Bozur
Amicus
Posts: 5,515
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Post by Bozur on Aug 29, 2009 11:03:32 GMT -5
Robot Designed to Help Earth Plants Grow on Mars
treehugger.com — It's good to know that in the event that our planet collapses under the weight of overpopulation, a water crisis, nuclear holocaust or whatever, there are designers out there already preparing for life on Mars. If we do colonize Mars, the first thing we're going to need is ample breathable oxygen. Enter Le Petit Prince, the greenhouse robot. More… www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/robot-colonize-mars-plants.php
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Bozur
Amicus
Posts: 5,515
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Post by Bozur on Aug 29, 2009 11:09:29 GMT -5
some responses Trev says:I've said it before and I'll say it again: the whole idea that we should move to Mars because we will destroy the earth is completely absurd! As Bill Mollison says, we already know everything we need to know to live sustainably. What he didn't add was "on earth". Fixing our problems on earth requires changing bad habits and being a bit more innovative with our technology. Moving to Mars requires not only adding oxygen to an entire atmosphere, but also somehow restarting the magnetic field. We'd also have to add huge amounts of water, even if there is some there. Then we'd have to move all of our population, along with all the animals we need, and enough food to get us established. It would be cool to see colonies on Mars within my lifetime. But it bothers me that people think this is a solution to environmental problems. This shows a basic problem with the way we think about environmental issues. We always look for very technical solutions and ignore the fact that people survived here for thousands of years before us. Saving the earth means sacrificing a little bit, while colonizing Mars requires a huge undertaking. It's a great science fiction story,but it's not a solution. August 27, 2009 4:17 PM
Roland says: People (at least, sane people) don't see moving civilization to Mars as a real solution. The idea is, or should be, that there should be some humans (a small but self-sustaining group) capable of surviving independent of Earth. Then if there is a catastrophe, civilization will go on, and in time can rise again, or come back and recolonize Earth when it is again habitable. Like a seed bank for mankind. August 27, 2009 5:03 PM
Anonymous says: Mars will always be uninhabitable, because it has virtually no magnetic field, which means it can never have an atmosphere. Without a magnetic field, the solar wind blows the atmosphere away. Earth's magnetic field is still strong because its iron core is much much larger and still molten, because we collided, and marged with, another large iron-cored body several billion years ago. However, eventually our magnetic field will give out too. August 27, 2009 6:13 PM
Roland says: You are absolutely 100% correct. It would be a ridiculous undertaking!
It seems so absurd that we as a civilization are unwilling to work together to fix our own issues. It is said that we need to fix the planet but really it is humanity that needs to fix itself.
Turning Mars into an Earth like planet is something that we won't be able to do for a LONG LONG time. Not because we don't have the technology or the know how, but because we are not mature enough to handle the unforeseen consequences. We've done a terrible job at being stewards of one planet now we want to have an extra one on the side "just in case"?
Sorry to be so pessimistic. Maybe it could be done. : | August 27, 2009 9:12 PM
JBerg says: Imagine being an interstellar alien with human needs, arriving in our solar system and looking for a hospitable planet to live on. Imagine that you are doing this at a time when humanity has managed to decimate itself and has, in the process, greatly altered the Earth's climate and ecology. The temperature is either greatly raised or lowered compared with now, the biodiversity is impoverished, the water cycle contaminated. Even with all that, you would take no more than a passing glance at Mars and head straight for the ruined Earth. The amount of energy required to make the ruined Earth comfortable again is *vastly* less than that required to make Mars habitable. Treating the Earth with sanity is always going to be a better option for humanity than attempting to globally colonize Mars. Some minor colonisation project on Mars might make an interesting adventure for some wealthy country or league of countries but perhaps we should pause to consider how much good could be done right here on Earth, were the same investment of money and human ingenuity made into repairing the damage we've done at home. August 28, 2009 1:36 AM
Jill Leven says: Colonizing other planets isn't a viable solution to an environmental crisis, but it sure would help with overpopulation. That's the biggest issue for our planet next to global warming right now. We aren't producing enough food to feed the 7 billion people on Earth right now. Industrialized countries like Canada and the US aren't producing enough food to sustain it's own population, so they're importing food from other nations like China, producing a shortage there, etc. And the so-called 'developing' and 'third-world' nations are the ones with massively expanding populations, causing major over crowding and requiring high amounts of resources to care for. We need to either find a way to sustain this exponentially growing population or watch people die because the Earth isn't capable of sustaining our population. August 28, 2009 10:50 AM
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