Thin Line
The Earth's atmosphere is about one hundred kilometres thick. Given that Earth is about 40,000 kilometres in diametre it is pretty clear that what protects life here is a pretty thin line. Driving at highway speeds you would be in space in just under hour. To drive the point home:
If you live in Vancouver and got on Highway 1 at Boundary Road and drove east for 100 km you would be in space just passed Chilliwack. Montrealers would reach space if they drove east on Highway 20 to Drummondville. New Yorkers hoping on I495 at the Queens Midtown Tunnel would not even make it to the last exit of the Long Island Expressway. You Londoners? Hope on the M1 at Brent Cross and space would hit you in Northampton.
The vast; the unimaginable; the unfathomable is just a short drive away.
Society is never that far from falling apart either. Its seemingly rock-solid foundation can easily be toppled. A handful of zealots (think 9-11, Mumbai, London, Madrid) could cause a very destructive chain reaction. A rock from space could make life here, suddenly, very challenging.
There is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Between survival and death. Between danger and safety. So let's be aware of the fragility.
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
If you live in Vancouver and got on Highway 1 at Boundary Road and drove east for 100 km you would be in space just passed Chilliwack. Montrealers would reach space if they drove east on Highway 20 to Drummondville. New Yorkers hoping on I495 at the Queens Midtown Tunnel would not even make it to the last exit of the Long Island Expressway. You Londoners? Hope on the M1 at Brent Cross and space would hit you in Northampton.
The vast; the unimaginable; the unfathomable is just a short drive away.
Society is never that far from falling apart either. Its seemingly rock-solid foundation can easily be toppled. A handful of zealots (think 9-11, Mumbai, London, Madrid) could cause a very destructive chain reaction. A rock from space could make life here, suddenly, very challenging.
There is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Between survival and death. Between danger and safety. So let's be aware of the fragility.
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