1/ 7 crew members died the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster. The problem was O-rings that failed at launch. Some of the engineers worried about the O-rings but didn’t speak out. They knew but no one did anything.

Jun 27, 2021 · 10:48 AM UTC

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2/ More than 150 people died when an apartment building collapsed in Miami this week. A 2018 engineer’s report had warned of “major structural damage” to the building but no one had acted on the report. They knew but no one did anything.
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3/ Both situations reflect the way we’re dealing with climate change. The problem is urgent, the warnings are there, yet we’re acting on it with the speed of swimming through a vat of molasses. At the rate we’re going our descendants will say, “They knew but no one did anything.”
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4/ We keep acting as though we’ll solve our problems by accumulating more data, but lack of data isn’t the problem. Complacency and entrenched systemic resistance is the problem. Lack of courage, lack of wisdom and lack of leadership is the problem. The time for awakening is now.
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5/ Correction re O-ring story: one engineer famously did try to warn about the O-rings and was overruled at the time by management (the analogy is even better) spacesafetymagazine.com/spac…
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2/There was pressure from govt for the Mission to be launched In retrospect- can see was doomed to failure
Replying to @marwilliamson
This is yet another example of politics and money interests above science.
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Replying to @marwilliamson
Some engineers did speak out because of concern, however, there was not enough data at the time to justify the conclusion that the O-rings would fail. Nobody knew exactly what would happen, and unfortunately, one of the worst possible outcomes did.
Replying to @marwilliamson
Engineers did speak out. They were ignored and overruled by their managers.
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Replying to @marwilliamson
Marianne, are you tweeting profusely at 3am?
This tweet is unavailable
I based my telling on an account by former astronaut Mark Kelly. Why are you just assuming I lied to support an argument? I don’t mind correcting the story - thank you for the article - but your criticism was unkind and unnecessary.
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