip…

Is there life there? We don't know. This planet was detected when it passed in front of its star, dimming the light of the parent star a bit. We do not have an image of the planet. When we do - and it may take years - then we can potentially analyze the composition of its atmosphere. The presence of oxygen in the atmosphere will be a good indicator for life, as oxygen in our own atmosphere is a by-product of life itself.

We are getting closer to finding life.

Helen Chappell, a former astronomer who studied physics at University of Colorado Boulder, offers three reasons why she doesn't care about Kepler-22b:

Kepler is finding hundreds of extrasolar planets, and it’s going to keep on finding hundreds more until the project’s funding runs out. Kepler 22b is just the poster child for NASA’s announcement of more than 1,000 new planet candidates.

[..]

Venus [like Kepler 22b] isn’t too far outside the habitable zone…[but] we know that it’s actually hot enough to melt lead on the surface. Venus is not a nice place for life, but extraterrestrial astronomers would have no way to figure that out if they used the same technology as us. Perhaps folks on Kepler 22b are giddy at the prospect of life on Venus.

[…]

We have no clear way to figure out whether Kepler 22b — or any other extrasolar planet — actually harbors life.

She does see one positive aspect of the excitement over the discovery:

Discoveries like Kepler 22b get everyone excited about astronomy, and open up opportunities to teach folks (especially kids) about science.

[…]

So hooray for science, even if I just burst your Kepler 22b bubble.

Another critic, an anonymous blogger who studies tornadoes for living, discusses misconceptions about Kepler-22b, concluding nevertheless:

It's a first step, and it's a step we've never taken before. That's big news! And the fact that we still have 48 other candidate planets in the habitable zones of their respective stars is a Big Deal. But it's news in a way that a lot of the media seems to be missing out on.

In the comments section, the blogger discusses the actual distance between us and Kepler-22b:

At present top speeds, it'd take us, what, tens of millions of years to get there. That's a bit beyond even the scifi-ish dreams of generation ships and cryostasis. And the corollary to that: any further observations we make will be of the planet as it was 600 years ago.

600 light years may sound a lot, but it is minute in astronomical terms, even if it would take millions of years to travel to Kepler 22b at our current speeds. If we were able to build a machine traveling close to the speed of light, it might be possible to survive travel to Kepler 22b since, according to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, the travelers would experience less, about 24 years.

Some bloggers have expanded on the idea of space travel with some less serious than others.

Eight Days to Amish, a blog by freelance writer Chris Rodell, writes:

I’m sure the Republicans thought, “Hallelujah! Now, there’s a place the lousy Democrats can Occupy for as long as they want!”

The Democrats thought, “You can bet greedy Republicans are already packing their Louis Vuitton suitcases, drilling rigs and barrels of Halliburton fracking liquids to exploit yet another pristine wilderness before Obama declares it off-limits.”

Advocatus Atheist, a blog by Tristan D. Vick, an English teacher in Japan, is more hopeful about communicating with Kepler-22b, if it were to have a civilization capable of space communication. He suggests building a wormhole (a hypothetical shortcut through spacetime), which would make it possible to communicate. He admits, however, that his suggestion is only possible theoretically.

Vick concludes in what seems to be a good summary of the lesson of Kepler-22b:

Regardless of whether or not we could ever make first contact with an alien race, it seems to me that Kepler 22B represents a dream which all people share–the dream of adventure, of interstellar travel, and of being a part of history. It seems to me, we may already be witnessing history in the making and not even truly be aware of it.

Written by Simon Maghakyan · comments (5)
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Written by Ndesanjo Macha · comments (0)
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