The Ethics of Terraforming

(BTW, much of the Australian Outback does bloom--for a few weeks during
the rainy season. The trouble is making it bloom consistently for twelve
months of the year!)

--
Stephen Souter

http://www.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/souters/

While were at it, we could make Antarctica bloom. There is some life in
Antarctica that suffers whenever it snows there because its too warm.

Tom

"John Ordover" wrote in message
m...
"Eric Nave" wrote in message
...
If life is discovered on Mars, and I mean actual living bacteria, not
just
fossils, will the discovery affect the way we proceed with colonization
or
terraforming of the planet? I mean, if Mars is alive and we start
bringing
terrestrial plants and various other organisms, wont it be just like
bringing dogs and rabbits to Australia or Kudzu to the US?



In my opinion, it is the same, but I think we should do it anyway. It
seems
clear that life will never go beyond the microscopic stage on Mars.
Mars is
basically a dead-end as far as life is concerned. So I think that if we
can, we should make whatever use of it benefits humanity. I just think
there are others who will not agree. I think that if some of the
upcoming
Martian probes find life there will be a vocal minority who will argue
that
we should never send people there (and maybe no more probes) because of
the
risk of infecting the existing ecosystem.

We will never, ever colonize or terraform Mars, save if the cost drops
to near to nothing due to some kind of magical technology. If we want
to terraform someplace, how about the Austrailian outback or the
Sahara or Antartica? Let's get our own deserts blooming before we
worry about any other planet.

It appears that Australians don't want to increase their population too
much, so they don't have that much incentive to convert their deserts to
farms.

It appears that Australians don't want to increase their population too
much, so they don't have that much incentive to convert their deserts to
farms.

They want to increase their natural birthrate rather than import millions of
Asians and become an Asian country. They particularly don't want muslims and
their Jihads.

Tom

In article ,
(TKalbfus) wrote:

It appears that Australians don't want to increase their population too
much, so they don't have that much incentive to convert their deserts to
farms.

They want to increase their natural birthrate rather than import millions of
Asians and become an Asian country. They particularly don't want muslims and
their Jihads.

On what basis do you make that statement?

--
Stephen Souter

http://www.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/souters/

They want to increase their natural birthrate rather than import millions
of
Asians and become an Asian country. They particularly don't want muslims
and
their Jihads.

On what basis do you make that statement?

--
Stephen Souter

Oh lets see, they interdict and intern asylem seekers from Afghanistan. There
was the terrorist attack against Austrailians in the South Pacific. It seems to
be a reasonable conclusion to draw that Austrailians would not welcome a
foreign fanatical people who are prone to violence at every slight to their
religion and wage holy wars and Jihads against unbelievers, but by all means
you can roll out the red carpet for them if you really want.
I don't think Austrailia is a crowded country. Embracing a large nonchristian
culture brings the danger of making the ethinic European Australians into a
minority group, while the dominant muslims will introduce floggings, stonnings,
head chopping, religious police and all these other delights from Muslim
culture.

Tom

We will never, ever colonize or terraform Mars, save if the cost drops
to near to nothing due to some kind of magical technology. If we want
to terraform someplace, how about the Austrailian outback or the
Sahara or Antartica? Let's get our own deserts blooming before we
worry about any other planet.

It appears that Australians don't want to increase their population too
much, so they don't have that much incentive to convert their deserts to
farms.

You have the cause and effect backwards. Also, the largest
terraforming project in history is being seriously discussed in Aus..
The idea is to reverse the flow of a river that run to the see - send
it running in-land and use it to fill an artificial lake. Not sure
where the project stands - but it's been seriously looked at.

John Ordover wrote:
We will never, ever colonize or terraform Mars, save if the cost drops
to near to nothing due to some kind of magical technology. If we want
to terraform someplace, how about the Austrailian outback or the
Sahara or Antartica? Let's get our own deserts blooming before we
worry about any other planet.

It appears that Australians don't want to increase their population too
much, so they don't have that much incentive to convert their deserts to
farms.


You have the cause and effect backwards. Also, the largest
terraforming project in history is being seriously discussed in Aus..
The idea is to reverse the flow of a river that run to the see - send
it running in-land and use it to fill an artificial lake. Not sure
where the project stands - but it's been seriously looked at.

Isn't a large part of the interior below sea level. So all you would
need is to dig a canal to the ocean....

Brett

On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 23:44:42 GMT, Brett Buck
wrote:

John Ordover wrote:
We will never, ever colonize or terraform Mars, save if the cost drops
to near to nothing due to some kind of magical technology. If we want
to terraform someplace, how about the Austrailian outback or the
Sahara or Antartica? Let's get our own deserts blooming before we
worry about any other planet.

It appears that Australians don't want to increase their population too
much, so they don't have that much incentive to convert their deserts to
farms.


You have the cause and effect backwards. Also, the largest
terraforming project in history is being seriously discussed in Aus..
The idea is to reverse the flow of a river that run to the see - send
it running in-land and use it to fill an artificial lake. Not sure
where the project stands - but it's been seriously looked at.

Isn't a large part of the interior below sea level. So all you would
need is to dig a canal to the ocean....

Which would of course be salt water, not the fresh water the interior
needs.


Brett

Isn't a large part of the interior below sea level. So all you would
need is to dig a canal to the ocean....

Brett


And irrigate the desert with sea water?!!!

Tom

In article ,
Brett Buck wrote:

John Ordover wrote:
We will never, ever colonize or terraform Mars, save if the cost drops
to near to nothing due to some kind of magical technology. If we want
to terraform someplace, how about the Austrailian outback or the
Sahara or Antartica? Let's get our own deserts blooming before we
worry about any other planet.

It appears that Australians don't want to increase their population too
much, so they don't have that much incentive to convert their deserts to
farms.


You have the cause and effect backwards. Also, the largest
terraforming project in history is being seriously discussed in Aus..
The idea is to reverse the flow of a river that run to the see - send
it running in-land and use it to fill an artificial lake. Not sure
where the project stands - but it's been seriously looked at.

Isn't a large part of the interior below sea level.

No. Only around Lake Eyre in the north of the state of South Australia.

So all you would
need is to dig a canal to the ocean....

Doesn't irrigation need freshwater?

--
Stephen Souter

http://www.edfac.usyd.edu.au/staff/souters/