How long did it take for USA to land man on the moon after Kennedy announced the project?

Question

Interesting to compare with time taken to respond to climate change after UN verification of human causes.

Answer 1

8 years, 3 months: April 1961 to July 1969.

Answer 2

I believe the answer to the moon question is about 9 years.

The reason it could be done in a short time is because we were in control of the situation due to excellent scientists and engineers.

There is no way to compare what will happen with global warming to that because man has almost no control over climate, no matter what we do or don't do. And thats the truth.

We can't even predict the weather. Its absurd to believe we can control it. We can waste a LOT of money trying to control it. Far more than it cost to go to the moon.

Answer 3

In the case of the U.S., Kennedy and the space race, we were already geared up and in competition, for a desired goal which had scores of applications, many of which we couldn't even fathom at the time.

This time around, its a global issue, and we really haven't geared up the same way across the board before of  issues relating to "business as usual" politics and a self-perceived reliance on fossil fuels.

But check out Kennedy's declaration, made in 1961, iwhich is interesting when read with climate change in mind:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project...will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important...and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish...."

The space race began in earnest in 1957, but in less than a decade we mobilized the resources of the United States of America to realize what was then an abstract goal.  And we met the challenge successful, in July of 1969.

Partly because of the arms race, partly because of the challenge of conquering a new frontier, we found it in ourselves to tackle the unknown.  We have the resources to tackle global climate change that same way, but do we have a leader who can engage our hearts and minds the way Kennedy did back then?