SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly shared his plans to colonize Mars within the next century, and he recently published a paper in which he shares his expectations to build a one-million-people city on the Red Planet.
Musk has received a lot of criticism due to all the unknown variables that could make it impossible for humans to travel to Mars. But one of the biggest critics of Musk’s plan cites the subjects of ethics and humanity’s responsibility to take care of our planet before going to another and ruining that one, too.
Andrew Fiala, a Fresno State University professor of philosophy, published Friday an article in the Fresno Bee where he said what he thinks about Elon Musk’s Mars colonization ambition.
Fiala believes humanity can’t leave Earth before solving the environmental problems here
Fiala shared his opinion regarding the subject, focusing mainly on ethics, and wrote that it is more important that people try to solve their issues on Earth and prove that they care about their planet before thinking of colonizing Mars.
“Until we evolve ethically, we ought not leave this planet and destroy another,” wrote Fiala. “The colonizing impulse is connected to the hubris that created climate catastrophe.”
The professor discussed how Earth might be affected by climate change and its side effects. He wrote that people in poor and developing countries, or “countries we don’t care about,” could be the ones who suffer the most. Thus, people in industrialized nations like the United States would be the least affected.
That led Fiala to discuss another important aspect of Musk’s colonization plans: the cost. Fiala and many other experts believe that probably only the upper class of society will have the opportunity to visit –or colonize- the Red Planet.
‘Seems unfair for rich people to head off the planet and leave behind a world inhabited by poor people’
Currently, the costs of sending people to Mars are highly expensive, to the point that only the richest people in the world could afford the trip. According to Recode, the estimated cost of launching 12 people to Mars is around $10 billion per head. However, Musk has said that it won’t be as expensive as experts think and that he plans to decrease the costs to something near “a median house price in the United States,” which would mean roughly $200,000 per person.
That, according to Fiala’s opinion editorial, is still too high for the average American and a clear sign that even if the cost of Martian travel is drastically reduced, the upper classes may still be the only ones to afford what SpaceX’s CEO is planning.
“It seems especially unfair for rich people, who already burn more than their fair share of carbon, to head off the planet, leaving behind a ruined world inhabited by poor people with no hope of departure,” wrote Fiala.
The professor ultimately believes that Mars colonization may only be a luxury that few people can enjoy and that it is a violation of the principles of environmental justice.
Source: The Inquisitr
I wish Elon Musk and others who got rich by creating and selling things that are actually useful all the luck in the world in their efforts to migrate to Mars and leave bloodsuckers like Andrew Fiala here on Earth.
Fiala is worried about about the carbon footprint if the rich leave on Earth? Then he ought to happy – they won’t be here to leave one! I think it’s a wonderful thing they’re going to escape the entitled parasites of Earth, most of whom are oxygen thieves who have contributed nothing besides bitching about people like Musk. Hopefully they can establish a civilization on Mars that actually favors the productive over the parasites.
Fiala fears for the fate of the Earth after the best and brightest have left for Mars? He ought to! An Earth left to being run by the likes of Fiala and his ilk will quickly collapse like global Venezuala – as it should! I don’t blame the rich for washing their hands of the whole sordid mess in the least.
Would anyone really want to live on a planet populated by folks that look like Elon Musk? Seriously?
What sort of name is Elon anyway?
I like a lot of the comments here that are well thought out and give really good thoughts. I had a thought too.
I watched a Ted Talk video of Astronaut Chris Harford said about odds of a catastrophic event occurring during take off. When he last went recently the odds were 1 to (roughly) 40. Meaning all passengers die due to BOOM.
Then I thought about what I know about the planet Mars’ ground environment, and let’stand just be realistic, no one wants to go to Mars. Think about all the protection one would have to wear all the time!
Watch a few Astronaut Nasa Videos and you will discover, our eyes do not handle space very well along with a lot of our other body parts. Scott Kelly’s skin still burn’s till this day from what one article says. Not sure if that is true, but who knows what kind of crappie things this will do to people going into really real deep space.
I for one, say let those rich sons of stupid byches pay all that money to do something they believe in, and if they happen to make our future earthlings species coexist in a new universe, because I agree, why stay on this one planet, when
A) sun could die
B)moon could go away
C)asteroids and other aerial satalites collide with planets all the time.
D)global warming could kill all life
E) solar winds can destroy earth just as they did. Mars… solar winds came from the sun.
F) Aliens could blow up Earth… uh, ya… Pfff.
G) black holes
H) stupid scientist messing with particles blow up earth
I) ROBOTS
J) some guy takes over the world and makes everyone a slave in his own “who cares how” way.
I can go on and on here.
My point, we need a back up plan.
Even if we reverse global warming, the Earth has a natural cycle of Ice Ages and Extremely Hot Ages from what I understood in Earth Science.
Why not let whom ever is gonna lead the way do the job that needs done!
Mostly I worry about the entire planet being over run by ugly fat people. I think it’s more likely than global warming or even an asteroid strike.
Then there’s the whole problem of public utilities and transgender restrooms…
Why did I think this might be an intelligent indictment of Musk’s pipe dreams on the basis of impossibility and/or futility, but its just another class warfare screed.
If I were a liberal fascist I would have jizzed on my keyboard reading about how space colonization is “unfair” to the poor.
Nothing like spreading Marxist insanity thru the Cosmos.
Exactly why we should send Caribou into space…
Or dogs. Dogs might be good.
Hey Elon mind rocketing The Trumps to Mars and keep them there forever 🙂
I have an idea; let’s terraform Utah.
Adrianna, Andrew lives in Fresno, a hop skip and a jump from Bakersfield.
Let’s consider that.
Bitching about how only wealthy people will be able to start a colony on another planet? Where they’ll have to do hard work and labour to survive? All i wanted to do when i was young is go to space. The death chances didn’t matter. But now that i easily have enough to buy a 200k ticket to mars, I’m not so interested. Yes, i want to go but life is awesome here. If I’m in charge of the colony then I’d be more interested but come on. People talk about enviornmental problems on earth as a reason to leave? CO2 is not pollution. It helps retain heat but we’re not destroying the earth by bumping up the kilojoules of energy stored on earth by a very small amount. Real pollution is something which harms life directly and there’s not actually a lot of that going on. Most to blame are the common folk. Dumping grease down the drain. Oil into soil. Trash on the ground. Big companies get slammed when they do that.
Anyway. Musk is a bit to ambitious. We need to figure out how to get a magnetic field on mars before we bother colonizing it. Better to just put a base on the moon for now so we can figure out tree technology first.
You think we should put a magnetic field on the Moon? Hell of an idea!
We should put a base on the moon until we can develop a magnetic field on Mars. it will give a chance for development of equipment needed for living within a controlled shelter.
I think we’re a long way from creating a magnetic field on Mars considering the one which Earth has is generated by a metallic core moving through liquid magma. Mars does not have any major activity that we’re aware of.
So this guy would have been against any exploration in the past because those people hadn’t fixed the problems in their own areas when they went exploring others…puh-leeeze
It’s amazing. Rich people vote republican and it’s the republicans who are standing in the way of protecting the Earth’s environment, and now we’re having a discussion about rich people leaving the Earth to live on Mars. Rich people destroy Earth and leave it to the poor people while the rich people move to a clean planet.
Twenty odd years ago I read this, and it’s still true:
Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics, and you’ll get ten different answers. But there’s one thing every scientist on the planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand years or a million years, eventually our Sun will grow cold and go out [or a meteor will hit]. When that happens, it won’t just take us. It’ll take Marilyn Monroe, and Lao-Tzu, and Einstein, and Morobuto, and Buddy Holly, and Aristophanes, and all of this…all of this…was for nothing. Unless we go to the stars.
(J M Straczynski)
I partially agree with him – I think it’s obvious the only people capable of colonising Mars are large corporations who could do all their strip mining and toxic work on Mars, leaving us to clean up and enjoy the Earth.
Let’s get them off planet ASAP!
We should send the poorest people – not to Mars, but to the luxury resorts on VENUS! That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the most closely guarded secret in the solar system – homesteading the luxuriant plains of VENUS! (ref: C.M. Kornbluth’s “The Marching Morons”)
Oh christ! We can’t even get to Mars yet and we have some half-baked moron in the land of fruits, nuts and vegetables weighing in on the MORALITY of space travel? Screw him.
This is such an old, tired argument: fix “here” before going “there”. I’ve never understood the logic of linking exploration with social work. I mean, if it’s a matter of return on tax dollars spent, then exploration ought to be at the top of the list of things to undertake.
Thankfully, explorers aren’t bound by anything other than the will and the resources to explore. There will never be a time when all social problems are solved and everything is fixed which will serve the professor well as he will have plenty to bitch about for the rest of his life.
Who cares what some professor at Fresno thinks. Our future, if we have one, is not on this planet.
The professor reveals himself a fool with the idiotic reference to the fraud of global warming.
Another dumb Democrat.
Musk is operating a shell game and ponzi scheme. Just a matter of time before the money runs out…
this professor of philosophy can go f#ck himself …space travel should happen ASAP……and the future was written in ” do androids dream electric sleep” AKA BLADE RUNNER
EARTH IS A SHIT HOLE AND IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT OFF WORLD COLONIES AWAIT….humans do not have the intelligence to care for it’s environment …at least not merica….just sayn
I’m all in favor of environmentalism, but ultmately you are deciding between keeping Mars (or anwhere) pristine and the survival of the human species. So this guy is saying we should not survive if we can’t solve our problems here…
The Future Is Now.
The only way you can take of this planet is to send all of the scum, degenerates, whackos, terrorists, radicals, extremists, and murderers over to mars. Because, when there’s people, in this case–overpopulation–this planet or Mars as well, will be doomed.
Mars has no h20 and no breathable atmosphere and it’s usually really really cold
Sounds like a great place to live
The professor has it backwards. Going to Mars will help us fix Earth. The technology we develop to keep people alive on Mars will be the same technology that solves the problems here on Earth. Let humanity learn to live in a self-sustained system on a hostile planet with no available fossil fuels. Then we can take that knowledge and use it here on this planet.
But earth has never needed “fixing”, it is human beings and their psychosis that is destroying life on earth. It is us that needs fixing, and that is something we take with us wherever we go.
“Their psychosis”? You are a human too neotoy; and one that uses the Internet at that. You might want to start including yourself in OUR “psychosis” as you drive your car and run your AC. The technology we develop to sustain human communities on Mars will be a solution for human communities on Earth as well. We can’t destroy life on Mars with our psychosis. There isn’t any… yet.
US is so broke it can’t even afford a cheap plastic model rocket.
I will pay for Elizabeth Warrens ticket .
I’ll pay for your English lessons.
“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” Malcolm Forbes
Well, apparently, this particular professor’s education failed spectacularly to achieve that. Only a really dumb person, with no understanding of history would try to paint exploration and problem solving into two different corners as “enemies”.
Dear Prof, people in the 15th century faced grave challenges, you know, religious wars, famine, the plague and others. If some professor at the time would have convinced Columbus to stay home and solve those first, your ancestors would have never moved to America and you would not have your cushy job from which you can comfortably criticize those who achieve great things. In case you didn’t notice, the rich Musk’s company just overtook GM in value by making environment friendly cars. That’s the guy you are accusing of trying to take off and leave the planet’s problem to poor you? Like you will solve any of them with that attitude…
You also obviously have no idea what anyone would have to sacrifice to actually move to a Mars colony – if it even becomes a reality in their lifetime. You refer to it like it was a beach vacation to envy “the rich” for, as opposed to living in metal capsules and facing a very real risk of death both on the way there and then every day after arrival.
I think you should do the world a favor and volunteer for the Mars colony so we can all envy you.
The professor makes a lot of sense, Musk wants to build a city for the rich with cheap labor from earthlings? I think we need to take care of justice for all on Earth first, then we can talk about building a city on Mars for everyone.
“Musk wants to build a city for the rich with cheap labor from earthlings?”
Huh? The only people going to mars are the ones paying to go to mars. The colony is going to be built by SpaceX, a company which pays its employees an average salary of 60K. Nobody is being exploited.
Mike you talk as if everyone in this world has a fair and just dignified living in this planet, the fact is we live in a very prehistoric way of thinking allthough we tend to think we are civilized, Trump is a prime example totally unabashed ignorant barbarian who had this reputation of being a class act business man and look at him now, a complete failure of representing civility in the top job in the world, if you think you’ll take this barbarians with their prehistoric way of thinking and go and destroy Mars after destroying Earth’s Ecosystem, you need to put more thought on your ideas ,for living is easy with eyes closed misunderstanding all you see.
Much will probably be build by machine.
Like I said living get is easy misunderstanding all you see, it all requires labor even to build the machines that will build space stations, the building where Elon Musk has his office was built by hard labor it’s hard to believe Elon building his company without the complex infrastructure that support and enables his dreams, it’s hard to believe Elon Musk working of his office in a swap meet blue tarp and doing his work, you need to understand that the world is a sinergetic community and all accomplishments are made and realized by every single human in this world , you can’t just be antisocial and pretend all accomplishments by humanity are made by just a small community and ignoring the rest of the World that contributed, that is a very prehistoric train of thought and it’s a culture you don’t need in a new world like Mars, you need to put more thought into your opinion.
Cool text bro, doesn’t solve the meteor impacting Earth problem now does it?
If going to bring up ethics, I suppose the colonial Europeans could return home and give the land back to the natives.
I like the way this professor thinks.
“Environmental justice” lol
Are all college professors crazy? Maybe we should send 1 million college professors to Mars. Great use of resources and we will save both planets.(Life expectancy of professors on Mars less than 3 months).
Another “progressive” who is against any form of progress. Explore, learn, innovate. This is how we find solutions to our problems. Not staying home and crying about what’s wrong.
Personally, I think he should quit lecturing until he finds the solutions of the world’s problems. It’s connected to the hubris that stifles progress.
So you can’t innovate here on Earth with a focused effort to fix specific problems? You have to find solutions accidentally by sending people to a dead planet? Broken logic if you ask me.
The technology you used to type that insulting message came from our journey to the moon.
Not entirely true. Computer technology was already in development, and would have continued development with or without the moon landing missions. Sorry if I was insulting. I wasn’t trying to be, snowflake.
Snowflake? I’m a liberatarian, about as conservative as they come. Spent 10 years in Asia, 2 of them in Cambodia. Look at my avatar. I don’t think I need to tell you what I drop down a man’s neck after I rip his head off, troll.
Snowflake as in someone who doesn’t react well to criticism. What am I looking for in the avatar? All I see is a snowflake melting on top of the American flag.
Yup, you’re a troll. Can’t stand up for yourself in public so you try to irritate people here.
Sorry. I couldn’t resist the urge to fuck with you, once I noticed that you’re thin skinned. Guys like you who resort to intimidation and threats to win your arguments, because you don’t possess the intelligence to work things out like a mature adult. You probably hit women too.
Wow dude. You come on to piss people off so you can call them names and falsely accuse them of a crime. Why don’t you get out of your mom’s basement and find a life.
People do things they WANT to. That’s called “freedom of choice”. If Musk wants to explore Mars, and he has the motivation, persistence and money to do it, why shouldn’t he?
This whole “we should o bla bla INSTEAD” comparison is so ridiculous. Maybe we should also protest against ballet or movies. Shouldn’t we fix global warming before we spend trillions on blowing up cars and buildings on movie sets or spend years learning to spin around on our toes?
Dumb people think like the media teaches them – pitching one thing against another, seeing conflict everywhere. Smart people think in terms of “this AND that” because they see opportunity everywhere.
We live in a state of such gross inequality these days, where the fate of humanity is almost exclusively decided by the whims of the super rich, and you’re damn right I’m going to be critical when one chooses wreckless abandon over reason. I have a lot of respect for Elon Musk for going against the grain and being one of the few that has the balls to take on the oil industry, but it’s my right to be critical and say it’s stupid and wreckless (colonizing mars). And it IS stupid and wreckless. Ever heard the expression “with great power comes great responsibility”? It may be from a comic, but it’s true. I have little respect for billionaires to begin with. They treat the Earth, it’s resources, and people like it’s their own personal playground. I’m sorry, but I’m not okay with that. I too am a fan of personal freedom, but that comes with a certain degree of maturity and responsibility.
Just where do these fools come from? And their teaching our children higher learning and thinking! Another liberal fool that hasn’t got the brains of an infant.
What’s the problem with rich people going to Mars? Seems a perfect way to get rid of a parasitic class. Mars? You want a taste, go to the Gobi Desert. To simulate a lack of ‘air’, put a plastic bag around your head. Elon Musk, colonizing Mars in the next century. There’s a bundle of assumptions that ignore the current trajectory of humankind. But, by all means send Elon Musk to Mars.
Look! A snowflake.
We get it. You’re stupid. Stop continually proving it. We got it the first time.
I think that is a phenomenal idea: send the 1,000,000 richest people on earth to go live on Mars. The rest of us will stay behind and enjoy their huge mansions, private islands, jet planes and also clean up the earth now that all those a$$holes (and their big fat carbon footprints) are gone!
And who will run the companies that pay your salary?
.
Communist China, the most populous country on earth, tried “spreading the wealth”.
.
It didn’t work out too well.
.
.
Now that they have a semi-capitalism system they’re becoming a world power in every sense of the word.
Ricardo, don’t let the door hit you in the a$$ on your way to Mars.
He wont be able to afford it 😛
China is a state capitalist society, despite being communist on paper. Also, you really think we couldn’t handle ourselves as adults? Are we just a bunch of children being taken care of by the rich? Fuck that. We can take care of ourselves, and with all the sociopaths gone, (according to this hypothetical bullshit), we’ll likely take better care of each other.
China is indeed state CAPITALIST. Thats why it is successful.
Actually, yes, you are.
Nobody is really being taken care of by the rich. People are generally exploited by the rich, and nobody behaves more like children than the spoiled rich. Generally speaking, of course.
Thomas Shepperd: Then what are you waiting for? Go start your own business and take care of yourself no one is forcing you to work for someone else, or are you just waiting for someone who works to start a buessness to pay your bills while you sit on your fat hindend.
unitedsucks: Yes, and you can do that until their money runs out. Another “you owe me” lib.
Please go to Mars, you won’t be missed and we’ll do just fine without you.
You will untill their money runs out.
You should really give up that tired old bit of Thatcherist crap. It can be said more accurately that capitalism is fine until you run out of other people’s blood, sweat, and tears.
pariah dog: Yes, why would anyone expect you to work for what you get it should all just be handed to you shouldn’t it. As we all know the world owes you.
Oh, I worked my ass off all my life: it’s you crybabies on the right who are the lazy mooches. You suck America’s blood like a tick, mooch.
pariah dog: So really you had to work all your life I feel so sorry for you. Tell me where on earth are people not working to make a living? The farmers who feed this country have always worked for themselves from sunrise to sunset. They had no boss to pay them at the end of a 40 or 60 hour week and no one handed them anything.
Your problem is you are too lazy to take responsibility for yourself and want others to pay your way.
Damn, you’re stupid: you said I was a mooch, asswipe. I’m not. You are.
Pinhead dog: I Didn’t say you are a mooch, I implied you want to be a Mooch and given the chance you would be a mooch. Stop complaning that you have to work for some boss to make a liveing. You can start your own business mowing lawns, or go wash windows, that way you won’t have to work for someone else. You are just too lazy to go out and start your own buesness and would rather complain that someone else is making you work for them.
And yes I do wipe my ass, I take it you dont?
I didn’t complain about that stuff. Fuck, are you retarded, or what? You should really crawl off and die, you aren’t worth oxygen.
peabrain dog: You don’t? (quote) “It can be said more accurately that capitalism is fine until you run out of other people’s blood, sweat, and tears.” Who runs out of other people’s blood sweat and tears? Who are you talking about?
You know who you’re talking about and I know who you’re talking about and everyone else here knows who you are talking about.
No, I’m not going to crawl off and die not as long as I have someone I can reply to just to show people how dumb libs really are, besides it’s fun watching you squirm!
You’re just a hopelessly stupid little piece of shit, aren’t you? Nothing you can say is original, you miserable little hack. You’ve never had an honest callus on your hands in your life, and you’ve never served your country in the military, or you’d know exactly what I mean. You belong in Russia, not in my country.
Peabrain dog: Well, you are correct in some ways for the first time (probably since you were born). I did not serve in the military because I was designing things for the military which prevented me from joining. Because the US government will not take anyone making or designing parts for the military to enter the military because they are needed more by the government and the military doing the job they were trained for.
Whereas people who are only eligible to dig ditches like you are taken no questions asked along with smart people.
This is not your country, you have nothing good to say about it, this is a capitalistic country and you hate it as proved by your replies to this post, and all reading these posts will understand that, because you’re not fooling anyone. (Quote) “It can be said more accurately that capitalism is fine until you run out of other people’s blood, sweat, and tears. So you hate capitalism and this country is capitalistic. So take your own advice and go to Russia it’s not capitalistic.
Keep making a fool of yourself us conservatives love it. Keep squirming!
Man. this is fun!!!
You don’t really seem like you’re having fun. Speaking of fools, Russia is capitalist these days, but you probably didn’t know that, being a rock lichen and all. You conservatives worship Putin as the great white saviour now, you better jump on board like a good little boy.
“Russia is capitalist these days” This conversation with you gets funnier and funnier with each reply by you. Did you receive a blow to the head when you were little? Russia is authoritarian or totalitarian not capitalistic and no I will not explain that to you because you wouldn’t understand anyway.
“You conservatives worship Putin as the great white savior now” we do? This is probably also from the blow to the head.
“you better jump on board like a good little boy” I am! Everyone here can see that you don’t know what you’re talking about, and I am on board with them.
Your turn, make this one funnier than the last one that was just too darn easy.
They have markets and investors, they’re capitalist. I imagine you DO think you’re having fun, seeing as how you’re so f**king dumb.
peabrain dog: This is great, so now you admit you don’t know what capitalism is that’s great now were getting somewhere.
So are you trying to say I know nothing about sex and you know nothing about politics, or anything else? You really should educate yourself before posting, now everyone here knows how dumb you are. Well, you are a libtard, they would know anyway. Again probably from the hit on the head.
Come on dumbo try again
Ok, pipsqueak, you’ll get the last word eventually, because nothing you post makes any sense. What are you, like fourteen? Even China is capitalist now, dum-dum. State capitalism. You aren’t worth engaging, you’re simply an inferior intellect trying to act big.
peabrain dog: Please don’t stop I’m haveing so much fun making a fool of you.
Talk about uneducated, well is that the kettle calling the pot black or what? You know so little about politics and political systems and you come to a post like this and regurgitate your lack of knowledge and you expect those in the know not to respond.
Let me know if you ever understand the difference between authoritarian, totalitarian and democratic capitalists, who knows even a dummy like you could develop that peabrain into a real brain. But that will only happen if you change from being a libtard like this idot Professer.
“He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” That would be this Professer.
Your superior in all things,
john smith
Gee, little Johnny, did you sleep through economics? Capitalism isn’t a form of government. If you don’t believe me, run and ask mom.
peabrain dog: So then there are no capitalistic governments is that correct? I guess there are no communist governments either is that correct? Man, you are one dumb libtard and I’ve seen thousands and thousands of you dummies.
Glad to see your back though I knew you were too dumb to give up a losing battle. Now come on what other stupid statements can you come up with. Can’t wait to see this one.
until not untill you illiterate trumpeter. Funny how it always is the uneducated low or middle class white American male defending the actual causes of his despair. The tale of the dumb dog biting his own tail.
I second that emotion, but can they please go now ,like now with whatever technology we have now, put them all on Nasa reusable shuttles one way ticket to Mars please, oh and make sure you put Donald Trump on the very first flight along with all his family that’s very important , before they do more damage to Earth.
Tijuanenses: Yes along with rich people like Musk who make it possible for smart people to go to Mars and leave dummies like you in your grass hut eating worms. And you are correct Trump is one of those smart people. But no, we would rather stay here on Earth as well and take care of you dumb people so we can laugh as we listen to your stupidity.
Baddata6 you make it seem like stupid is the new smart, for one you don’t know how to read for I never wrote Trump was smart second you can go on the first shuttle to Mars along with the Trump’s for you deserve each other.
Tijuanenses: Your the one who said Put President Trump on the flight I said “Yes along with rich people like Musk who make it possible for smart people to go to Mars” Seeing how Musk is (unlike you) one of the smart people and you want President trump to go along with the smart people you must think President Trump is smart. I think your subconshince is trying to tell you something (not that I think dummies like you are conshious enough to have a subconshince).
Good try baddata6 you are yesterday’s thing, give it a rest we need to talk about healthcare now, Trumpcare is dead on arrival , you can have Mars and Stick it up your ass you shouldn’t have any problem cause you’re the biggest asshole in the Universe so you can have Pluto and Jupiter and Saturn etc,etc, and make sure those rings don’t get stuck you know where, move on, I already did, talk to you on another article, Sayonara…
Tijua-nonsence: That’s funny, I am yesterday’s thing and you’re the one crying baby tears because President Trump and America is “WINNING”…”WINNING” …”WINNING”. I think you have me mixed up with the liberal Demacrapic Party and CNN (Completly Nutcase Network), those two are yesterday’s news (along with you of course). And now the supreme court 9-0 in favor of President Trumps ban shoots down the liberal circuit courts again. And at the same time, the Supreme Court says states must pay for some things in privet religious schools. You dumb’s I mean Dem’s are yesterday’s news.
I can always tell a stupid person and I hone in on them, I’m talking about people like you. You don’t know what you’re talking about so you swear because you think it gives your words meaning, but instead, it just shows how stupid you really are.
Frank: Is your tail starting to hurt? Rub it down with some libtard ointment.
I can’t stop reading your handle as united ducks. Then I get this weird image of two ducks flying united. There was a T shirt about that back in the 60’s and I just can’t get it out of my head.
Pfc. Parts: That’s funny I kept reading his name as “peabrain”
You still buying that tired argument?
Yes, I’m still buying that fact.
It’s likely they’ll all die out there.
Hell, if it’s all a trick to get ’em to leave, that’s fine by me. Whatever it takes.
Ahm, “the poor” have already overthrown “the rich a$$holes” once and took over from them and redistributed “the wealth” to the revolutionary workers party. it is called “communism”. It was very, very successful. It’s true. It was fantastic. We should try it again.
Well call it whatever you want but the 1% – especially the pompous and lacking any empathy kind – is pissing off the rest of us my friend so maybe you should leave for Mars before we come get your toys. It will happen, it is called a revolution.
Why are you such a useless thieving mooch?
JF, if he wasn’t a useless thieving mooch, someone would send him to Mars.
Please bring it on, it should take us about one week to eradicate you all.
Stereotypes like this are only believed by people who prefer seeing no color or gradients in the world, only their black-and-white delusions. Saying that “the 1 percent” (that would be about 70 million people) are all the same and have the same personality traits is so short sighted it doesn’t even merit discussion. It is a statement about the sad state of the person expressing it, and not about the state of the world.
Just to point out one of the most the obvious faults in that logic, if you somehow, by luck or hard work, became rich, do you believe you would also automatically become an asshole? I didn’t think so. Of course those who see themselves as holier than thou also think that they are the exception and of course money wouldn’t make THEM assholes. It’s only those who are already rich.
yeah well that what the stats are, 1% against the rest. Good luck!
Juraj Nemec: Yes, very successful, I have three Russian friends who now live in the US and have become American citizens just to show you how successful “communism” is.
Who would want to spend more than a few hours in such a desolate and dangerous place?
Mars has no appeal to anyone other than researchers and they grow weary in no time.
Mars is a novelty and a place where humans go to die.
Like that would make a dent in the living conditions or standards for humanity. IT would accomplish nothing.
Listen, you could confiscate 100% of the wealth of every billionaire on the planet, and it wouldn’t change anyones life in any significant fashion. Distributed amongst the world’s poor it wouldn’t even buy them airfare to the US so they could sponge off the taxpayer.
You’re outright rejecting the “feel good” effect that eating the rich has. It may not make anyone’s standard of living better, but it feels good. Like to old fat people making love in the mud.
Just another neoliberal flapping his lips over something he knows absolutely nothing about.
The universities are infested with these.
Let us hope that he’s gay. We don’t need more like him.
You are obviously a troll Ricardo.
Just another trolls flapping its fingers over something he knows absolutely nothing about.
The internet are infested with these.
and you do?
I suggest poisoning the hummus…
(for the humor impaired, that was a joke)
As to the other insoluble “problems”.
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First you have a discussion.
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Then you explore possible solutions.
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At the moment we have twits saying “IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” mainly because “they” can’t come up with a solution.
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How about this;
People get sick and die even if you bleed them. So lets give up on “medicine”.
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Crossing the ocean is impossible because we don’t have boats big enough.
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Heavier than air ships are impossible. People have tried and failed.
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Quickly communicate across the continent? How, the fastest that the pony express can make it takes over a week!
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Put men on the moon? How, we don’t have a canon big enough.
Well, actually we do.
You see, we’ve been to Mars. We sort of know what’s there and how long it takes to get there. There isn’t much apparently and it takes a long time.
Now then, going to the Americas from Europe was a different proposition. We had good reason to believe there was air and water in the Americas. Not all of it (see: Nevada), but a lot of it.
Not so with Mars. Elon is a little bit bent. Strangely bent, but bent nonetheless.
The “Professor” is an imbecile.
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“…cites the subjects of ethics and humanity’s responsibility to take care of our planet before going to another and ruining that one, too.”
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THAT is his big argument? That mankind isn’t perfect so we shouldn’t even try until we are???
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Sorry, but I want this idiot neutered before he can bread and reproduce. If he has children already, neuter them too.
Of course he doesn’t have children. It would be irresponsible to create new life before he, himself had become perfect.
There is nothing on Mars to ruin!!! It’s already a dead freaking planet!! If you litter on the Moon, it will be space trash by the end of the day and end up burning up on Earth re-entry.
Man is the only creature on earth that did not “evolve” with a resistance to the sun’s harmful solar radiation effects. Earth has a natural protective magnetic barrier from both solar and other cosmic radiation. Leaving the planet means everyone is likely dead within three generations.
If you want to colonize another planet, I’d take a much closer look at terraforming Venus. It has an atmosphere very similar to earth around 3 billion years ago. The lack of a magnetic field might be a problem, but Mars doesn’t have one either. Venus does have a very thick atmosphere. The magnetosphere created by the atmosphere might provide enough radiation shielding at the poles for colonies. They’ll probably still need to live underground, but it might be enough protection from radiation. Surface temperatures are currently 700-800 degrees F. Need to find bacteria that can live in the clouds and survive the upper atmosphere temperatures while converting massive amounts of CO2 to O2 to reduce green house gases and temperatures. A European probe recently measured that the pole temperatures are colder than Earth at 80 miles above the surface. And yes, bacteria has been tested in space. It enters status by dehydrating all the water from it’s cells. When water is present, they re-hydrate and begin cellular functions again. There is also sulfuric acid in Venus’ atmosphere, so you need to do some bacteria homework to find the right little guys for the job.
By the way, evolution is statistically impossible. I did a fault tree. How many times do you have to multiply something by zero until the answer is zero? Once. The answer is one time. Several times is redundant. And the math Stephan Hawking made up to prove the Big Bang was a thing, I read last week that it doesn’t work. Working Eisenstein’s relativity back to the beginning of the universe….the math doesn’t work. Tell me more about that “God Particle” that makes mass massless and you desperately need to exist for your bad math to work Mr. Physicist!
Let’s not forget that Mars’ other border is a giant asteroid belt, and the planet has very little atmosphere to speak of. Wherever you set up a colony, you’re pretty much screwed. Your habitat will be annihilated by space rock. Nothing you can do about that. A thicker atmosphere on Venus means an even lower probability of meteor strikes than on Earth. Just need to start changing that nasty CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) in the atmosphere to large quantities of O2.
Forget about Mars. That planet’s for dumb people. No, wait. Send Elon Musk there. Nikola Tesla was AC power, could transmit electricity wirelessly over 3 miles in Colorado Springs, and started using JP Morgan to finance a giant Tesla Coil in New York until JP Morgan found out Tesla wanted to provide free wireless power for the entire planet….with wirelessly powered cars and aircraft. Musk uses Tesla’s name to sell batteries. Tesla hated DC power and wanted nothing to do with batteries. It’s a complete travesty.
It would be best if we do not move from this planet, what a shambles the human race has become with our constant fighting and lack of community
rich people will always prefer malibu or matzatlan to mars. even if it becomes possible for humans to make the trip, the rich will not enjoy it. no tuxedos or tulip glasses, let alone waiters or butlers. mars will be inhabited by robots before humans – if “we” ever get there at all.
Give chance to prisoners to inhabit the planet the same way it was done with Australia and North America.
It could look like the pathway to follow to contribute to human evolution, but it is not. Certainly, such a project will bring about a lot of new knowledge, some useful to human specie survival, but with a little change in consciousness, the level of investment requires for this absurd idea (for the 21st century, at least) could be entirely sufficient to bring happiness on earth for all.
The prof must have not seen Elysium. Hell the rich left to get away from all the rabble. Wouldn’t you?
ITS A LONG WAY OF IN DISTANCE AND ITS A LONG WAYS OF IN TIME
I LIKE IT HERE RICH OR POOR
VAST MAJORITY LIKE ME TOO OLD TO LEAVE
SO IF YOU FUCK OF WE WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME ..SEEING OUT OUR LIVES ON OUR GREAT EARTH WITH OUR FRIENDS ..YOU COULD OF COURSE STAY AND HELP TO REVERSE MUCH OF THE DAMAGE YOU HAVE DONE OVER THE YEARS
You must be pretty far out in space to have to shout like that!
Such nonsense. With that sort of thinking we’d still be waiting in Italy or Spain to solve things.
Aren’t we still waiting for “someone” to solve things?
Earth is our home, always has been, always will be. No planet in the solar system is as easy (cheap) to “terraform” as earth by millions of times — and the stars are unreachable if you believe Einstein and most physicists.
And the ocean was uncrossable, as was putting an unmanned craft into orbit, then putting a manned craft into orbit, then landing on the moon, putting a rover on Mars, than putting a station into space that people can live on. A lot of things seem impossible until someone finds a way to do it. Einstein wasn’t always right, he thought there was no way possible for quantum entanglement to exist. Now it has been proven multiple times by multiple quantum physicists.
There are a lot of mainstream scientists with their head in the clouds, or “head in the cosmos.” Meanwhile millions of people suffer and starve here of Earth. It’s really a shame.
There is still the slight problem of what to do about the Sun’s radiation–both in transit, and while on the planet.
Not to mention the energy, water, oxygen problems, Dismissed by Elon as “solvable” but not without a whole lot of energy both to sustain life and to get the raw materials (machines capable of extracting those items) to Mars. Dream on Elon and enjoy people’s check for your fantasies, Great con job.
He is trying to take humanity forward, the only hope humanity has of not going extinct is to look up at the great unknown and say “I’m finding a way and I’m going there. Even if I fail it will be a lesson for those that come after me and help them to succeed where I failed.” If left up to you nobody would have ever crossed the ocean to see what is there.
Energy is radiated out of the Sun… when harnessed, it’s called Solar Power. Elon owns a Solar company. Not a coincidence.
Water is everywhere on Mars–oceans of water. It’s just frozen.
Oxygen is tied up in water molecules. It can be released by running electricity through the water.
These ‘problems’ were solved decades ago.
We are forbidden form leaving this planet, period.
I know, it’s those damn gods again, messing up our plans. I believe they put all the planets so far apart just to torment us!
You’re completely correct.
I assume that European settlers centuries ago faced the same problem. Until overseas travel was democratized.
There were people already living here.
And the buildings in central and south america are the oldest on the planet.
So people have been here longer?
Sheldor: And they would still be here living in teepees and grass huts and killing each other for scalps.
I think he’s referring to a civilization.
fear not people of the world my new propulsion design beats anything on earth and soon we all will have our own little ufo , fear not i will evolve us all stay tuned.
Fresno State University… and a professor of philosophy… seriously? Next we’ll have articles on what my garbage man Carl thinks of Elon’s Mars plans.
that doesnt make him wrong.
And all the questions of ethics he raises are quite valid, unlike Cronin’s mindless barking.
I love you too. Professor Stephen Hawking agrees with Elon, Maybe you’ve heard of Stephen Hawking?
Gee, yes, I HAVE heard of him: his is a long way from being the final word on anything. Maybe you watch too much pop science tv, or something. Sad.
I agree some guy at a random university is pretty sad.
Becoming interplanetary is a time sensitive endeavor. There’s nothing suggestion these can’t be done in parallel except some random guy’s opinion.
That is not WHAT makes him wrong. It’s his statement.
The California State University system is one of the finest in the world. Sorry if that bothers you.
The professor is not qualified to make his statement… sorry, but it’s true.
If the California State University System is one of the finest in the world, I don’t want to see the worst! 🙂
I don’t think we have to worry about you seeing any universities, especially now that Trump U. has been shuttered.
Your garbage man is wiser than this “professor”. He is removing garbage, this professor is spreading it.
I would think that your Garbage Man’s opinion might be superior to this Liberal Nut job! 🙂
Imagine what would have happened if Europeans had said, “We shouldn’t colonize North America until we get Europe’s problems solved first.” Millions of contented Aboriginals living in harmony with the land, perhaps?
Eh, I think you confused Aboriginals (Australia) with Native Americans, but fair point. Maybe going to mars will actually help people realize how fragile Earth is and how important it is to keep it habitable
I think you’re confusing Aboriginals (North America) with Aborigines (Australia). If mankind has not yet realized how fragile Earth is, there’s little hope for our salvation.
Touche. TIL that term is not specific to the natives of Australia.
But maybe by contrasting the difference between the living conditions on the two worlds is what people need in order to help them realize that point.
Perhaps we could send prisoners to Mars to see how they make out for a century or two before colonizing the place. America alone should have more than enough for the project.
Only a small percentage of humans could ever be transported to Mars, the rest of us are stuck here. We can look to any sort of colonization mission as a good example. We must solve our problems here on Earth whether there is a Mars colony or not. Only the best minds and fittest bodies will be on Mars…money isn’t going to bring ocean beaches or lush forests to Mars, the rich won’t want to stay…Mars is a place to strive for survival. I believe there will be a population crash on Earth in a hundred years lasting some hundreds of years because of climate change, many of the problems of today will become moot and a whole new set of problems will emerge…my son calls the period we live in now the “post scarcity period”–you can get anything you want and as much of it as you want depending on what it is and what your personal wealth is–in a hundred years it’s likely that this will not be the case
Our food (goats, cows, chickens) create more green house gases than our transportation.
Our population has grown from 1.5 billion before the industrial revolution to over 6 billion today. Our most immediate problem is not having enough water for the global population 100 years from today. If global warming doesn’t melt the ice bergs and foster climate change, then we’ll have to invent machines that melt the poles on purpose.
Why does everyone think “little picture”? “We need the world to be like it was 150 years ago because that’s that’s what people tell me and I can’t think for myself”!
FYI, there are over 3 trillion trees on the planet and 80% of our oxygen comes from the oceans. If you want to reduce green house gases, I suggest algae, algae everywhere. That would offset increases in greenhouse gasses. Supply and demand will inevitably increase costs while reducing demand as well. One day, having kids will be regulated everywhere, not just in China.
our immediate problem is water, sure. But all water problems will intensify–too much would be a problem in one area and not enough in another– but nearly all the extra water will be undrinkable–any idea of melting the ice caps or shipping the ice to areas needing is asinine– the shipping or piping is beyond ridiculous–this water’s cost astronomical. And you speak of farm animals, yes that’s a problem…but a single part of a larger problem–the climate is going to change–China and the USA burning coal for energy is one of the parts as well.
THe reason you listen to experts is that the average person does not have the ability to reduce the mass quantity of data into a 5 page synopsis or even to reduce a 5 page synopsis into one paragraph. You sound anti-science or at least do not understand the scientific method. Some scientists are researchers or even data crunchers, some actually developing ways to find data–but it all amounts to data collection and analysis. A sane person must rely on a system that appears to be self regulating and allows for free thought. I am simply a man sitting in rural Minnesota and I don’t know who the hell you are–Am I supposed to read scientific articles and listen to researchers whose reputations and careers are based in the truthfulness of their life’s work or do I listen to someone from the fossil energy corporations who skew the facts and have no peer review of their work? I’m going to think for myself and trust the scientific method–you seem to respect the authority of someone without even knowing much about them. YOU ARE ACCEPTING DATA KNOWING THEY DO NO PEER REVIEW–YOU SIMPLY TAKE THEM AT THEIR WORD. Who the hell are YOU listening to, it’s obvious you are parroting someone.
Your last paragraph is all over the place, but you would have no way of knowing if there are actually 3 trillion trees with some sort of scientific method and you don’t even described how algae could save us all, laughable really–reminds me a schizophrenic who would come into our office with a plan to fix the ozone hole–he had rolled up plans with lots of sketches of piping and such (very elaborate) but there was no connection between collecting the rain and fixing the ozone hole…a vast hole in his process. There is no little or big picture unless you have the data–my children and grandchildren will certainly understand the “big picture” in 50-100 years. I stand by my first comment.
People are beginning to decide to not have children already. Many areas will be safer than others as the climate worsens or changes. As changes occur, basic essentials become scare–no food, no production–if the predictions are anywhere close, this will not be conducive to growing crops–often in history, you see people starving and not dying of thirst because there is enough to drink, but there is no rain or stored water for the crops–assume 1% for drinking to the amount needed to water the ground baked by the sun every day. Yeah, we gotta fix things here, but let others do what you fear
Greetings from Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick. I want to inform you that Stanley and I conducted a secret experiment using quantum entanglement and telepathy to communicate with an interface. Aliens do indeed exist in another realm now and the Akashic Records. The interface with GOD/ Grand Galactics and aliens is on Facebook. Although, he has not seen the aliens physically, he talks to the ones that have lost their forms in evolution. This experiment was so secret, that even the United States government did not know about it. Stanley insisted on the independence and secrecy of the project. Namely, talking with the dead and/or aliens. It brings me great joy and pleasure to inform you that the experiment was a total success. The interface’s telepathy with us has verifiable proof on Facebook and he is willing to undergo a battery of tests and scrutiny to show his evolution to a higher state of consciousness. No other private or governmental agencies have been successful in talking to formless aliens, Grand Galactics / GOD. Our interface is a Photographer, United States Marine, Artist, Underwater Explorer, Aviation Technician, Lawyer, Humanities major and has direct DNA links to Shamans and Rulers at Gobekli Tepe , Anatolian / Armenian Kings, Biblical heroes and interestingly for Stanley, he is also related to Napoleon, Jefferson, Franklin and one of the interface’s favorite minds, Tesla.
Arthur C. Clarke
Stanley Kubrick
There are many valid arguments against Mr Musk’s plan; not addressing the absence of a magnetosphere for a start. This article address’ one of the few which holds no merit.
Assuming climate change is occurring, and assuming that it is anthropogenic; having life spread as far and wide as possible can only be a good thing. It minimize the likelihood that if something catastrophic does occur to our planet that it will not be the end.
Easy … see the National Geographic MARS miniseries. Elon’s new Boring company goes hand in hand with future Mars colonization.
You mean “dick in hand”, not “hand in hand”.
You can do whatever you want with your hands. I mean the ability to build tunnels will be vital to avoiding the increased radiation on the planet’s surface.
“Assuming climate change is occurring, and assuming that it is
anthropogenic; having life spread as far and wide as possible can only
be a good thing.”
I can’t honestly believe anyone at all could be stupid enough to write that.
it WILL be the end except for a rather few chosen bunch. The morality of spending the wealth the 1% have on a safety net for them instead on saving the actual planet is something worth a discussion.
I don’t think the rich would immediately want to stay in Mars. Maybe to visit, but not for the long term. Because everything is still unpredictable there. Therefore, those who want to stay
long term are most likely the middle class, those who sees Mars as a new opportunity.
Furthermore, research related to Mars can be applied to both: Mars and Earth. All newly discovered ‘efficiencies’ can be implemented in Earth too. Because earth resources will continue to decline without efficiencies. Once resources are scarce, it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor; it will be survival of the fittest all over again. Industries will be halted, technologies will be reset.
People need to consider space colonization more seriously. It’s the challenge of the 21st century. Many years ago, people sailed to new continents with wind-sails; on this era, pioneers will sail to new planets with solar-sails. Those who has the know-how to reach there, will be the one who reap the riches first.
Round trip to Mars is 30 months. We gloat about all the “technology” we have today, but the propulsion system that physicists and rocket scientists have been able to develop since the Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo space missions in the 1970s….yeah, well, that’s all we’ve got. Were currently making a bigger one of those. Wherever you plan on traveling, you need to calculate the total mass of the object with cargo and fuel to leave Earth’s orbit. Unmanned craft don’t have 180 pound people. 180 pound people need life support systems which are more mass that requires even more fuel, so you’ll have to leave even more stuff off the ship for the flight. Unless they choose to develop a new propulsion system that actually works for interplanetary travel (I’m thinking minimal delta mass for propulsion), you’ll need a rocket fuel refueling station that ships fuel with a separate taxi cab service to the refueling station for departure. Your trip to Mars is in a sardine can due to cargo/fuel mass limitations. You will be incredibly claustrophobic after the trip is done and your new psychosis will prevent you from ever being a functional member of society ever again: think Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on Crack. Of course you cannot neglect the incredibly high exposure to radiation during the trip that will probably cause you to die of cancer shortly after the trip is complete.
“New opportunity”. You sound like a politician. I hope it comes with a good healthcare plan.
Did you type that using a 100MHz computer with 1MB RAM?
People invent new and better technologies, IF they keep trying to find solutions to problems.
Please don’t colonize Mars. Don’t send your germs and virus and bacteria and vices to another place, just to satisfy your ego. I think this was a movie once. Forbidden Planet?
Don’t worry, there are 10 x 10 x 10-times ‘many more ten-times’ of planets out there.
Now.. Would you rather scientists to use one of the ‘wayyy too-many-to-count planets’ as quarantine zone, or designate a research zone a few blocks away from your house?
For me, I’d rather them to conduct research somewhere else.
I love that movie.
Warning, warning, danger, danger!! Oh woops!! Wrong movie.
Why are we worried about sending life to a dead planet?
Because we don’t want the life to die?
I don’t get it.
the elements that make up organic life are the most common elements found in the universe so germs virus and bacteria are already out there everywhere.