The Instapundit is afraid of bacterial exchange between Earthlings and Martians. Why is the prospect of life on Mars causing Mr. Reynolds such anxiety?
Of course, the discovery of life on Mars would be a stunning scientific advance, solving once and for all the question of whether life is unique to our planet. But the price we would pay for that discovery might well be the loss of an entire new world for humanity. Mars is Earth’s closest twin in the solar system, a planet that many scientists think could be modified to become a suitable second home for humankind.
Selfish humans want the land for themselves! They have their own world, but they screwed that up, and so now they want ours. I smell the very first inter-planetary war brewing. I’ll keep you posted.
He has a point, though. I’d much rather find actual life on Europa, an icy ocean world which we can’t terraform under any reasonable timetable, than on Mars. There actually are good ideas out there on how Mars could be transformed.
It’s absolutely a good point. Although, the time table with which we could actually terraform it is not really usable very immediately. Or at least by the time I think we’ll actually need it. It’s more likely that we use some sort of habitable dwellings as the use is more immediate and the variables on side effects more readily known and controllable.