I think a much bigger threat to the development of spacefaring civilizations is “planetary protection” extremism. If we say we cannot do anything on Mars without being able to “back out,” that is remove everything and leave a pristine environment, we don’t necessarily ban Martian development but we make it so expensive that it will never happen.

We need to develop a balance between protecting biologically interesting environments, certainly until they have been studied, and allowing exploitation of those that aren’t. Regarding back and forward contamination, it is important to realize that this probably happens all the time via meteorite impacts: the Solar System may well already be a single extended ecosystem.

Discovering life on Mars will be a decidedly mixed blessing. Human exploration of deep space would probably get a major boost, but planetary protection extremists would as well.

— Donald

Dennis Wingo is a science crackpot nearly completely isolated from the knowledge and working of science.

Citing a book like Moonrush in regards to environmentalism is like citing Crichton in regards to global warming and climate change. You may as well wave a flag and get on a bullhorn announcing yourself to the world as a complete buffoon. But we’ve come to expect that sort of thing after putting up with your shit and people like you for the last six years in this country. Let me give you a little hint : America is fed up with your bullshit, and we aren’t going to take it anymore without at least commenting on it.

You know absolutely nothing of my country, the early colonies made massive land grants to early settlers.

Clearly, it must be fringe

Your equating enviromentalism with ludditism – the two are not equatible.

Actually I have been pointing it out for years. As a strong advocate for lunar commerce I have been showing how it could be done, at a number of space conferences, proceedings and in books like Beyond Earth (http://www.beyondearth.org). I am active with ATWG (http://www.atwg.org) and presented at the first two Lunar Commerce Roundtables (http://www.lunarcommerceroundtable.com/).

As for environmentalists, well I did my dissertation on how public attitudes are formed towards spaceports, and how to keep environmentalists from killing them.

Yes, some environmentalists are for space just as some are for nuclear power, but they are as much a fringe group among environmentalists as the human extinction movement is. The main stream of Deep Environmentalism is opposed to technology, and space is the poster child of technology. Count on bigger environmental groups getting involved when the issue emerges. These groups today are merely laying the philosophical foundations for astroenvironmentalism. Unforunately when the big environmental groups, with the billions they receive in donations each year, get involved it will be way too late for space advocates to stop them.

But as I said, keep you head in the sand.

If you get a chance you should read a book by a good friend of mine, Dennis Wingo, called Moonrush. He covers the danger from deep environmentalists well in it.

Frankly, if your so worried about the “radical crazy enviromentalists” dooming us here on earth, then I suggest you actually start to engage, and point out to those who are concerned about the enviroment, but don’t want to go back to the stone age, how and where space can help out. Talking to them about things like the Space Option. Of course, I don’t know that you aren’t, although I suspect its not the case. But then, if its not, I’d begin to wonder, given your comments about enviromentalism, and internationalism, if you don’t have some sort of ulterior motive.

Yes, I have heard of the Human Extinction Movement. Difference is the majority of the public, and world nations for that matter, have no self-interest in keeping the Moon open to free enterprise and strip mining like you want.

So feel free to keep your head in the sand like the Nuclear Power industry did in the 1960’s, and be prepared to reap the same reward.

And don’t cry when a future environmentalist president greets the discovery of martian life with a signing of the Moon Treaty to protect it for future generations and an environmentalist Congress ratifies it.

Menawhile, some additional readings…

http://bst.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/5/430

Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, Vol. 26, No. 5, 430-437 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0270467606292504
© 2006 SAGE Publications
To the Moon, Mars, and Beyond: Culture, Law, and Ethics in Space-Faring Societies
Linda Billings

SETI Institute

http://www.newmars.com/archives/000038.shtml

For A Pristine Martian Sunset

[[[Bergreen in Voyage to Mars notes that even though the Mars Society attracts fringe activists, it is still ‘preservationism’ to want the Martian terrain to remain pristine until we have searched it for life and wonder. I believe the Mars Society needs a Mars First contingent which probably couldn’t exist elsewhere. If there were more of a Mars First attitude at the Society it would be easier to get the approval of environmentalists who are busy with more immediate goals. We should agree to protect the ocean we have on Earth before we go on to create another on Mars. We should acknowledge environmentalism as the scientific revolution of our time and take those values with us into space as astroenvironmentalists. We should observe a pristine sunset on Mars before we change it. We should protect Mars for our children. When we express this concern about protecting a pristine Mars we are saving two worlds.

Ryder W. Miller is an environmental reporter with a strong interest in space exploration. He is also Book Editor for SF Frontlines, a monthly progressive majority agenda newspaper in the San Francisco Bay area. A version of this article first appeared in the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s journal Mercury.]]]

and

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn10110-future-missions-could-damage-lunar-environment.html

Future missions could damage lunar ‘environment’

14:00 19 September 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Jeff Hecht

[[[“The Moon is priceless to planetary scientists,” declares the panel of the US National Academy of Sciences, which was chartered to tell NASA what science it should do on the Moon. In an interim report released on Tuesday, they warn that both the Moon’s tenuous atmosphere and its polar environment are “fragile” and are likely to be altered by robotic and human activity.]]]

But then we all know what environmental radicals the U.S. Academy of Sciences are, and what little influence they have in Washington…

Tom

Forgive me, but until you have something more substantive than this, this enviromentalist and space activist will continue to say, quite correctly, that its nothing more than a whipping boy. And it isn’t.

Atcually there is a budding Astroenvironmentalist movement. Note this article below in the Electronic Green Journal.

http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj15/miller1.html

Astroenvironmentalism: The Case for Space Exploration As An Environmental Issue

Ryder W. Miller
San Francisco, USA

Some out takes from the article…

[[[The adaptation of environmental concerns to developments in the exploration and commercialization of space fit surprisingly easily. Astroenvironmentalism is another re-formulation of the associated environmental concerns involving a space wilderness to protect, rather than a “frontier” to exploit.]]]

and

[[[Treating the Moon, Mars, Venus, and other planetary bodies as wildernesses that need to be protected, that is, arguing against the idea to “terraform” these celestial bodies. Terraforming introduces atmosphere-creating life into the barren celestial bodies in the effort to make these celestial bodies more amenable to human settlement. Terraforming is presently being explored despite the fact that we have not thoroughly explored these planets for indigenous life.]]]

Remember the Moon Treaty also applies to other Celestial Bodies i.e. Mars. If Life is found on Mars expect environmentalists to encourage nations to use the Moon Treaty (and ratify it!), in its present form, to protect it…

Some more out takes from the above summary article on Astroenvironmentalism…

[[[Prohibiting national, international, and private agencies from owning property in space, in the interest of avoiding military conflicts. There is a need for more people to be involved in the efforts to see that space does not become another battleground.

Creating the legal power to enforce these concerns. This would make more people aware of international space law and the need to enforce it. The United Nations rules on such issues through the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.]]]

and so on. As noted the entire article is here and is part of one stream of Deep Environmentalism.

http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj15/miller1.html

As more missions go to the Moon and lunar development looks more likely expect more environmentalists to turn their eyes skyward to “prevent the mistakes made on Earth”.