enerjeffry

Does this man ever run out of energy? I sure hope not.

Back in 2013, I waxed prosaically about my respect for Jeff Bezos and how he revolutionized the book business. As we know, he has gone on to revolutionize every business on Earth, it would seem, and now has taken to space. He says his life’s work from here on, as he exits his day-to-day role at Amazon, is to preserve the planet, move dirty industries to space, and make the world cleaner, greener, and safer.

OK, I think he can do it.

He calls for unifiers and the end to villifiers. No argument there. Admittedly, he has just returned from the edge of space and he’s still a bit high. But is there any reason to think he can’t or shouldn’t keep on to his vision? I don’t think so. Shouldn’t we all be doing the same?

Of course, there is backlash to this space adventure. The same backlash for the same reasons that afflicted NASA space programs in the 60s, and the 70s, and the 80s, etc. And all for good reason. We do need to spend until it hurts on housing, jobs, education, and healthcare services for all, and especially for the poor, whose numbers today are growing when they should be on the way to oblivion. But we also need to keep pushing the innovation envelope so that we can take advantage of what science is learning, and so we can shine a light on corrupting, destructive influences like crooked politicians, evil hackers, and greedy-at-all-costs business leaders.

Jeff Bezos may be the devil du jour who many love to criticize just because he keeps doing what he does so well. But I admire his energy and drive to better-ness. I’ve benefited in many ways from his projects and hope my descendants will enjoy a cleaner Earth because of what’s on his To Do list. Hope he leaves the space travel to others from now on.