Oddbean new post about login | logout I just had a video call with a colleague who is on a ship at the North Pole. A VIDEO CALL. It was smooth and bug-free and he could have been just down the road. And this is the end of an era, in a gigantic way. One of the most special things about these expeditions is that you’re isolated - recently you might get text-only e-mails once a day, but that was it. You had to actually be present all the time, because the people on board were all you had. And that is now the past. I’m truly gutted.
@33b0a4fd absolutely recognise that feeling. But my current fieldwork by dogsled is still pretty inaccessible by most communication methods... Satellite phone for emergencies, checked twice a day for incoming messages only. https://fediscience.org/system/media_attachments/files/111/023/454/241/862/357/original/fdf60339c94f775b.jpg
@33b0a4fd Worse, if this was a satellite phone call using e.g. Starlink, it's contributing to many unsustainable problems: - rocket launches are probably worse for GHG emissions than airplanes, and lots of satellites means many launches - many satellites and rocket launches increase the likelihood of Kessler syndrome, where space junk prevents future access to space - many satellites means lots of light pollution - Starlink increases reliance on an unstable fascist Just ask @e38e83a6
