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Walk blindly into hell, it's the best way
19 December, 2007 :: 12:20 p.m.

So scientists think they've found an active glacier on Mars...woo.

I'm not against space exploration in general, but I definitely think that there are more pressing concerns for humanity than still trying to figure out if Mars has water or could have supported life in the past or how we could make Mars support life in the future...

Rather than spending billions just to figure out whether we could send people to Mars and somehow start colonizing it, I don't know, maybe we should worry about fixing our own planet? Those billions spent sending junk into space (using tons of fuel and resources along with money and creating tons of pollution) could maybe be used to convert all cars to clean-burning renewable fuels or hydrogen. They could also maybe be dumped in to getting all those great technologies that the Discovery Channel loves to show.

"Eco-tech" is a great show, but they always point out that the technology is in the "developmental" stage and are years from being available on the masses... So we get to feel all warm and cuddly knowing that science is on the way to save us...even though it might be too late by the time it gets to us. To me it's the equivalent of a parent and child being stuck in a house that's on fire and, rather than try to escape, the parent sings the child a lullaby while waiting for the fire department to show up and save them.

The money is there to fast track eco-technology...we just choose to spend it elsewhere. Meanwhile we'll watch shows that comfort us with images of a bright, happy, pollution-free future on Earth and also ones showing humans living on Mars, y'know, just in case the saving Earth thing doesn't work out...better still is the bright, happy, pollution-free Earth future where you can choose to live on Mars if you want to.

And of course the space money could be spent improving the dismal education system in this country or the dismal health care system or renovating inner cities so the people who live there don't feel like third world inhabitants...there's tons of places the money could go to make a direct difference here where we live...but hey, if the world really is going to hell, maybe the best way to face hell is with your eyes closed and your mind wrapped around some warm, fuzzy thoughts.

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