Modern science has provided a detailed description of our natural history. Human civilization exists in only the smallest fraction of this time and has not experienced natural disasters such as the feared super volcano, or the inevitable asteroid collision. I choose these two specifically because I believe they are the most devastating, and unfortunately the most likely to occur. Both events would cause atmospheric conditions on the surface to deteriorate so much that we would no longer be able to survive.
The best solution we have is to find another planet so that we can colonize it. This may be a hundred years out of our technological reach, perhaps much more. If an asteroid of considerable size were to strike our planet, we would have absolutely no chance. At the moment, we have no realistic plan of survival. To me, the practical answer seems obvious.
Building underground may be the future of our species. Since the beginning of civilization, man has built his structures up towards the sky. We love our sky for the warmth of the sun, and the beauty of the starry night. Yet there is no better place to survive an asteroid collision or a major volcanic eruption than the subterranean. We may have to go against our natural love of the sky, and learn to develop our civilizations downwards.
If we dedicate enough research into this area, we may develop technologies that could provide us with subterranean farms and cities. The least we could do is develop major emergency bunkers that could allow its inhabitants to survive for decades, and expand its size and functionality from within.
The keys will be a reliable power source, and an agricultural method of producing food. With a little research and development, subterranean structures could rival the mass of small cities and could support tens of thousands of people.
On a final note, there have been recent discoveries of caves on mars. These caves appear more like giant holes, showing nothing more than a black abyss inside. Mars is a planet that once had oceans, rivers, and possibly life, but its atmosphere did not sustain. Would it not have been practical for life to migrate and evolve underground? It is not the most glamorous solution, but it may be our most effective. It may even be possible that life once existed on the surface of Mars, and migrated below the surface when the conditions deteriorated. It's just a thought.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Giants Prediction
Just a quick bit on the SF Giants. If they can stay injury free, I think they'll play the World Series this year. It looks like they have a great chance at making the post season. If they do, their incredible pitching could easily give them the edge over almost any team in the league. A lot can happen between now and October, but if they make the post season... look out!
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Alien Effect
I must begin by affirming that I do believe life exists elsewhere in the universe, the mathematics simply overwhelm me.
"An estimate is made of the number of habitable planets in the Galaxy, based upon conservative grounds. That is, the number of stars in the disk of the Galaxy that are similar to the sun, and the probability that these stars have a planet in orbit about them with properties similar to the earth, are estimated. The restrictions applied give values of 10 million habitable planets in the Galaxy (mean separation about 110 light years) and 4-1/2 million planets orbiting stars of sufficient age for intelligent life to have formed (mean separation about 140 light years)."
-Bond, A.; Martin, A. R. (British Interplanetary Society, Conference on Interstellar Travel and Communication, London, England, Apr. 4, 5, 1977.)
Here is how it would break down, we just have to assume that most galaxies are similar to ours (which may not be the case at all, but it is simply to estimate):
Estimated # of Galaxies in Universe: 150 billion
Estimated # of Habitable Planets per Galaxy: 10 million
= 1,500,000,000,000,000,000 habitable planets
These numbers would convince me if they were overestimated by a thousand times. But what does this mean? Recently, CNN and Discovery Channel have been focusing on aliens, with Steven Hawking's hostile invader theory at the center. Hawking believes alien visitors would most likely be resource consuming nomads, whose only interest would be exhausting our planet's resources in order to survive. We would most likely be in the way. Unfortunately, Hawking is probably right.
Either way, we would be outmatched by any life form that had the technology to travel here, leaving mankind in a rather helpless situation. It is this situation, however, that could actually spark an awakening of man. If a major alien encounter was experienced on our planet so that there was no doubt in the world that aliens do exist, we would see a major shift in the way we view each other. It would unify the world's population, and change the way we view religion and ethics, race and interdependence.
Assuming we can somehow survive a first encounter, the public awareness of alien life would do more for our culture than any events or religions of our past. Initially, our religions would resist, but I don't see it becoming a major problem. Over time, people will begin to feel closer to one another, knowing that universe we live in just got a whole lot more crowded.
I think that we are ready, believe it or not. It would open new doors in philosophy, science, and even art. Ideally, we could discover proof of life far away with improved probe technology and avoid being invaded. If we do, it will not mean the end of religion. In fact, I think it gives even more reason to believe that some sort of higher power is responsible for the life that we know.
Unfortunately, the universe is as old as it is large and the chance an alien encounter happens during this lifetime is quite small. It could happen, but might be over the next billion years. For now, we can only speculate. Let me make it clear, it is truly foolish to believe we are the only life in the universe. It further defines our existence and our relationship to the universe.
"An estimate is made of the number of habitable planets in the Galaxy, based upon conservative grounds. That is, the number of stars in the disk of the Galaxy that are similar to the sun, and the probability that these stars have a planet in orbit about them with properties similar to the earth, are estimated. The restrictions applied give values of 10 million habitable planets in the Galaxy (mean separation about 110 light years) and 4-1/2 million planets orbiting stars of sufficient age for intelligent life to have formed (mean separation about 140 light years)."
-Bond, A.; Martin, A. R. (British Interplanetary Society, Conference on Interstellar Travel and Communication, London, England, Apr. 4, 5, 1977.)
Here is how it would break down, we just have to assume that most galaxies are similar to ours (which may not be the case at all, but it is simply to estimate):
Estimated # of Galaxies in Universe: 150 billion
Estimated # of Habitable Planets per Galaxy: 10 million
= 1,500,000,000,000,000,000 habitable planets
These numbers would convince me if they were overestimated by a thousand times. But what does this mean? Recently, CNN and Discovery Channel have been focusing on aliens, with Steven Hawking's hostile invader theory at the center. Hawking believes alien visitors would most likely be resource consuming nomads, whose only interest would be exhausting our planet's resources in order to survive. We would most likely be in the way. Unfortunately, Hawking is probably right.
Either way, we would be outmatched by any life form that had the technology to travel here, leaving mankind in a rather helpless situation. It is this situation, however, that could actually spark an awakening of man. If a major alien encounter was experienced on our planet so that there was no doubt in the world that aliens do exist, we would see a major shift in the way we view each other. It would unify the world's population, and change the way we view religion and ethics, race and interdependence.
Assuming we can somehow survive a first encounter, the public awareness of alien life would do more for our culture than any events or religions of our past. Initially, our religions would resist, but I don't see it becoming a major problem. Over time, people will begin to feel closer to one another, knowing that universe we live in just got a whole lot more crowded.
I think that we are ready, believe it or not. It would open new doors in philosophy, science, and even art. Ideally, we could discover proof of life far away with improved probe technology and avoid being invaded. If we do, it will not mean the end of religion. In fact, I think it gives even more reason to believe that some sort of higher power is responsible for the life that we know.
Unfortunately, the universe is as old as it is large and the chance an alien encounter happens during this lifetime is quite small. It could happen, but might be over the next billion years. For now, we can only speculate. Let me make it clear, it is truly foolish to believe we are the only life in the universe. It further defines our existence and our relationship to the universe.
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