Seems like a very biased article.
"[W]hat are the limits of our tolerance as a society to the pollution of Earth in the pursuit of the goal to space?"
A better question would be "What are our tolerances for human pollution of Earth in the pursuit of our desires?" Just the housing industry in the U.S. is far more polluting than SpaceX's rocket development program. More habitat loss, more chemical pollution, more junk, litter, etc. Global warming from CO2 emissions, holes in the ozone layer from refrigerant leakage.
What SpaceX is doing is a drop in the bucket. Even with the misrepresentation about discharging "contaminated" water, etc. If you want to see discharges of contaminated water, take a look at our sewage treatment plants - even the ones in compliance - and compare that to the discharge of cooling water from SpaceX launch pads - both for volume and mass of contaminants.
Maybe we could "Save the Earth" if we
all left for Mars.
