Broadcast 1719 (Special Edition)

Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: The 11th Annual California Round robber for policy debate. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. The topics in this 11 minute plus segment focused on the 11th annual high school California Round Robin for policy debate which was held Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 at the College Preparatory School in Oakland, CA. I was one of four critics (not judges) asked to participate and advise the debating teams on how realistic their presentations were in terms of what is actually done regarding the subject in the space industry. The question the debaters focused on asked if the U.S. government should pay for and develop space solar power. One team took the affirmative. The other team accepted the need for space solar power but took the position that it should be paid for and developed by the private sector. High School debate rules were followed. In the coming weeks the debate audio will be uploaded to a special website for everyone to hear. When the audio is available, I will modify the archives for this program to include the URL so those of you interested in hearing it can do so. In addition to critiquing the students, each of the four of us (critics) had an opportunity to address not just the two debate teams but also the 60-70 adults in the room. We stressed the possibility of understanding, seeing, and valuing space as a possible path for solutions to many of the problems we all face today. In talking to the students after the debate, they were all open to STEM college programs, space, science, and technology careers. They were actually excited about the debate, the topic, and their future. During this segment with John Batchelor, I went into more detail about the actual debate, how they handled the multiple disciplines they talked about including engineering, technology, space issues, beaming issues, business, financial and economic issues. When the debate ended, we took questions from the students and the adults. Some of the questions dealt with space debris, microwave beaming and space weapons, the Outer Space Treaty, space liability issues, and an aging space workforce. Please post your comments regarding this John Batchelor Show segment on The Space Show Blog. If you want to email either John Batchelor you can do so through me or their respective websites.