For any fellow
sci-fi enthusiasts dreaming of interstellar
existence (if only we were born in the next millennium…). I imagine many of
you have seen the opening 2 minute sequence of the upcoming Nolan singularity
(pun intended); McConaughey's soliloquy heavily references amongst humanity’s
greatest historical moments of our first "steps" into the boundless unknown,
every romantic’s greatest adventure! The film’s subject, induced from the
snippets of trailer’s; Earth ran out of food (over population/runaway CC/soil
degradation, cause as yet unrevealed), and technology didn't stop the
catastrophe, and now look to the stars for salvation.
My blog is
not about this romantic desire to explore uncharted space. In fact I argue that
it is our fear of the unknown, runaway Climate Change, uncontrolled Population
Growth, a ‘Finite Planet’ paradigm, human induced Biodiversity disappearance, all
sound very frightening. Blomkamp’s Elysium,
the revamped Dredd scenario of ‘Mega-City-One’,
or even a Mad-Max environment
resulting from an inhospitable planet in which society writhes in chaos,
despairing devoid of hope for nirvana amidst the ravaged Earth … would we resort
to measures resembling Logan’s Run in
order to preserve ourselves?
- http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-02/after-earth-why-where-how-and-when-we-might-leave-our-home-planet
- http://www.space.com/8924-stephen-hawking-humanity-won-survive-leaving-earth.html
It is these
fuelling our pursuit for an alternative planet (extra-terrestrial relocation
and colonisation the recent announcement of the MarsOne project to make a
habitable colony for people to live on our red cousin). But why can we not try
to save the planet we have? Is it truly fear, or are there forces to powerful contest,
we sink into despondency in the face of desolation. Let us not desperately
scramble for the stars, after all, the best example of a
Goldilocks planet is the Earth itself. After all, legally a corporation is
only one person, no matter how powerful they appear.
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