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Why We Must Colonize Mars
Updated Jan 19, 2002
There are three potential benefits which humanity may realize by colonizing Mars. The first is the preservation of innovation, the second is the preservation of freedom, the other is the preservation of life.
Colonizing Mars Will Preserve Innovation
Updated Nov. 22, 2001
Many of the social, religious, and technological advancements of the last
five centuries have been associated with the conquest of new frontiers,
new resource and an expanding population. One of the oldest of books known to
mankind portrays God as commanding mankind to be "fruitful and multiply and
fill the Earth, and have dominion" (Genesis). This principle of fruitfulness
as multiplication and dominion has been well attested to by history.
Mankind is most prosperous and happy when it has room to grow, new frontiers
to conquer, and new resources to exploit.
Here on Earth we still have some room to grow, some new frontiers to conquer, and some new
resources to exploit, but these are rapidly diminishing, and increasingly under control of entities
who oppose exploration, exploitation, and colonization. A classic example is Antartica. All
commercial exploitation of that continent has been banned or discouraged by various means, not
least of which is the lack af allowing the private ownership of land and mineral rights.
Why explor for oil if one cannot pump or even own the oil one discovers? There remain large
tracts of underdeveloped territory on Earth, such as Africa and parts of Asia, but many of these
lands are owned by people and ruled by governments who oppose the principles required
exploit these resources and create a prosperous society. These are often countries which are
close to their carrying capacity, either because they have a high population density, or
or because they occupy lands which are not particularly fruitful.
Mars and the Asteroids offer resources which are unclaimed and nearly inexhaustible. Someone
(John Lewis in "Mining the Sky") has calculated that the resources in the asteroids
could sustain a population of about 10 quadrillion people at a level of affluence equivalent
to the top 10% of wage earners in the United States. Imagine how many scientists working to
cure cancer, heart disease, and to learn to prolong life such a population could sustain, not
to mention artists, philosophers, and scholars of all kinds!
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Colonizing Mars Will Preserve Freedom
Updated Jan. 21, 2002
The world is heading towards a unified world government. This developement is innevitable.
It is important to maintain a branch of the human race independent from such government in order
to maintain competition. Mankind prospers from competition, a single unified government for
humanity will stiffle competition, limit freedom, and breed stagnation.
The technological advances of the last few centuries have brought the people of the world into closer contact with each other. These are the result of advances in transportation and communication. For example, until the 1950's, most immigrants to the Americas never went back to visit the relatives they left behind in the old country. Until the late 1800's or early 1900's immigrants were never able to ever again speak to those relatives. However, immigrants in the 21st century often telephone their relatives at little expense and also have the luxury of returning to visit their family back home often. These advances have allowed increase trade between countries, leading to the globalization of markets. The inventors of Coca Cola probably never imagined that their beverage would be sold around the world. Increased trade and market globalization creates the need for settling international disputes. It also has led to the unification of currencies. The Euro has become the common currency of several European countries, and the US Dollar is the official currency of Panama, Ecuador and several other countries. Increased ease of travel has also led to increased trafficking of illegal items such as drugs and weapons and has allowed the entry of organized terrorists into western nations such as the United States. Advanced transportation systems, such as missiles, has also placed all the nations of the world under the threat of attack by the nuclear weapons of distant nations.
These forces will lead to the inevitable creation of a unified global government. Such a government is needed to regulate trade, help resolve international disputes peacefully, and to help protect nations from the threat of attack by other nations. Unfortunately, a global government would be the uncontested ultimate power on the planet. An insightful social scientist of a previous century eloquently described a law of human behavior when he observed that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Uncontested power is a form of absolute power. The discovery of America helped promote freedom by providing Europeans a way to escape the totalitarian monarchies under which they lived. They were able to vote for freedom with their feet. Furthermore, every time an emigrant left the old country and news returned back home that this individual was prospering in America, it gave those who stayed behind the hope and the motivation needed to fight for freedom at home. Furthermore, when intolerable totalitarian regimes arose in Europe, Asia, and around the world, the freer countries were able to wage war against them and eliminate the threat they posed to the free world. Even without overt war, competition between the USA and the USSR led to the collapse of the latter. However, when global government begins to suppress our freedoms they will have no competition and freedom lovers will have no place to go, unless we prepare now.
The coming of a wicked end times world ruler is part of many apocalyptic scenarios. The Bible calls this ruler the Beast or the Anti-Christ. The book of the Revelation says that this leader will target two groups for elimination, Jews, and Christians. He will first target the Jews, but when they are able to escape his clutches he then will go after the adherents of Christianity, possibly because they helped to protect the Jews. The prophet John says "when the dragon [the power behind the Beast] saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the women [Israel] which brought forth the man child [Jesus, the Messiah]. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness [an isolated desert place], into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, [three and a half years] from the face of the serpent" (Rev. 12:13-14). It is held by many prophecy experts that this hiding place for Israel is located in the desserts south of Israel. However, in this day of nuclear weapons and daisy cutter bombs even a vast underground complex would not serve to protect against a direct nuclear attack. However, this might be a reference to the dessert planet, Mars. The two wings like an eagle may be a reference to space shuttles which will take persecuted peoples from Earth to safety on Mars, the desert planet.
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Colonizing Mars Will Preserve Life
Updated Jan. 19, 2002
Finally, Mars could serve as a refuge for the preservation of human, animal, and vegetable life in the event that a horrible disaster befall the Earth. There are at least three possible forms which such a disaster might take. The most likely is probably the partial self destruction of the human race by means of weapons of mass destruction. Full blown nuclear war is the most worrisome of such scenarios. Such a war could easily destroy all the cities of the world in a matter of hours to days. It has been calculated that 80% of the United States population lives in cities which have a population greater than 250,000. Therefore, the destruction of these cities, which can be achieved using a few hundred missiles would decrease the population of the USA from 280 million to about 40 million. The loss of cities would cause great social upheavals, destabilize the current national boundaries, and cause the loss of large amounts of technical knowledge. This would cast Terran civilization back into a state similar to that of the early industrial age. Furthermore, large tracts of land would become uninhabitable to humans and animals for decades due to radiation. The dust created by the explosions could cool the atmosphere for several years and induce a mini-ice age.
Another threat which has received some attention lately is that of being hit by a large asteroid or comet. Such an impact would have a similar or worse effect than an out nuclear war. The shock wave of the impact would completely destroy all life for hundreds of miles away from the impact site. If the impactor hit on land it would create an earth quake which might flatten almost all the cities and buildings on the globe and if it hit in the sea it would create such a great tsunami that any cities on shores facing the impact site would be inundated. If the impactor broke up as it neared the Earth it might hit both the land and the sea.
It is interesting to observe that a book of prophecy
respected by billions of people describes such an impact as an
end time event. The book of the Revelation in the Bible describes an end
time cometary or asteroidal impact. It says that "there followed hail and fire mingled with
blood, and they were cast upon the earth" (Rev. 8:7) after
this "a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea" (Rev.8:8)
and then "a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch" (Rev.8:10).
The prophet describes several consequences of this multiple impact. He says "I saw a star fall
from heaven unto the earth . . . and he [it] opened the bottomless pit [the earth's
molten interior] and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great
furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke
of the pit" (Rev. 9:1-2). He also says that there were "voices,
and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake,
such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so
great. And the great city [Jerusalem] was divided into three parts, and the cities of the
nations fell [global earthquake]: and great Babylon [the world capital which
today is New York] came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the
wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains
were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone [meteorite]
about the weight of a talent [100 pounds]" (Rev. 16:18-21). The
prophet sees the impactor hitting the world capital and describes its destruction with an
illustration. He says, "a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone,
and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon
be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all" (Rev. 18:21). It surprises me
that many Christians, even those who claim to believe in the veracity of their scriptures,
completely ignore the warnings of impencing disaster which are presented in that book. The
importance of this prophecy is emphasized at the opening of the book of the
Revelation, which states "blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the
words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the
time is at hand" (Rev. 1:3). I believe that a colony on Mars would act as a
refuge to spare a small portion of humanity the tragedy of having to go
through such a cataclysm.
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