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Summary and Concluding Remarks
Pages 59-62

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From page 59...
... In brief, he said that the scientists had described a revolution over the past 50 years in our thoughts and perceptions of the universe, while the communicators elucidated the revolution that occurred in just 20 years in how people communicate. He believes the science revolution is "equivalent in scale and scope to any of the earlier revolutions in thought that have taken place in civilization." In just 50 years, humanity moved from a point where "we couldn't see above the atmosphere to where we can see back to the beginning of the universe, which is profound." As for the communications revolution, Kennel thinks it "has the same degree of importance as the invention of printing." He pointed out that "many of the tools and institutions we were using in 1990 have been replaced by new and more powerful means of communications between human beings and groups of human beings." NASA must respond to this "crucial moment in the development of our civilization," he asserted.
From page 60...
... As part of the IGY, Dave Keeling began his measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, that "began to document the global nature of the human impact on atmospheric chemistry." Kennel then summarized what has been learned over the past 50 years of space research based on the presentations made by the various scientists at the workshop. • Cosmology became an observational science and was integrated into a standard model of cosmology that had two important features -- a detailed scientific account of the origin, extent and fate of the universe that corresponds with data, and the revelation of how tiny the human presence is on the scale of the universe.
From page 61...
... It is the principal social tool by which the United States translates scientific knowledge into the public and policy arena and therefore it cannot neglect the revolution in communications. We have also heard of how venerable media institutions who did not react to this revolution have failed and we have heard how those who did have continued to prosper in the present world because of the importance .


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