Because global warming of the kind we are causing/experiencing is quite literally unprecedented in human civilization. We have no method currently feasible at large-scale to undo the damage we've created.

It is going to be horrible, no matter what we do. It does have the potential to be civilization-ending. That's pretty much the end of humans as an advanced species.

If we lose our current level of civilization, we will likely never truly become a space-faring species and will instead end when the Earth does.

I realize I didn't clarify well. I meant just a visual example of a city being ripped from a planet. Earth was largely unaffected.

In all seriousness, couldn't Age of Ultron be used as an example? I can't remember if that's a full city or just a section.

Pretty sure we have "King of the Hill" to thank for that.

>Phoenix is a monument to man's arrogance.

Because it is. And the state is rapidly becoming concerning politically. Look at the environmental damage Doug Ducey did with his "wall".

That's why I tried to be a bit vague. It's actually Phoenix.

Speaking from personal experience (so anecdotal): I live in a city that has atrocious public transportation and is unsafe to walk/bike in for much of the year (due to heat). My wife and I have one car, but we've had to use taxis and such when the need arises.

If we didn't have that option, we'd have to have a second car. There aren't really other feasible possibilities.

I believe that they are supposed to be more efficient over the lifespan of the vehicle.

Along the lines of: If each person who used a taxi had their own vehicle instead, what would that cost in total?

I agree that it's not a great 1:1 comparison, but it's a complicated area.

Data rate is not the limiting factor. Power is. There are 2x200 KW klystron amplifiers pushing out those pings. Drones don't have that kind of power if you want them to loiter.

What makes you assume that? How is whether or not AWACS is operating with air superiority going to change the capabilities? How does any of that change whether or not StarLink becomes useful to AWACS?

Have you flown on the plane? I have. AWACS is an air-to-air battle management/C2 platform. It provides a gigantic radar/IFF capability to allied pilots.

The biggest upgrade to AWACS computers was in the 90s when they went from 1 color to a full 6 colors! You have zero relevant information about this topic.

This is factually untrue. I was a radar tech on the AWACS.

They are quite literally using computers from the 1950s. Either 2 or 3 large cabinets for radar, depending on whether it's the -B or -C model.

There isn't any data that AWACS lacks processing power for. Certainly, there is no particular need for satellites (especially StarLink) for AWACS mission capability.

Any data shared from AWACS with other Blue Forces would go through something like JTIDS, which existed decades before StarLink.

Any other use would be standard data transfer/communication over military satellites.

Grand Canyon University is gated off, but it's an exception.