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Ethics of Terraforming
by Alex Moore
July 29, 2001
from
RedColony Website
Ted sat in the back seat of his Mars
Trans-Rover, the official name for his 25 million dollar vehicle
made by BMW back on Earth. More of a coffin, he thought.
The seats were stiff and they hurt
his neck as the car bumped along at a slow but steady 25 miles
an hour. Looking out his window he watched as the flatlands of
Isidis Planitia spread out before him. He was on his way to a
conference at Alpha Colony, where the leaders of Earth and Mars
were meeting to discuss the future of the Red Planet.
This will be the day, he thought
proudly, reaching for his prepared speech. They're going to
terraform Mars.
A big decision to say the least, but a no-brainer. With a few
Mars Activists scattered across both worlds spreading their
views of a "red Mars forever", living in harmony with Martian
life, it would be an easy victory.
They posed little threat to
terraformers, having no real basis in science. If we could just
terraform Mars, he thought, what could stop us from spreading to
the stars!
In his dreaming he just missed hitting the large group of people
standing in front of him. He slammed on the breaks. Literally
hundreds of activists in Mars suits stood before him, carrying
signs reading "Save Mars!", "Keep it Red!".
He laughed nervously and turned on
the common band of his radio. Hundreds of voices suddenly filled
the air with their cries. A few began to pound on the thin walls
of his car, and soon more people swarmed around the vehicle and
began to rock it from side to side.
Ted felt his heart pound
thunderously in his chest and jumped out of his seat.
"Get off! Get off! I'm on my way
to the conference at Alpha! You're messing with
International property, I'll have you all arrested! Leave
now!"
He heard the sound of a drill
outside and felt the air pressure in the cabin begin to drop
radically. He began to have trouble breathing and screamed in
terror.
Another voice cackled on the radio, noticeably louder and calmer
than the others. Ted fell to the floor gasping for his last
breath as the cabin was ripped wide open.
"You are messing with Martian
property. You leave now."
While the situation described above is
unreal, I just want to point out one thing.
As a terraforming supporter myself, I
underestimate the large group of people who are already opposed to
terraforming. Whenever the day comes, probably more people will be
against it rather than for it. With that in mind...
Terraforming is a huge undertaking. When we speak of terraforming we
speak of completely changing an entire planet's climate, geology,
and life. We speak of destroying land masses and geological features
billions of years old, of raising the global temperature tens of
degrees, and flooding the surface with huge oceans. We speak of
releasing thousands of species from another planet to live and
breed, changing Mars' atmospheric composition with every breath.
As impossible as this all might sound,
scientists are sure it can be done. Ironically, it seems that the
only thing holding us back from terraforming is man himself.
Ever since terraforming was envisioned decades ago, people began to
ask if it was ethical. Changing an entire planet to fit our needs
seemed like a religious power that didn't belong in the hands of
man. Science has evolved since then and with it, changes in
bioengineering. Man is now "playing God" to an extent that even
science fiction couldn't account for.
But have our minds really changed?
We read in the morning news or watch on
television nearly everyday about a group of environmental activists
lobbying for conservation of natural resources or protection of the
national parks. The vast majority of people believe that the
environment deserves our immediate attention, and in larger numbers
than years ago.
On Mars it will be no different. There will be those pro-terraforming
and those against it. There will be extremists and neutralists. In
Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson, the sides are designated by
colors. "Greens", or terraforming supporters, are in constant
conflict with the "Reds". They believe that only one side can
triumph; compromise is not an option.
Fierce civil wars are fought over the
issue of terraforming and millions of people lose their lives.
I believe that things do not have to be black and white. Throughout
history there were peace keepers and negotiators. Some of the
greatest men and women of our time are people like these. They
side-stepped war and compromised to reach a common goal for
everyone.
We could heat the planet partially, leaving the greater elevations
of Mars untouched for centuries to come. Some have suggested
building great domes over craters and terraforming just these
regions. This is definitely a cost unfriendly solution, but a
compromise.
Another idea is to build the same domes
over craters and leave those areas untouched. Like nature reserves
here on Earth, these domes would be windows into the past and could
offer scientists and observers of the future an unscathed window
into the past. I believe this idea will surface as the most viable
and cost efficient while pleasing both groups.
What are the activists fighting for? What are the terraformers' long
term goals? Before we begin terraforming, we must ask ourselves what
it is we are looking to accomplish.
From a "Red" point of view, the possibility of life on Mars is
extremely likely. No matter what shape or form this life may be in,
it deserves the proper research, study, and respect. If we were to
destroy life there by terraforming, we would never be able to
understand how life developed in the solar system.
Study of living Martian life would offer
clues to how we developed on Earth and would expand the definition
of life beyond its current restrictions. Mars has been untouched for
billions of years. The surface of Mars is a time capsule, back to
the days before the Earth even contained life. We could discover how
the solar system became what it is today and what it could still
become.
The terraformers would disagree. One of a hundred things could
happen that would make Earth uninhabitable at any moment, and our
only sanctuary would be a terraformed Mars. An asteroid collision,
volcano eruption, overpopulation explosion, natural resource
depletion, ozone layer depletion, nuclear or biological warfare...
just a few of the things that could happen leaving the human race
with no way out.
The survival of the human race is more
important than preserving a planet.
We must expand from Earth and begin
terraforming as soon as possible. We must not put science at a
stand-still while we wait for a few laboratory tests to be done on
some microscopic life.
If Mars really was once a warm and hospitable planet, terraformers
believe that we can restore the planet back to its original state.
By doing that, we'd be bringing back to life a world that once
flourished with it. And that is, by all means, ethical.
I agree with both views. I would like to study any life that may be
on Mars and appreciate the geological knowledge that Mars holds
under its surface.
I would like to terraform if for no
other reason than to expand our presence in the solar system and to
the stars. I believe that unless the consumption of resources on
Earth is reduced, the planet will no longer be able to support our
growing demand.
We must learn to develop alternative
methods of obtaining energy.
Then, I think we will be able to begin
terraforming Mars in a reasonable and responsible way.
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