Jeff Bezos (Wikipedia photo)
Billionaire Jeff Bezos has touted his private space company Blue Origin as a key player in the fight against climate change, pushing back against critics who say the Amazon founder has not focused his vast fortune on solving problems on Earth.
“Blue Origin’s long-term goal is to move all polluting industries off the planet,” Bezos said in a speech at the Vatican. “This road is long, and we will not see its end in my lifetime. Someone else will have to pick up this torch. But for my part, I would like to do everything in my power to build a path to space. So that those who come after will have it easier than me.”
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Bezos made the remarks while receiving the Galileo Prophets of Philanthropy Award at the Vatican. Besides his work with Blue Origin and Amazon, the billionaire heads the climate-focused Bezos Earth Foundation. Bezos said he wanted to “build a path to space” since childhood. He also directly addressed those who criticized his life project as a waste of resources that could instead be helping people in need.
“Some people ask me why. Why invest so much in space when there are so many problems that need to be solved on Earth?” Bezos said. “We go to space not to abandon our home but to protect it. In space, the sun always shines, and we can collect energy in almost unlimited quantities. Energy and other resources can be harvested and used in space without harming the Earth. The Earth is a garden that needs to be taken care of.” .
Bezos is one of several extremely wealthy executives who have dabbled in space in recent years. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also the top boss at privately held SpaceX, while billionaire Richard Branson founded the spaceflight company Virgin Galactic. All three companies have worked as contractors for NASA.
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