“Mister, you may conquer the air but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline.” — Henry Drummond in “Inherit the Wind” by Jerome Lawrence

I agree with the point made by Drummond, based on the legendary lawyer, Clarence Darrow. I also agree that aviation and space travel are both vital to civilization.

I remember vividly the first moon landing, which I watched in a bar. As Neil Armstrong descended the steps to touch the moon’s surface and utter his famous line, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” some cowboys in the tavern shot pool. Not that many customers were watching the shadowy images on the screen.

Fifty-two years later on the anniversary of the moon landing, Bezos, following Branson’s flight, rode his rocket into space. As Katherine Gammon pointed out, this billionaire space race could be one “giant leap for pollution.” One rocket launch produces up to 300 tons of carbon dioxide into the upper atmosphere where it can remain for years. Branson’s comment after his dramatic fight could be disturbing. “We’re here to make space more accessible to all. Welcome to the dawn of a new space age.”

What kind of a “new age”? I will quote the experts.

“But this launch of a new private space industry that is cultivating tourism and popular use could come with vast environmental costs,” says Eloise Marais, an associate professor of physical geography at University College London.

Marais studies the impact of fuels and industries on the atmosphere. When rockets launch into space, they require a huge amount of propellants to make it out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Those fuels emit a variety of substances into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, water, chlorine and other chemicals.

“The carbon emissions from rockets are small compared with the aircraft industry,” she says. “But emissions from rockets are emitted right into the upper atmosphere, which means they stay there for a long time: two to three years. Even water injected into the upper atmosphere — where it can form clouds — can have warming impacts. Even something as seemingly innocuous as water can have an impact.”

To be honest, I wish I could travel into space, myself. I am sure being weightless is fun. There is a price, however, beyond dollars and cents.

“While there are a number of environmental impacts resulting from the launch of space vehicles, the depletion of stratospheric ozone is the most studied and most immediately concerning,” wrote Jessica Dallas, a senior policy adviser at the New Zealand Space Agency, in an analysis of research on space launch emissions published last year.

Marais agrees that there is always an element of excitement to new developments in space — but it’s still possible to be responsible while doing something exciting.

When we consider our current situation — terrible droughts on the West Coast with raging floods on the East Coast, and the early super-hot forest fires in California, Oregon and Idaho — we have to recognize that climate change is here. Who is not compelled by that frightening image of Chinese commuters trapped on the subway cars filling with water?

In 5 billion years, the sun will become a red giant and destroy our beloved Earth. By that time, the human race — if it still exists — will need to colonize other planets in other galaxies. Until then, however, maybe we can reexamine the space tourism dreams of Branson and Bezos.

Michael Corrigan graduated from San Francisco State with a Master of Arts degree in English and creative writing. He was active in theater and attended the American Film Institute. He retired from Idaho State University as an instructor of English and speech communications. He has written several books, including “Confessions of a Shanty Irishman,” “Mulligan” and “These Precious Hours.” NPR broadcast his play for two readers: “Letters from Rebecca.”