The Ethics of Terraformation
What is Terraformation?
The point of terraforming is to change an uninhabitable terrestrial planet into one that can support human life on the surface. Terraforming is a massive undertaking, and it involves altering a whole planet's climate, geology, and life. It entails the destruction of land masses and geological features billions of years old, elevating the global temperature, and flooding the surface with vast oceans. The most relevant to this discussion is the releasing of thousands of species from another planet to live and breed, altering the atmospheric makeup with every breath. [1]
Ever since terraformation was imagined years ago, people began to ask if it was ethical. Changing a whole planet to fit our desires seemed like a religious authority that doesn’t fit in the hands of humans. Science has developed since then and with it, changes in bioengineering. We are "playing God" to a degree that not even science fiction could imagine. But have we actually changed? We read in the news or see on the television everyday about parties of environmental protesters lobbying for protection of natural resources or preservation of our national parks. The majority of the public believes that our environment requires our immediate attention.[2]
On Mars it will be the same. There will be individuals who are pro-terraforming and those who are 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".[3] These have become the most common terms for describing people involved in terraformation debates.
Why Mars?
People have been captivated wit...
... middle of paper ...
....
[6] Hamilton
[7] Hamilton
[8] Hamilton
[9] Hamilton
[10] NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Exploration Rover Mission, 2004, California Institute of Technology, 10 Feb. 2004, <http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040112a.html >
[11] NASA.
[12] NASA.
[13] Graham.
[14] Graham
[15] Graham
[16] Moore
[17] DeVincenzi, D. L., P. Stabekis, and J. Barengoltz, Refinement of Planetary Protection Policy for Mars Missions, Adv. Space Res., 1996 Vol. 18, No. 1 <http://library.thinkquest.org/11967/ppp4m.html?tqskip1=1>
[18] DeVincenzi
[19] Terraforming Mars, 2002, Science Forum, 13 Feb. 2004, <http://www.sciencegroups.com/viewtopic.php?t=9915>
[20] Barbour, Ian G., Ethics is an Age of Technology, (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991) 66.
[21] Barbour, 64.
[22] Barbour, 69.
[23] Barbour, 79.
Cahn, Steven M. and Peter Markie, Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Nye, Howard. PHIL 250 B1, Winter Term 2014 Lecture Notes – Ethics. University of Alberta.
The story of The Martian focuses on the obstacles botanist and astronaut Mark Watney must overcome to survive on the planet Mars. His adventure is filled with fictional and non-fictional elements that are most likely difficult for the normal individual to identify what is actually realistic and what is simply fantasy. After taking a closer look, this film contains a lot more realism to actual science and space travel today. This paper will closely analyze and discuss three accuracies and inaccuracies of the film in relation to the content discussed in ESS 102 lectures, labs, and assignments.
Shafer-Landau, R. (2013) Ethical Theory: An Anthology (Second Edition). West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Weston, Anthony. A Practical Companion to Ethics. 4th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
Scientists have dreamt over the possibility that it may be possible to live on another planet. Some think that Mars has that potential to support life, if it's hidden resources are uncovered and exploited to their full potential. There is even evidence that it once contained enough water that it had been possible to hold life. Think about it, what if we could transform it into such a place, even if only our children's children get to see any result? The following will describe Mars, present evidence of ice and water, give possible ideas for the future exploration of Mars, and give reasons for why it is important.
For this purpose, in the past century, scientists have sent several probes and experimental vehicles to the Red Planet to prove that there is a possibility of life on Mars. In the 1960s and 1970s, US Vikings and Soviet Mars probes were sent by scientists and reached Mars. Data from the Viking landers proves that there were water molecules present on the planet. The experimental vehicle, Curiosity, was sent to Mars to prove that these water molecules actually came from lakes, streams or rivers. The Sojourner, a wheeled robot vehicle, was sent to Mars in 1997 and shows plains that look like they were destroyed by floods. This twenty five pound rover took over three hundred thirty feet...
Sandler, Ronald L. Ethics and Emerging Technologies. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2013. Print.
Mayhew, Robert. The Journal of Ethics , Vol. 1, No. 4 (1997) , pp. 325-340
Furrow, Dwight. Ethics- Key Concepts In Philosophy. New York, NY: Continuum, 2005. Print. 20 Oct. 2011
In a recent interview with Bruce Jakosky, Ph.D., Professor of Geologic and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado, Linda Howe asked a series of questions pertaining to Mars and what had exactly happened to the planet. The first question was: Q.) “What might have Caused Mars to lose both its surface water and magnetic field?'; A.) “The CO2 that would have produced a greenhouse atmosphere could have been lost to space. It could have been incorporated into the ground as carbonate minerals, and once that happens, the water could have frozen out in the ground.
Tavani, H. T. (2007). Ethics and technology. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc. (Ethical theories in the introduction)
Mike Freeman, (2002) "Ethical Issues of Information Technology", New Library World, Vol. 103 Iss: 1/2, pp.72 – 75
“Unless humanity is suicidal, it should want to preserve, at the minimum, the natural life-support systems and processes required to sustain its own existence” (Daily p.365). I agree with scientist Gretchen Daily that drastic action is needed now to prevent environmental disaster. Immediate action and changes in attitude are not only necessary for survival but are also morally required. In this paper, I will approach the topic of environmental ethics from several related sides. I will discuss why the environment is a morally significant concern, how an environmental ethic can be developed, and what actions such an ethic would require to maintain and protect the environment.
Barbour, Ian Ethics in An Age Of Technology. Harper Collins Publishers Inc: New York, 1993