As far as we know! There could be some extremely basic form of proto-life surviving off of minerals and radiation, or remnants of now extinct life when Mars had water, and that would be destroyed by terraforming.
Also? Geology (areology in Mars's case) has scientific value and helps us understand the universe. Who knows what kinds of things we might discover in the Martian crust? We can learn so much about how planets form and about the ancient history of our solar system. Rocks aren't worthless.
And there's an aesthetic and cultural value to preserving the ancient landscape. It's not "just" a rock anymore than mountains are "just" rocks. Shall we knock down the buttes and fill the canyons with concrete just because they're rocks?
I can see your point,but that doesn't seem enough to just not settle any planetside areas because we'd "upset the natural scenery".
I mean,I won't oppose anyone who would want to live on Mars in the far future just because the environment would change.
I dunno,I never jived with the perspective that humans are supposed to just not interact with foreign environments and keep them in some sort of glass case only out of some weird quasi religious deference to "Mother Nature".
Obviously,if we have the means,we should exercise extreme caution,but to flat out refuse to settle any planet other than this one seems silly in my opinion.
We don't do it for some metaphysical "Mother Nature" but for each other. Defacing Mars would be robbing humanity of the natural beauty of the Martian landscape.
Mars has it's own beauty that we can learn to appreciate, I think terraforming would rob us of the chance.
Humanity can preserve sections of it for aesthetic or scientific purposes,but if it's more cost effective than building an orbital arcology,then I would be in favor of that. I see it like this,we should prioritize the needs of human society first over preserving natural landscapes in the case where it would help us develop technologically. Again,with the caveat that all necessary precautions are taken first.
I understand your point about the value of things as they are to human science and society, but I personally think our needs should be put first in the purely hypothetical scenario where we can interact with with foreign planetary bodies. Also, wouldn't terraforming offer valuable scientific data about how to curate and develop an ecosystem from the ground up? The Earth and other potentially habitable planets offer plenty of information, but wouldn't some direct practice be also needed to create proper orbital ecosystems?
I would also like to point out that I am no where near an expert in biology or geology and I'm merely expressing the perspective I have with the limited information I have. I take full ownership of any lapses in my judgement and I will be the first to admit that whatever discrepancies there are in my beliefs are most probably caused by the limited knowledge I possess.
Don't get me wrong,I'm no Muskite,and I wouldn't lose any sleep over Mars staying the same,but if it's deemed more efficient to terraform Mars over building orbital arcologies,I would back that policy.
My apologies for misinterpreting your sentiment,I just have a dislike for the people who act like we should swear off all development in the name of some idealistic notion of us being "caretakers" or "guardians" of nature because it just seems to be full of hubris. I see now that is not your position,and I want to clarify I didn't intend to come off in a hostile way.
Humanity can preserve sections of it for aesthetic or scientific purposes,
Oh I don't disagree! The natural world and the artificial world are in a dialectical relationship, one can not exist without the other. It seems entirely possible to reach a synthesis.
Forbidding humans from setting foot on Mars is pointless anyway, if it's possible then it literally can not be truly forbidden because people will go there no matter what. People trespass in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, they'll trespass on Mars too.
We've already disturbed the ancient landscape with our rovers anway, even if we painstakingly undid the damage it wouldn't really be natural. It'd just be an artificial rehabilitation.
As far as we know! There could be some extremely basic form of proto-life surviving off of minerals and radiation, or remnants of now extinct life when Mars had water, and that would be destroyed by terraforming.
Also? Geology (areology in Mars's case) has scientific value and helps us understand the universe. Who knows what kinds of things we might discover in the Martian crust? We can learn so much about how planets form and about the ancient history of our solar system. Rocks aren't worthless.
And there's an aesthetic and cultural value to preserving the ancient landscape. It's not "just" a rock anymore than mountains are "just" rocks. Shall we knock down the buttes and fill the canyons with concrete just because they're rocks?
Keep Mars red!
I can see your point,but that doesn't seem enough to just not settle any planetside areas because we'd "upset the natural scenery".
I mean,I won't oppose anyone who would want to live on Mars in the far future just because the environment would change.
I dunno,I never jived with the perspective that humans are supposed to just not interact with foreign environments and keep them in some sort of glass case only out of some weird quasi religious deference to "Mother Nature".
Obviously,if we have the means,we should exercise extreme caution,but to flat out refuse to settle any planet other than this one seems silly in my opinion.
We don't do it for some metaphysical "Mother Nature" but for each other. Defacing Mars would be robbing humanity of the natural beauty of the Martian landscape.
Mars has it's own beauty that we can learn to appreciate, I think terraforming would rob us of the chance.
I just think that it shouldn't be all forbidden.
Humanity can preserve sections of it for aesthetic or scientific purposes,but if it's more cost effective than building an orbital arcology,then I would be in favor of that. I see it like this,we should prioritize the needs of human society first over preserving natural landscapes in the case where it would help us develop technologically. Again,with the caveat that all necessary precautions are taken first.
I understand your point about the value of things as they are to human science and society, but I personally think our needs should be put first in the purely hypothetical scenario where we can interact with with foreign planetary bodies. Also, wouldn't terraforming offer valuable scientific data about how to curate and develop an ecosystem from the ground up? The Earth and other potentially habitable planets offer plenty of information, but wouldn't some direct practice be also needed to create proper orbital ecosystems?
I would also like to point out that I am no where near an expert in biology or geology and I'm merely expressing the perspective I have with the limited information I have. I take full ownership of any lapses in my judgement and I will be the first to admit that whatever discrepancies there are in my beliefs are most probably caused by the limited knowledge I possess.
Don't get me wrong,I'm no Muskite,and I wouldn't lose any sleep over Mars staying the same,but if it's deemed more efficient to terraform Mars over building orbital arcologies,I would back that policy.
My apologies for misinterpreting your sentiment,I just have a dislike for the people who act like we should swear off all development in the name of some idealistic notion of us being "caretakers" or "guardians" of nature because it just seems to be full of hubris. I see now that is not your position,and I want to clarify I didn't intend to come off in a hostile way.
Oh I don't disagree! The natural world and the artificial world are in a dialectical relationship, one can not exist without the other. It seems entirely possible to reach a synthesis.
Forbidding humans from setting foot on Mars is pointless anyway, if it's possible then it literally can not be truly forbidden because people will go there no matter what. People trespass in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, they'll trespass on Mars too.
We've already disturbed the ancient landscape with our rovers anway, even if we painstakingly undid the damage it wouldn't really be natural. It'd just be an artificial rehabilitation.
Humans can have a little bit of Mars, as a treat.