So, we’re destroying our own way of life on earth but Bush wants to establish a permanent base on the moon as a prelude to sending humans to Mars?

Isn’t this just another sign, as former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill reports in Ron Suskind’s new book, The Price of Loyalty, that we have a space cadet as President? And don’t these neocons have enough bases ringing the earth? Or is their desire for world domination so unquenchable that they’re using this new initiative, as some believe, as a stealth program to speed up the militarization of space? And, not to be too visionless, but at a time of record budget deficits and massive tax cuts for the rich, where’s the money going to come from for these adventures in outer space?

While the New York Times reports that Bush’s space initiative “would allow the president to be portrayed as an inspirational leader whose vision goes beyond terrorism and tax cuts,” it seems more wasteful indulgence than “inspirational” when our own planet is in such danger. Just last week, more evidence (if it was needed) came in a major scientific report showing that more than a million species will become extinct over the next fifty years as a result of global warming. Other recent studies show that the planet’s rainforests are disappearing at a rate of one acre per minute.

And, just the other day, in the prestigious journal Science, the British government’s chief scientific adviser launched a withering attack on the Bush Administration for failing to tackle global warming. “In my view,” he warned, “climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today, more serious even than terrorism.”

Bush may think it’s good politics to invoke the image of John Kennedy, challenging the nation to send a man to the moon. But these are times that call for a different kind of Apollo Project–on earth, not in space. We desperately need to harness the best scientific R&D in a crash effort to achieve energy independence from fossil fuels and to address the devastating impact of global warming.

For one terrific proposal, check out the Apollo Alliance, a new coalition of unions, environmental groups, consumer advocates and socially responsible businesses, whose bold program would advance energy efficiency and promote renewable energy, drive investment in new technology and public infrastructure and offer real stimulus to our flagging economy through long-term job creation. (Click here for info.)

In 1989, Mr. Bush’s father proposed that America begin “the permanent settlement of space.” If this President vowed to send all the neocons on a mission to colonize some distant planet, I just might reconsider my opposition to space exploration. But, short of that, let’s put earthly needs first.