Good article

Just in case some of you don't religiously visit Space.com every day like the rest of us, I thought I'd post this Ad Astra article for you.

That's a pretty thought-provoking article for Space.com. I haven't visited that site regularly for some time because of their tendency to publish "fluff" pieces.
As to the actual terraforming debate, I think it should be done if it can be done. There will be plenty of time to study the planets in their native states before we get around to terraforming anything. Of course, some people will still get upset about it.
However we manage to terraform a world, the least amount of time we can reasonably expect to do it in will likely be measured in centuries. Of course, in the middle ages it would often take a century or more to build a cathedral. They still did it. This sort of thing fills a need in society.

P.S.: I just thought of a great pro-terraforming slogan: "Humanity needs engine-out"

I just hope we can terraform the Earth back to the way it was before we mess(ed) it up!

I find technophobia the worst kind of hubris. If you cut down a tree here its 'bad' but if you plant a tree on Mars--its also bad.

The old "everything natural fine--but if we do it its bad" propaganda is just unabomber thinkspeak. That was why they killed Diane Fosse. The natives got tired of her trying to turn Africa into an ecological plantation. A bunch of rich white hollywood types trying to impose greenspeak on poor people--thinking more of wildabeests than human life.

If the eco-tourists really wanted to help matters--they would stay at home. How do you think they are removing pelts and ivories? The same bush pilots flying the Capt. Planet types in are doubtless flying contraband out--who else has transportation?

The worst anti-abortionists degrade debate by calling people baby-killers. The greens do the same thing by calling starving natives 'poachers.' We don't like you going after the Rhino--so we will shoot you instead. There have been well over a hundred extra-judicial homicides done by warloads-as-park-rangers--more so than attacks on abortionists here.

The greens have a lot of blood on their hands too.

www.eco-imperialism.com

People are a natural product. So anything they produce is also a natural product. Hoover dam is no more unnatural than a beaver dam.

Now terraforming is another thing. If we are unable to control our own climate, how can we expect to exert vastly greater control on Mars' climate?

It just takes time--and tech beyond what we have now.

Aye, time... That's the issue: how do you get political and financial support for a project with a huge ROI...... a few centuries from now...

The Chinese have a good attitude towards their space program--and they do slow and steady better than about anybody.

In addition to that Ad Astra piece--perhaps you might like to check out this book:

http://www.navalinstitute.org/webstore/ ... p?id=45752

Ad Astra strikes again: http://space.com/adastra/adastra_astronautcorps_050713.html. Another outstanding and well-thought-out article.

That was also in this weeks Space News--a sister publication.