Future Prospects
The contrasts between these arguments are fully explored in the field of environmental ethics. Some researchers suggest that both paradigms need to mature into a more complex, cosmocentric ethic which incorporates the (unknown) value of extraterrestrial life with the values of humanity and all things in the universe. Debates often focus on how much time and effort should be expended on investigating the possibility of any microscopic life on a planet before deciding whether to terraform, and what level of sophistication or chances for future development alien life would deserve varying levels of commitment to non-interference. Such debates have been engaged in live, between Zubrin and McKay and others, at various conferences of the Mars Society, which has made written and video records of the debates available. For example, a written account of some of these debates is available in On to Mars: Colonizing a New World, as a joint article, "Do Indigenous Martian Bacteria have Precedence over Human Exploration?" (pp. 177–182)
Read more about this topic: Ethics Of Terraforming
Famous quotes containing the words future and/or prospects:
“Whoever influences the child’s life ought to try to give him a positive view of himself and of his world. The child’s future happiness and his ability to cope with life and relate to others will depend on it.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)
“A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts.”
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