Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
Retired Congressman and Newt Gingrich consultant Vin Weber talks about the 104th Congress, the shift in American political power, and why conservatism is having a resurgence in Washington. Then, Bill Moyers on his new PBS show What Can We Do About Violence?, the culture of violence among youth, and the political landscape in America. Finally, astronomer Carl Sagan discusses his work in space and his new book A Pale Blue Dot.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Rating : - Carl Sagan Pale Blue Dot
This is a review of the Sagan segment. One of the most interesting subjects of all, the subject of extraterrestial exploration is spoken about by one of the real authorities on the subject. Sagan who was once opposed to manned-exploration has changed his opinion. The great asterorid that might do us all in is one reason. So is the sense that if we are to survive we have to somehow adjust ourselves, and transform the worlds outside the earth.
Sagan speaks about the arrogance of supposing that we are the center, or that all that has been created, has been created for us. He points out how vulnerable the earth is, and how small.
We went to Venus and we saw what excessive carbon- levels in the atmosphere can mean. Wow, is it hot there. We went to Mars, and we saw what it could mean to have no ozone layer to stop the deadly radiation. Sagan wonders at these unmanned probes at our being the generation that first explored the worlds outside the earth.
He talks about the importance of taking the long- term view, and making investments for our future role in space. He says long term is a matter of decades when we think about really going out into space.
Rose is, as always in this kind of discussion, an informed, intelligent questioner- one who asks the questions which really demand to be asked.
Sagan does not seem to be bothered by the possibility that the 'singularity' is about to come, or about the idea that the machines may be taking over from us. He surprises by his concern for the survival of humanity, and not just of 'intelligence'. For he might have taken the tact that it is the 'minds' of silicon which will eventually do the real exploration of space. Sagan does not make any effort at understanding what all the worlds upon worlds we know about, and are not in contact with- might mean.
So the discussion while very interesting does not not in my opinion go far and deep enough in relation to the question of the human future, in space or not.