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There’s no planet B

aeon.co

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Re: There’s no planet B

#241

Post by aeternum »

palata wrote: post #239
aeternum wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humans would clearly bring other life with them to Mars just as we have to almost every part of the earth. In contrast to this worldview that humans are the agents of mass-extinction, it's much more likely that humans are the only ticket to survival for every species on earth. No other species has been able to escape Earth's massive gravity well, nor has come anywhere close to harnessing the energy required to do so.

> just as we have to almost every part of the earth. Do you have an idea of the ratio between the species human has been moving around vs the number of species in existence? > In contrast to this worldview that humans are the agents of mass-extinction Wait wait wait. This is a fact. We are living a mass extinction now, it is acted. We, human, have removed 2/3 of trees, 2/3 of mammals, and 2/3 of insects from Earth. M…

Even if an asteroid does not destroy the earth, the sun ultimately will

Re: There’s no planet B

#242

Post by palata »

aeternum wrote: post #241
palata wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> just as we have to almost every part of the earth. Do you have an idea of the ratio between the species human has been moving around vs the number of species in existence? > In contrast to this worldview that humans are the agents of mass-extinction Wait wait wait. This is a fact. We are living a mass extinction now, it is acted. We, human, have removed 2/3 of trees, 2/3 of mammals, and 2/3 of insects from Earth. M…

Even if an asteroid does not destroy the earth, the sun ultimately will

Not sure what your point is :).

Re: There’s no planet B

#243

Post by truculent »

pfdietz wrote: post #12
truculent wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When going boldly requires shared resources and has knock-on effects for everyone, shouldn't we all have a say?

No? I mean, if people who have money want to spend it on something like that, why should we have a say? It's their money, not ours. EDIT: ah, the perennial game of rationalizing taking from others when they aren't doing what you want them to do.

It’s not just money - how do we manage shared resources like the atmosphere, night sky, and various orbits?

Re: There’s no planet B

#244

Post by aeternum »

palata wrote: post #242
aeternum wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if an asteroid does not destroy the earth, the sun ultimately will

Not sure what your point is :).

The earth is doomed, it's up to humans to get them off this rock that will eventually burn up in one way or another.

Re: There’s no planet B

#245

Post by palata »

aeternum wrote: post #244
palata wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what your point is :).

The earth is doomed, it's up to humans to get them off this rock that will eventually burn up in one way or another.

Do you realise that the Sun "threat" is not for another few billions of years (with a "b")? Dinosaurs appeared what, 250 millions years ago (with an "m")?

And there's more: the closest star, Proxima Centauri, is more than 4 light-years away. It means that if you want a chance to survive the Sun, you don't need engineering; you need theoretical physics. You need a fundamental discovery in physics to make that kind of travel realistic. At which point the engineering you will have put to go to Mars will possibly don't apply at all.

Again: there is no planet B unless you make a fundamental discovery in theoretical physics. People need to stop pretending that going to Mars is a need. It is an artistic performance. It is cool, but mostly useless.

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