Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science

Cultivating life on Earth and elsewhere.
SDF — (archived)

From a Darwinian perspective Humans have not yet distinguished themselves from other species on Earth. We still compete for resources, mostly so that we can reproduce, and have as many offspring as possible. We cultivate other species solely to support OUR OWN growth, for example agriculture and livestock. Meanwhile species that compete for the same resources but do not add to own growth are pushed to extinction. A recent example would be the white dolphin in China.

At the same time we use medicine to maximize the number of people that reach maturity, so that they can have offspring of their own. The same medicine has had an unexpected side-benefit: it means that people can live longer and increase their knowledge. Today, knowledge is so great that we have created technological devices that in many ways supplant the capabilities of biological creatures. For example, cars have replaced horses, houses have replaced trees, alarm clocks have replaced birds.

But this replacement is not total. There is whole ecosystem that supports the existence of human beings, and most of it is invisible. When we go to Mars we believe we can use technology alone to survive there. But could we be wrong? The stars may only be accessible to those species that cultivate life in general. This would set them apart, and perhaps provide a rich diversity of biological capabilities that can make the impossible happen. Could there be biota that could make Mars' atmosphere breathable or warmer? Could there be a methodology to rapidly evolve life on Mars, rather than just plop it in place and hope it can be maintained with mechanical devices?

Discuss.

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