Greg Holt – Fall 2005

…I have hope that there is a new frontier for our time – one with no less peril and reward than the sweeping prairie or majestic peak. We must continue to support efforts to send humans further and further into space. Why not send robots? – a fair question. They extend the human senses, but will not replace the human mind. Apollo chief engineer Wernher von Braun stated it simply, "man is the best computer that we can put in a spacecraft, and the only one that can be massed produced with unskilled labor." But what of the cost – what of the risk? To that I say – why do we fear risk? The greatest risk many take today comes from eating too many potato chips on the LA-Z-BOY. Since the earliest frontiersmen set off into lands unknown, risk has been the inevitable companion of exploration. But great nations take the risks, for we can always do better than we are doing if we emancipate ourselves from our fears in order to search the horizon for new prospects. Americans of old placed their trust and collective future into the hands of someone greater than themselves – perhaps this is something we could use more in today's endeavors…

…When I see a group of students hang out a shingle that says "Satellite Design Lab" and build up a spaceflight program in 2 years for less than what NASA spends annually on coffee stirrers – I'm encouraged, and you should be, too. This is the seed of the explorer's spirit slowly working its way back into America - people who dwell on what they might discover rather than the obstacles that might be in the way. If ever you have the opportunity to see this spirit demonstrated, encourage it – support it – foster it. This new attitude will change not only the way we explore space but also the way we perceive our country and ourselves. It is up to all of us to say, "it is worth the effort – worth the risk." After all, in the end, that is what great nations do.

Trevor Lovell – Fall 2005

Today we find ourselves at a precipice in the history of human events. We are all aware that the planet's resources are rapidly depleting, that in fact our current rate of consumption cannot be sustained. We are also aware that anthropogenic CO2 emissions have been identified as the primary cause of a phenomenon known commonly as global warming – a phenomenon that will almost certainly alter the planet's climate to such an extent that the next mass extinction event is likely to occur in our life times, and may have already begun…As resources become more scarce and populations and consumption continue to grow, global trade is likely to be impacted, and wars may be fought in pursuit of resources including arable land, building materials, and energy…

…Last year, the University's Office of Public Affairs released a new slogan or theme – "What starts here changes the world." I agree with that statement. As such, I want to announce that the Campus Environmental Center is proposing that the University of Texas adopt a policy on sustainability. Briefly stated, sustainability means that this generation provides for its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own…Currently there are a number of initiatives the University administration is pursuing that are related to environmental stewardship, including support of a student run recycling program, litter cleanups, and the Campus Environmental Center. [A policy on sustainability] would elevate UT as an institution of superior moral conscience and vision. We will start here, but when UT adopts this policy, the implications will spread far beyond the 40 acres.