In the first half of the program, planetary scientist Daniel Durda discussed how asteroids could benefit the human race by providing minerals via deep space mining as well as the various scenarios which could play out if an asteroid impacted the Earth. He posited that, although asteroids contain a number of precious minerals which would be highly desirable here on Earth, the extensive logistics of mining in space would make it economically unfeasible to ship the materials back to the planet for use here. On the contrary, Durda argued, mining of asteroids will likely flourish once "we have a viable, working economy out in space" and that the materials would be used for projects taking place off of the planet. Beyond rare minerals, he also suggested that water will "probably be one of the most precious resources that we mine from the asteroids."
Regarding the potential dangers facing the planet from an asteroid impact, Durda detailed the degrees of destruction which would transpire based on the different potential sizes of these incoming objects. He explained that a 300-foot asteroid hitting a city would cause a megaton blast which would lay waste to the urban landscape. Should an object of that size hit the ocean, he said, the resulting tsunami could create even more havoc for numerous cities along the coastline. Furthermore, a 1,500-foot asteroid strike on the planet would likely form a two-mile wide crater and spray deadly debris far across the landscape. Fortunately, Durda noted, NASA's Spaceguard Survey Project has managed to identify 90% or more of the potential asteroids which would pose a catastrophic impact event should they hit the Earth.
---------------------------------------------------
In the latter half, parapsychologist Jeffrey Mishlove talked about free will, ESP, and his extensive research into the "PK Man," Ted Owens, who allegedly possessed psychokinetic powers as a result of a contact with ETs. On the subject of free will, he observed that the concept presents a paradox because conventional science does not allow room for self-determination while the legal system holds us responsible for our actions. "So we live in a world where the major institutions that dominate our lives are in disagreement about it," Mishlove mused. Based on anecdotal evidence of people foreseeing tragic events which would have befallen them as well as studies that show less than the "normal statistical expectation" for victims when a disaster or accident occurs, Mishlove surmised that the future is not necessarily predetermined and can be altered as a result of precognition or intuition.
In recounting his decade-long study of Ted Owens, he recalled how the "PK Man" would "tell me, in advance, of his intention to cause various large scale events" involving the weather and that these "demonstrations" came to fruition roughly 2/3 of the time. Mishlove shared one instance where Owens promised to end a drought in California via powerful and obvious weather events. Three days after Owens made this contention, Mishlove said, it both rained and snowed in the region. Additionally, he told the story of how Owens tried to teach his children how he performed these feats and, while showing them the process, Mount Saint Helens seemingly spontaneously erupted. Following that, Owens wrote to Mishlove lamenting what happened and declaring that "I didn't mean to do it!"
News segment guests: Katherine Albrecht & Gerald Celente