José Angel Gutiérrez ● The Sky Is Falling: Part I ● Our Voices/Nuestras Voces

 

The Sky Is Falling: Part I

José Angel Gutiérrez

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There will be two important occasions this coming November 2026 when many in the US and around the globe will think the sky is falling. Number 1 will be the General Election set for November 4th . A year ago, a Special Election in California was held that allowed for a new scheme for redistricting of federal legislative seats. The result in 2026 could be the election of 5 more Democrats to the House of Representatives issue is to allow a different way to re-district congressional seats. As of 2008, this state has had a bi-partisan commission comprised of 14 members, five each for the R’s and D’s plus four more unaffiliated members. None could be a former lobbyist or large political donor in the past ten years. The State Auditor named three of its staff to interview 120 applicants, 40 each from the D’s, R’s and unaffiliated to fill 8 of the 14 seats and finally these 8 members select the remaining 6 by majority vote. The 14-member, Citizens Redistricting Commission then drew up 52 maps for the congressional seats allocated to California. It is the most populous state in the nation and has the largest number of Electoral Votes at 54. Each state get 2 more Electoral Votes for the US Senators it also has. This is part of the undemocratic side to the Electoral College because Wyoming, for example, with an estimated population in 2024 of only 587,618 persons gets the 2 extra Electoral Votes same as does California with over 40 million persons.

Texas, the second largest populated state in the union, has 38 congressional seats plus the 2 US Senators for a total of 40 Electoral Votes. It has an estimated population of 31 million persons with 25 R’s in the US House of Representatives to 13 D’s. It has a history of doing redistricting to increase the number of R’s in the state legislature and Congress. It just did a few months ago and added five more seats to be won surely by R’s. That is why California’s Governor had called this special election to do the same thing but to favor D’s. Virginia has just passed a new redistricting scheme which may see 4 Democrats elected to the House. The goal is to take back control of the House and Senate in the US Congress and challenge Trump’s agenda at every turn. Not only will much of Trump’s evil doings be reversed if not cancelled, but also he will be a very lame duck president going into the 2028 General Election. He will have an early dark night. The sky will begin to fall for R’s.

Number 2 event is already happening but only after the Artemis II’s around-the- moon trip did the world began to know about the real sky falling. You can see the sky falling better on any dark night, especially in areas away from big cities. In rural areas, you can see things falling from the sky by their brightness, long tails, and streaking across the sky. Most of these “falling stars” are not really stars they are meteors. You can tell because they move across the sky really fast and have a long tail before they disappear; they burn up is why. That’s the good news. They usually burn up in the stratosphere before entering the earth’s atmosphere.

The Satellites not the Sky are Falling

The other flying objects in the sky, that are not drones, missiles, airplanes, meteors, or asteroids are satellites. One way to tell which is which is by speed. Airplanes might be seen because they have lights and do not leave a burning streak behind them. Satellites falling from the sky are not as fast as meteors or asteroids but faster than airplanes. They do have a long tail because they are burning up as they get close to earth.

There are over 20,000 satellites up in space belonging to several countries and corporations. Space X has Starlink satellites, one of Elon Musk’s enterprises funded mostly by US government contracts. Musk’s Starlink has about 8,500 of these circling the earth in low orbit. Given the billions of dollars the US gives Musk, he has sent up 120 Starlink satellites since January, 2025, maybe more. Jeff Bezos with his Amazon megacorporation is just starting to launch satellites also. His name for that affiliate is Amazon Leo. These satellites are why we have the internet and telephone communications in the US and around the world. China has the second largest number of satellites in space also in low orbits around the earth. A few other countries also have satellites and more are trying to send up their satellites. The bad news is that about two to five of these satellites fall to earth daily. This number will surely grow as time goes on. The good news is these low orbit satellites when they fall often burn up before hitting the earth but not always. That is why there are millions of pieces of satellite junk also circling the earth which does cause a huge traffic dilemma to otherwise functioning satellites trying to avoid this satellite junk. Those satellites that do not burn up completely and continue downward do hit the earth. No one knows how many hit the oceans which are over 2/3rds of the face of our planet. We do know some hit earth regularly. This past year some hit earth in Borneo and Kenya. One hit in the Province of Chaco in Argentina but on a farm; no one was hurt. So far, no humans have been hit by debris from the falling sky. Last September 25th, at about 8 p.m. at Thousand Oaks, California pieces of a burning satellite hit the earth. No one was hurt. These falling from the sky satellites are coming down at about 1,700 miles per hour. If you see it coming toward you, you will die. No time to move or duck or run.

International Treaty Needed to Curb this Peril

A beginning remedy is to for the nations of the world to draft and sign an international law creating an International Space Control Agency. The United Nations members need to begin setting rules for those countries and corporations sending satellites up and their eventual return. Those sending satellites up should be financially liable for all damage done if they fall from the sky. The US does have a new military component, Space Force, but it cannot force Starlink or China or Bezos’ Amazon Leo to change their ways. It should.

Google Jonathon McDowell of EarthSky videos for intriguing discussions on this topic. At YouTube.com you should watch When Satellites Fall: Hidden Risks of a Crowded Sky and another, Catch Falling Space X Starlinks. The sky is falling; for real.