“Many Hands,” by Sharon and Nikki McCutcheon, 2015. Dedicated by the photographers to the public domain. Included with appreciation.
During UN climate week, the U.S. announced creation of an “American Climate Corps” that will combine public service with training for environmentally beneficial professions and technologies. Ali Zaidi, White House point person, may lead the effort to recruit 20,000 young people for the inaugural year. Some Corps areas will also include age-diverse cohorts. Collaborators joining the training and development will feature experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and AmeriCorps, as well as departments of Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Labor. If we need an energy revolution, this could be it.
“CCC camps in Michigan, USA” circa 1930s. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.
There are historic precedents. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pulled American youth out of Depression-era joblessness by creating the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). While initially aimed at those suffering poverty. CCC expanded, through the creative leadership of Frank P. Davidson, to include Camp William James in Tunbridge, Vermont, welcoming college recruits.
Without dikes, the Netherlands would be flooded to this extent. Image by Jan Arksteijn, 2004. Dedicated by the graphic artist to the public domain, CC 0.1. Included with appreciation.
But the earliest organization of service work might be the Dike Armies of the medieval Netherlands. In 1319, this edict described the corps: “Ende alman sal ten menen werke comen op den dijc, daers hem ie Baeiliu, of die Dijcgrave vermaent” – “Everybody shall come to work at the dike on instruction of the bailiff or dike reeve.” It should be noted that today, with social media like Instagram, X, TikTok, calling up volunteer teams to respond to a climate disaster would have instant effectiveness.
Look at Earth from space. There are no lines on a map showing states or nations. Our planet is land surrounded by water. Climate is regional and global – so must be our response. “The Blue Marble” by NASA Apollo 17, enhanced by Degir6328. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.
The newly planned American Climate Corps might be the beginning of a new era of job and skills development to respond to climate change. But a broader vision could expand the scope. Climate change will not stop at national borders: San Diego in the USA and Tijuana in Mexico share the same coast and the same need for response to sea level rise. Vermont, site of CCC Camp William James, shared smoke from Canada’s recent wildfires. Look at Earth from space; you see not countries and nations, but land and water. Climate change must be addressed by regional, and global, response. The American Climate Corps could become a regional organization inviting Canada, Mexico, and the USA, together with the original Tribes of the Americas, to share language training, technology development, and regional capability to respond to climate change.
The new CCC can build wind turbines, delivering green electricity. It’s a fast-growing industry with great jobs. Image: “Dual Rotor Wind Turbine” by Deas1. Creative commons. Included with appreciation.
Those trained by the new Climate Corps can serve a dual role of training for climate-ready jobs, and also be ready to respond to climate disasters that affect the region. In the last decade, 85% of natural disasters like drought and fires, storms and floods, were attributed to, and intensified by, global warming. Climate change calls us to work together in ways that can strengthen education, technology, and shared vision through climate justice. As Climate Corps members build green energy technology and plant drought-resistant agricultural grains, perhaps they may also sow the seeds of peace.
Can we plant drought-resistant agriculture as a way to sow the seeds of peace? Image: Logo “Plant for the Planet,” 2015. Public Domain Fair Use. Included with appreciation.
“Juneteenth Celebration” flyer for Juneteenth 1980 celebration at the Seattle Center. Image: Creative Commons 2.0, courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives. Included with appreciation.
As we celebrate and honor Juneteenth, here, written and spoken by poet Maya Angelou, is “Still I Rise.”
Angelou, Maya. “Still I Rise.”
Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U
Can global connectivity bring our world together? Image: “GPS constellation of 24 satellites on six orbital planes” by Paulsava, 2016. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.
Can the orbital commons bring the world together? That was the vision of COMSAT. It all started with a 1955 article “Orbital Radio Relays” by John R. Pierce of Bell Labs, AT&T’s incubator for new ideas. Perhaps Pierce had read Arthur C. Clarke’s article “Extra-Terrestrial Relays,” published a decade before. When the first Trans-Atlantic Telephone Cable TAT-1 was laid in 1956 and Russia launched Sputnik in 1957, necessary pieces were in place. By 1960, AT&T applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an experimental communications license. Two years later, the Communications Satellite Act presented a framework still relevant today. INTELSAT took the early leadership, achieving the first satellite-based global coverage on July 1, 1969. Just 19 days later, 500 million people around the world turned on televisions (the internet would come later) to witness, live, the first human setting foot on the moon.
Connectivity for All. But not everyone had a television, then; and not everyone has internet access now. Opening the World Wide Web to universal access, and enterprises like OneWeb, Starlink, and Project Kuiper, may finally achieve the goal of a global village.
“The OneWeb Logo” by Moving Brands and OneWeb, 2019. This image is in the public domain, wikimedia, Creative commons 1.0. Included with appreciation.
OneWeb has reached a definitive milestone. OneWeb has now launched the final set of satellites needed to complete its array providing global connectivity for those who need it most. Founded in 2012 by Greg Wyler, OneWeb was acquired by the United Kingdom (UK) in March 2020 in a deal with UK government and Bharti Enterprises Ltd. On 26 March 2023, OneWeb’s launch by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) positioned 36 new satellites, achieving desirable redundancy over the 588 needed for global coverage. Theme of the launch? “Hello world!”
“Starlink Mission” by SpaceX, 2019. This image was dedicated by Starlink/SpaceX into the public domain, creative commons 1.0. Included with appreciation.
Starlink, a division of SpaceX, also aims to offer connectivity “to anywhere, from anywhere.” Starlink began launching satellites in 2019, focusing on individual customers, especially those in rural locations. In contrast, OneWeb concentrates on businesses and commercial providers.
“The Kuiper Belt (green) in the Solar System.” Move your mouse over the image to access annotations. Image: from Minor Planet Center (MPC), Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. This image is in the public domain, Wikimedia commons. Included with appreciation.
Project Kuiper, Amazon’s endeavor to place communications satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), shares the goal of global connectivity. Many places in the world do not have internet access needed for school, science, and communication. Janet Phan of Project Kuiper and founder of Thriving Elements, expands communications equality and opportunity with a commitment to bring more girls and women into STEM careers through mentoring. Project Kuiper’s satellite constellation will work with Amazon’s network of ground stations (Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS). Kuiper customers will install a home outdoor terminal intended to be affordable ($400) and lightweight (less than five pounds (2.27 kilograms); for more modest price-point customers, a smaller and less expensive terminal will provide basic connectivity. The chip driving it all – “Prometheus.”
“A Loon balloon at the Christchurch launch event in June 2013.” Photographed by iLighter, 2013. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.
Project Loon was a promising vision that ran out of air. An Alphabet Inc. subsidiary, Loon LLC aimed to provide internet access to remote areas using high-altitude balloons to form an aerial wireless network. Hence the name: “Loon” as in “Balloon.” Started as an R&D project in 2011, Loon became a separate entity in 2018. Using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data to identify wind layers with the right speed, Loon would place balloons in a chain to allow signals to pass from orb to orb, connecting to an internet antenna attached to the side of a residential or commercial building. First experiments were in California and New Zealand. The next year, Loon tested in Brazil, and later in Sri Lanka. Loon’s unique advantage was demonstrated after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico; Loon brought 100,000 people back online in the storm’s destructive aftermath. But commercial viability proved elusive and Project Loon closed on 21 January 2021. Loon’s legacy continues. Project Taara, a pan-African vision, harnesses some of Loon’s technology to extend connectivity with the use of light beam internet technology as a way to plug critical connectivity gaps in rural areas.
“World Wide Web” logo designed by Robert Cailliau in 2007, who dedicated the image into the pubic domain. Creative commons 1.0. Included with appreciation.
World Wide Web Foundation upholds the goal of “Establishing the open Web as a basic right and a public good.” With 160 partner organizations in 70 countries, the World Wide Web Foundation was launched in 2009 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Rosemary Leith. It has helped 600 million people access the web. Sir Tim Berners-Lee established the world wide web (that’s the “www” in an internet address) and gave it to the world for free. Global connectivity remains a challenge: almost half of the world still lacks internet access. You can help.
“Syncom-1” image by NASA, 2007. Image is dedicated to the public domain, and included with appreciation.
The global satellite market is expected to grow by 9% from 2023-2029, accelerated by advances in the internet of things (IoT) and increased capacity in wireless interconnection between terrestrial and space-based technology. It’s an attractive market because global internet traffic will grow over 20% – annually. But there are vast differences in connectivity, with 7x difference between fastest and slowest internet speeds. In addition to the above companies, contenders include SES, Viasat, Intelsat, Telesat, General Dynamics, Cobham Limited, Gilat Satellite Networks, EchoStar, Inmarsat, Eutelsat, Hughs Network Systems, Arqiva, Russian Satellite Communications Company, Thaicom, Globecast, Telespazio, and Telstra, according to the World Teleport Association.
A computer-generated image of objects that are currently being tracked including orbital debris like non-functional satellites. Image: “Debris-GEO1290” by NASA, 2005. Image is in the public domain and included with appreciation.
It’s getting crowded up there, with so many satellites vying for optimal position. One concern is how to retrieve non-functional satellites before they become orbital debris. As of November 2022, the U.S. Space Surveillance Network found 5, 465 operating satellites in orbit. But these are among 25,857 objects circling the Earth. That tally only accounts for objects large enough to track. There are more than 128 million pieces of space debris smaller than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter). Even a tiny fleck can damage a satellite. There’s a tech term for such flecks: Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD).
Can we cooperate to achieve global connectivity and orbital justice? Image: “Animation of Orbital Eccentricity” by Phoenix7777, 2020. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.
Orbital justice: law and governance of space. A McKinsey report summarizes the challenges and opportunities for global governance of this shared frontier. The European Space Agency (ESA) introduced in 2022 the “Statement for a Responsible Space Sector” espousing principles of governance, inclusive social benefit, fair access to space, preservation of Earth through space-based monitoring, and promotion of human rights. Space, and the communications spectrum, belong equally to everyone on the Earth. How can you choose your internet provider with these principles in mind?
Clarke, Arthur C. “Extra-Terrestrial Relays.” October 1945. Wireless World, pages 305-8. Facsimile at http:www.lsi.usp.br/~rbianchi/clarke/ACC.ETR2.gif
Davidson, Frank P. and Kathleen Lusk Brooke. “COMSAT: The Communications Satellite” in Building the World, Volume II, pages 623-639. Greenwood: 2006. ISBN: 0313333742 and 9780313333743.
Pierce, John Robinson. The Beginnings of Satellite Communications. History of Technology Monograph. Berkeley, California: San Francisco Press, 1968. ISBN: 0911302050, and 9780911302059.
“Indigenous Peoples Day,” image courtesy of National Indian Council on Aging – NICOA.org. Included with honor and appreciation.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognized in 2021 by U.S. President Biden, and honored as a holiday this weekend in the United States, reminds us that new worlds are not discovered, just met. Leif Erikson associated by some with Greenland, is thought to have sailed off course en route to that location, instead reaching what he called Vinland and what we now call North America. Erickson spent the winter, and in spring returned to Greenland. This was four hundred years before Columbus. But even before Columbus, and before Erikson, the first humans arrived 26,000 years ago, before the Last Glacial Maximum in the Pleistocene epoch. From those earliest humans are descended those whom we call our original people, those who were here first. One group is the Cherokee Nation.
“Trail of Tears” by Ocmulgee National Mounds Park, nps.gov, by photographer TradingCardsNPS, 2012. Creative Commons 2.0, wikimedia. Included with honor and appreciation.
By 1830, the Cherokee Nation had established significant land in what became known as Georgia (state established in 1788): until the Treaty of New Echota. On 29 December 1835, 500 representatives of the Cherokee Nation, at that time numbering 16,000, met with representatives of the United States government at New Echota, Georgia, to accept terms of $5 million and land in Oklahoma in exchange for their 7 million acres of homeland. Sadly, the forced move 1,200 miles west proved so tragic as to give name to the Trail of Tears. But the Treaty remains unfulfilled: Article 7 of the Treaty of New Echota states: “Cherokee Nation shall be entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States whenever Congress shall make provision for the same.”
“Map of George showing Cherokee Nation, 1830.” Original by Anthony Finley Co. of Philadelphia, 1830. Creative Commons Public Domain. Included with honor and appreciation.
Two centuries later, it is time to fulfill the treaty, make that provision, and recognize rights of those who were here first. Cherokee Nation’s Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. has nominated Kimberly Teehee to serve as inaugural Cherokee Delegate to Congress. If you support this nomination, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a good time to take action here.
Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke, “The National Trails System.” Building the World. Volume Two, pages 641-668. Greenwood: 2006. ISBN: 9780313333743.
“I Have A Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. on 28 August 1963. Photo shows the view from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. Image: wikimedia.
When Martin Luther King delivered a speech that would ring throughout history, “I Have a Dream,” he did so on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in the nation’s capital. King’s words echoed Lincoln’s, who proposed and signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and were framed by the setting of a monument dedicated to equality, freedom, and justice. The crowd assembled stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, in a public gathering space first envisioned by the country’s founders. Today’s march to urge passage of a law to protect voting rights is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Peace Walk.
L’Enfant’s plan for Washington, D.C., facsimile, us.gov. Image: wikimedia
With the vision of capital to be both a center of government and a landscape that invited public art and public gatherings, George Washington engaged architect and engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant in 1791 to map out a new city. The plan was inspired by the open boulevards of Paris, L’Enfant’s original home before he at the age of 22 the young engineer volunteered to serve with the Corps of Engineers of the United States Continental Army: it was then that he met Washington. However, the relationship proved volatile and Washington fired L’Enfant in 1792.
“Benjamin Banneker” from image on a U.S. postal stamp honoring the brilliant mathematician and surveyor whom many credit with preserving the design of Washington, D.C.’s design. Image: wikimedia.
Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician and astronomer with an apparently photographic memory, saved the capital. Banneker remember L’Enfant’s design and detailed blueprints exactly. He had been engaged by Major Andrew Ellicott to survey the land. Banneker particularly noted L’Enfant’s design of grand open space for monuments, public art, and common ground for gatherings, and kept the vision in the city’s plan. Others on the capital team included Latrobe and Jefferson. Benjamin Banneker and Martin Luther King, Jr. shared a vision, and some background: both shared an African-American heritage.
“Original Plan for Brasilia” by Lúcio Costa” from O Spaço Lúcio Costa, Brasilia, permanent exhibition: photograph by Uri Rosenheck. Image: wikimedia.
Cities, especially capitals, have an opportunity to be more than an urban conglomerate. In some ways, a capital is public art. When Brazil moved its capital from coastal Rio de Janeiro to the center of the country, the nation gave a new name, Brasilia, to its capital. Recognizing a new era in global perspective and transport, Brasilia was built in the shape of an airplane.
“Drivers, Processes, and Impacts of Sinking Cities” graphic by Wbliss10, 2019. Wikimedia commons.
With global warming and rising seas, we will see the rebuilding of coastal cities. It is a fact that many capitals, especially ancient ones, were ports. Indonesia plans to move its capital because the current one is sinking at a rate of 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) per year due to coastal location exacerbated by aggressive draining of groundwater under Jakarta. Bangkok, Thailand recently reviewed projections that it could be underwater by 2030, due to a combination of heavy skyscrapers built during a real estate and economic boom, and depletion of groundwater resources, despite attempts to slow the process including Thailand’s Ground Water Act of 1977. Dhaka, Bangladesh is sinking at a rate of 0.55 inches (1.4 centimeters) and sea level rise in the Bay of Bengal is higher than the global average. Nigeria moved its capital from coastal Lagos to central Abuja.
“Aerial panorama of Bremen and the river Weser – Bremen von oben” by Moinichbins, 2020. Image: wikimedia.
Sea rise may soon cause nations to rebuild and redesign some cities, especially those located near water. How can capitals be both centers of efficient governance and inspirational gatherings? If you were to design a new capital, based on the virtues and values of a nation, how would you create a city that is both a landscape and a dreamscape?
New Orleans in 1803. Image: “Under My Wings Everything Prospers” by J. L. Bouqueto de Woiseri. 1 January 1803. Public Domain. Image: wikimedia commons.
Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana, in August 2021, bringing severe wind and water. New Orleans was watching. After Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, the city built a flood-prevention system of gates, levees, pumps, and walls. Sixteen years later, almost to the day, Ida tested Katrina’s resilient infrastructure. The city emerged relatively unscathed( Hughes, 2021). But just 60 miles away, storm surge toppled the Lafourche Parish levee. Overwhelmed by floods, damaged sanitation and sewage systems threatened public health. The discrepancy between a prepared city and an unprotected town foretells the future of coastal communities in climate change.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused damage that resulted in the building of a storm protection system, tested by Hurricane Ida in 2021. Image: “Hurricane Katrina, 28 August, 2005” from NOAA. Public Domain.
It’s not just flooding. Even though New Orleans avoided Katrina’s flooding in Ida, there were other dire effects. Like power outages. Hundreds of thousands of people remained without electricity a week after the storm. Refrigerators were off, so were air-conditioners: in the 90 degree (F) heat, the situation was dangerous. Those who could escaped to nearby places with electricity for an “evacuation vacation.” Many were not so fortunate.
“Hurricane Ida at Landfall in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, 29 August 2021. Image: weather.gov. Public Domain.
Coastal communities face an uncertain yet certain future. By 2040, providing storm-surge systems like sea walls for American cities with populations greater than 25,000 is estimated to cost $42 billion – that would include New Orleans. But what about Lafourche Parish? Protecting smaller communities and towns would raise the cost to $400 billion. (Flavelle 2021). Protecting against flooding is only part of the problem, however: wind damage to above-ground electrical poles, wires, and transformers is cause for alarm. During Hurricane Ida, 902,000 customers lost power when 22,000 power poles; 26,000 spans of wire, and 5,261 transformers were damaged or lost – more than Katrina, Zeta, and Delta combined (Hauck 2021).
“Map illustrating areas of the Netherlands below sea level.” By Jan Arkestejin. Pubic Domain Image: wikimedia.
Even with abundant funding, infrastructure takes time to build. Storms, however, will not stop. While rebuilding more resilient storm barrier and electrical systems, communities may look to the Protective Dikes and Land Reclamation practices of The Netherlands as a case example of immediate resilient response. The Dike Army (Dycken Waren), composed of residents responding together in times of need, was part of the system. As Louisiana, and other areas significantly damaged by Hurricane Ida, consider how to rebuild, it may be time to call to arms a new kind of Dike Army, perhaps a regional Civilian Climate Conservation Corps (4C), to serve and protect coastal communities and habitats: both terrestrial and marine. Disaster response would be in addition to the goals of the Civilian Climate Corps proposal of the US in January 2021. The 4C’s motto is up for a vote: some want “For Sea” and some like “Foresee.” What’s your vote?
“CCC” pillow from CCC museum in Michigan, USA. Image: public domain.
Flavelle, Christopher. “With More Storms and Rising Seas, Which U.S. Cities Should Be Saved First?” 19 June 2019. The New York Times.
“Empire State Building in Rainbow Colors for Pride.” Photographer Anthony Quintano. 28 June 2015. Image: wikimedia commons
Cities have an opportunity to inspire and unite urban denizens in shared values. As Toynbee demonstrated in Cities of Destiny, the metropolis can create a unique cultural climate. Many urban centers possess iconic monuments, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, that may serve as cultural billboards. As the world gathered in Paris for COP21 in 2015, that landmark beamed the message: “1.5” – indicating a shared goal of limiting global warming to that level. Other issues like social justice have illuminated city monuments: San Francisco’s City Hall has often been displayed in rainbow colors.
“City Hall, San Francisco, California, USA.” Photographer Torrenegra. Image: wikimedia
London, England, has many landmarks including the fabled London Bridge and the recent addition to the cityscape: the London Eye. This month, the “Eye,” formally termed the Millennium Wheel when it opened in 2000, displayed rainbow colors to honor Pride, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall turning point for LGBT+ rights.
White House with LGBT+ Rainbow Colors. Image: wikimedia commons.
In June of 2015 when the United States Supreme Court ruled (Obergefell v. Hodges) two people of same sex have the right to marry, the White House celebrated by illuminating the iconic Washington D.C. building in the colors of the rainbow. As we strive to build an equal and sustainable future – environmentally and socially – how can cities Troop the Color?
Wave Goodbye to Loon. The visionary project, to beam down the Internet from floating balloons, called it quits. For nine years, Google/Alphabet sent up as many as 35 floating globes – the size of tennis courts – with the goal of transmitting internet capability to areas where land-based infrastructure is not feasible. Of course, the balloons used Google autonomous navigation technology to steer themselves. But this week, the start up wound down. In 2017, when Hurricane Maria wiped out Puerto Rico’s telecommunications system, Loon helped to get the island back online. Another good outcome: Telkom, a telecommunications company in Kenya, inked a deal to bring 4G to remote areas. Because almost half the world does not yet have internet access, it’s a big market. Land-based technologies picked low-lying fruit, but there is still room for growth – above.
Starlink satellites stacked and ready to launch. Image: SpaceX and wikimedia commons.
Flying internet is a rapidly developing sector. Since early days of COMSAT, satellites are proving better vehicles for connectivity, even to what some call “notspots” (Kleinman 2021) with a vision of bringing the whole world online. It’s a movement that recalls the achievements such as the telephone and telegraph (connections were laid under the tracks of the Transcontinental Railroad). Here are some satellite enterprises delivering broadband internet today – and tomorrow:
FLYING INTERNET PROVIDERS
Apple – A plan to develop their own satellites prompted Apple to recruit two Google satellite experts: John Fenwick and Michael Trela will work with Greg Duffy, Dropcam founder who joined Apple recently. Apple may partner with Boeing to launch more than 1,00 low-orbit satellites.
Starlink – Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink will require 42,000 satellites. SpaceX launched 60 satellites on 20 January 2021 to tally 1,015 so far (only 951 are still in orbit). In 2020, SpaceX carried out 14 launches. Possible subscription: $99 monthly fee + $499 for hardware.
OneWeb – Founded in 2014 by Greg Wyler, OneWeb re-emerged from potential bankruptcy with help from Bharti Global and UK government. 648 satellites will form OneWeb network constellation. Development of terminals is with Intellian Technologies and Collins Aerospace. Customers? While at first it was rural folks (OneWeb promises they won’t be overlooked), now it is telecom companies. Second generation satellites will include intelligence and security capabilities. New funding from SoftBank Group Corp and Hughes Network Systems/EchoStar tallied $1.4 billion in funding to put first-generation fleet in place in 2022.
Project Kuiper Constellation – Funded by Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s satellite project plans to launch 3,236 satellites. In March 2019, Project Kuiper filed with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and Federal Communications Commission. The satellite array will orbit at three altitudes: 784 satellites at 367 miles (590 kilometers); 1,296 satellites at 379 miles (610 kilometers), and 1,156 satellites at 391 miles (630 kilometers). The plan is to provide coverage from latitude 56 degrees north to 56 degrees south – that’s where 95% of the world’s people live. (Boyle 2019)
Telesat – With priority Ka-band spectrum rights and a fifty-year history of technical prowess, Telesat Low Earth Orbit (LEO) will link to customer terminals and electronically steered antennas (ESAs) for commercial, government, and military use. The first launch happened in January 2018.
LeoSat – The vision was a constellation of 78 -108 satellites but in 2019 the company laid off its 13 employees after investors dropped support. The investors were Hispasat, Spanish satellite operator, and Sky Perfect JSat of Japan. LeoSat still exists but for now is dormant.
Viasat – This satellite system offers internet access from geosynchronous orbit. New entrants like Starlink, OneWeb, Kuiper, Telesat will use Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for lower latency and lower cost.
03b – Using medium Earth orbit (MEO), this constellation offers fiber-equivalent connection. The prime contractor is Arianespace for the operator SES Networks.
Athena – Facebook filed with the Federal Communications Commission to launch Athena to provide broadband access to “unserved and underserved” areas of the world. The filing included a new name: PointView Tech LLC.
Boeing – The aerospace giant plans to launch and operate 147 satellites for a broadband constellation. Apple may help.
Satellites: a traffic jam in the sky? Can astronomers still see the stars? Image: Starlink, initial phase – wikimedia.
PROBLEMS: Are satellite constellations the new Milky Way, or are we creating the same kind of traffic jam above that we suffer from on land? Some astronomers already report difficulty in seeing the sky. Negative comments from astronomers caused Starlink satellites to come up with a visor that prevents sun reflection, reducing glare – its a sub-company called VisorSat. OneWeb chair Sunil Bharti Mittal pledges environmental stewardship, working with astronomers on issues like reflectivity. (Amos, 2020) And then there is the problem of space debris: getting satellites up is easier than getting them down,
OPPORTUNITIES: Why are so many players entering the flying internet competition. Opportunity: Morgan Stanley projected that “the global space industry could generate revenue of $1.1 trillion or more in 2040, up from $350 billion today.” (Conroy 2019) Of that, $410 billion will come from satellite-based internet services.
GPS Constellation. Image: wikimedia
Amos, Jonathan. “OneWeb satellite company launches into new era.” 18 December 2020. BBC.com
“Presidential Inauguration 1905.” Library of Congress, image.
Washington, D.C., setting of two distinctly disparate 2021 events on 6 January and 20 January, was designed for public gatherings in wide open spaces. Major Pierre L’Enfant, born in France but an ardent supporter of the American Revolutionary War who volunteered to serve in the Corps of Engineering of the Continental Army, met George Washington and proposed himself as the designer of the country’s new capital. In L’Enfant’s vision, wide avenues would radiate from the house of Congress and the house of the President. L’Enfant sketched 15 open spaces for gatherings and monuments: L’Enfant stated that open spaces were as important as buildings.
Washington Mall, site of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech of 1963, and of 200,000 flags heralding the Biden-Harris Inauguration of 2021. Image: “National Mall, Washington, D.C.” wikimedia.
L’Enfant may have been influenced by the design of a renovated Paris, France, by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, who enlarged the boulevards for two reasons: better air circulation to lessen the spread of viral disease, and large public gathering spaces. Paris still benefits from these two reasons, as does Washington.
“L’Enfant’s Plan of Washington, D.C., 1887.” National Register of Historic Places: 97000332. Image: Library of Congress.
L’Enfant ‘s grand vision was almost lost. Apparently there was a dispute, and L’Enfant fled the city with the detailed plans. Enter Benjamin Banneker. Bannekar, who had attended a one-room school while studying independently with his grandmother, was known for mathematical brilliance when he came to work with Major Andrew Ellicott as a surveyor to establish the District of Columbia’s official capital borders.
Benjamin Banneker, from Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum. Wikimedia.
Among Banneker’s considerable talents was a photo-perfect memory. L’Enfant’s design was imprinted on the surveyor’s mind and, according to some reports, soon reproduced for completion by Benjamin Banneker.
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture site, in Washington, D.C., is within an area now named Benjamin Banneker Park. Banneker also wrote an almanac, with an inaugural publication entitled: Benjamin Banneker’s Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris, for the Year of Our Lord 1792. Banneker corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, and published abolitionist material advocating a vision in part realized, in the capital he helped design, with the inauguration of Barack Obama on 20 January 2009, and 20 January 2021, the inauguration day of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Washington, D.C., joins a small group of designed cities in history. Baghdad was created from a drawing of three concentric circles etched by sword in the sand. Abuja, Nigeria’s new capital, was influenced by Haussman’s Paris, as well as Washington, D.C., and Brasília was the first city designed to be seen from the air, and shaped like an airplane when seen from that vantage point. Capital cities are an iconic kind of urban center, embodying ideals of government and national values. In The New Science of Cities (2013), Michael Batty proposed that we see cities as systems of networks and flows. Arnold Toynbee, in Cities of Destiny, stated that cities, led with vision, may become incubators of art, culture, and science.
As Washington, D.C., takes on a new character in 2021, encouraged by inaugural address values of respect and unity, and led by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, how might L’Enfant’s and Banneker’s design give what Lawrence Durrell called the “spirit of place” to a new spirit of nation?
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala D. Harris. inaugurated in Washington, D.C., on 20 January 2021.
Batty, Michael. The New Science of Cities. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780262019521
Bedini, Silvio A. The Life of Benjamin Banneker. Rancho Cordova, CA: Landmark Enterprises, 1984.
Durrell, Lawrence. Spirit of Place: Letters and Essays on Travel. edited by Alan G. Thomas. Open Road: Integrated Media.
Keene, Louis. “Benjamin Banneker: The Black Tobacco Farmer Who Presidents Couldn’t Ignore.” White House Historical Association.
National Museum of African American History & Culture. “The NMAAHC Museum Site,” https://nmaahc.si.edu/nmaahc-museum-site.
Naming and framing the new agreement shared by Canada, United States, and Mexico. Image: wikimedia.
Finding common ground among nations joining in regional agreements is difficult enough: policies on issues from food to energy to trade must be deliberated. And then, there’s the name. While the “New Nafta,” launched 29 January 2020, was named top-down as USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement) in the United States, Mexico took an inclusive approach. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known popularly as AMLO, announced a naming contest on Twitter. According to Dr. Amrita Bahri, co-chair of the WTO Chair Program for Mexico and Professor of Law, ITAM University, and Guillermo Moad Valenzuela, of International Trade Law, ITAM University, the naming contest stated four criteria:
NAMING AND FRAMING:
Name similar to the English and French versions;
Name begins with the letter “T” as in Tratado;
Name is easily pronounceable in Spanish;
Name reflects the spirit of cooperation.
On Twitter, Mexico received hundreds of suggestions, selecting two finalists for adoption: TEUMECA (Tratado Estados Unidos México Canadá) or T-MEC (Tratado México Estados Unidos Canadá). The winner, T-MEC, contains a review provision in six years. Perhaps the parties learned that lesson from the Colorado River Compact, when a failure to define all parties’ water rights resulted in subsequent lawsuits. Mexico and the Navajo sued and were awarded water rights with sovereignty not granted to American states. In T-MEC, Mexico specifically reserved “Direct, inalienable, and imprescriptible ownership of hydrocarbons” (chapter 8).
Regions may be the new nations. Viewed from space, the world shows no lines as seen on maps; instead, we observe that linked land shares common resources. Recognizing dual values of inclusion and diversity, how should we frame, and name, future agreements on shared resources?
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala D. Harris. inaugurated in Washington, D.C., on 20 January 2021. 