Planet protection laws?

After reading the thread about Bush wanting to build on the moon, it got me wondering about the laws surrounding this.

Here on earth we have laws protecting sites of special scientific interest and areas of outstanding natural beauty, you would'nt be able to build on these places in a month of Sundays, so why can we do this on something as untouched and amazing as the planets?

I'm all for space exploration and that, but not for ruining yet more planets. It will start with one base, then we know how the rest goes.

Surely by now the world has come up with environmental protection laws regarding space? If not, should we? I know the planets are not ours to make laws about, but they are not ours to wreck either.

CX.

I think we should put citys and bases everywhere we can on other planets. put up regual laws we have on Earth. We should get the hell off Earth before we destroy it. With the rest of the planets-
Palute, waste, destroy, and move on.

I'm all for colonizing other planets and Spacial Bodies.
Personally, I think its kind of our destiny as a society to move among the stars and populate places we can.
However, I do believe that we should create a set of sound intersteller rules that are enforcable and can be policed, while taking into account other life in the Universe.
As far as the Moon goes, that is part of the Earth.

Though, something strikes me.
You can 'buy' plots of land on the Moon, how does that work and will that have any say on what happens in the future or will these 'plots' be pointless?

As said in the Mayrix, humans are a virus, we settle at one place, drain it of natural resources and beauty, then move on.

Nothing's going to change when we become a space-faring race.

Shame really.

Originally posted by CX
After reading the thread about Bush wanting to build on the moon, it got me wondering about the laws surrounding this.

Here on earth we have laws protecting sites of special scientific interest and areas of outstanding natural beauty, you would'nt be able to build on these places in a month of Sundays, so why can we do this on something as untouched and amazing as the planets?

I'm all for space exploration and that, but not for ruining yet more planets. It will start with one base, then we know how the rest goes.

Surely by now the world has come up with environmental protection laws regarding space? If not, should we? I know the planets are not ours to make laws about, but they are not ours to wreck either.

CX.

The implication's of colonizing the the other planet's is a very real and inevitable prospect with the present technologies and what we are finding out about the applicable gain's and use's for the "New Colony" scenario. Here is an indepth page on many of the question's that have already been asked and with possible hypothetical initiated laws as well. Hope that this is an insightful read for you, it is quite lengthy, but explain's alot of thing's to be in place for the big transition.

members.aol.com...

The UN has worked on this in the past and has written some Spacee Law.
Here's a link to the website dealing with space treaties.
www.unoosa.org...

We're going to HAVE to change once we're building colonies on other planets. It's going to force us to recycle EVERYTHING. You can't waste anything on say a lunar colony. Even the waste products from our bodies will have to be put to use.

I agree with the above poster. I doubt we'll pollute too much simply because it won't be an option. We can't afford to let much go to waste. Besides, how can you be for space exploration (and colonization I assume?) but not want any pristine extra-terrestial land deformed?

I'd love to keep the solar system in its pristine state for people to enjoy for eons to come, but human survival has to come first. Which could mean terraforming, which would certainly have a drastic effect on any body it took place on. The concept that humans are a virus is flawed, at least in the way it's used. I ask, what is so horrible about being a virus? Viruses are just as important to the global ecosystem as are cuddly Panda bears. Infact, they're probably far more valuable than any givin mammal. Humanity and its creations are just as natural as beavers and their dams. I don't think mother nature can see a difference.

Im sure nature can, as we cut several thousand times more then a beaver does out of her and let most of it go to waste.

Face it, humans ruin everything and we always will. Im sure we'll give the first aliens we meet some sortof supervirus and kill them all on accident. Or just go to war with them and drive them to extiction. Or hell, the christions will force their beliefs on them. The aliens will resist so the christions will see the aliens as evil and suicide bomb them in the name of god.

All of that doesn't really matter now. Forget space laws and planetary bueaty. The only thing important know is to get the hell off of Earth before we're doomed.

And take the important animal species with us.

Dogs, Cats, Eagles, komodo dragons, deer, cows, chickens, sheep, lobster, whales, and dolphins.

Screw the insects, they've pist us off too much. We can pollonate our own damn flowers.

(sorry if I slightly went off topic)

Personally I cant wait until we colonize other planets, I can see it now...

"Well if Mr.hope owns the moon, Im taking the sun...and Venus"
^^^By the way this actaully happened..^^^

Originally posted by Zaphod58
We're going to HAVE to change once we're building colonies on other planets. It's going to force us to recycle EVERYTHING. You can't waste anything on say a lunar colony. Even the waste products from our bodies will have to be put to use.

I smell a turd sandwich on the grill at the food court of the "moonmall"

Colonizing other planets will cause us to adapt, in many ways. It will be interesting to see how tall 3rd generation martian colonists grow in 1/3 earth gravity. As far as planetary protection, we have some data and experience already in changing the global environment with our actions.

I like that term "Planet protection laws". It would a fantastic World joint agreement, if they could sit still for a moment and sign-on.

Dallas

Humanity is a virus when it comes to our pollution/waste and distruction/depletion of resources.

If say somehow we grew past these viral quality's with new technology and behavour, we could become the caretakers for earth and/or planets in space alike.

Then we wouldn't be a virus anymore, rather human's coexisting peacfully with our planet and selfs. First we just need to want this on a large scale.

Originally posted by DarkCyrus
Humanity is a virus when it comes to our pollution/waste and distruction/depletion of resources.

If say somehow we grew past these viral quality's with new technology and behavour, we could become the caretakers for earth and/or planets in space alike.

Then we wouldn't be a virus anymore, rather human's coexisting peacfully with our planet and selfs. First we just need to want this on a large scale.

You mean like if humans were givin the time to learn how to avoid all of these percieved problems? Once again, Nature is not a thing, it's a concept, and just as one species goes extinct because of Man's actions another yet thrives all the more. The ecosystems and organisms living in a modern city are no less diverse or intricate than those living in a forest.

In humanity's defence: He(or she, or it) didn't start using fossil fuels with the reasoning that: Hey! This'll pollute the atomsphere, awesome!

He didn't invent aerosols with that reasoning either.

He didn't start combating forest fires to destroy forests. (which this actually does)

Humanity has plenty of good intentions that turn out for the worse because the universe is complex and humans are very young. We learn the hard way. In the real world it's the only way to learn.

So in time, humanity will live in relative harmony with Earth's future ecosystem just as they do now only it will be easier for simple people to grasp. Many species will have gone extinct by then though, and the Earth won't miss any of them.

I think this will all happen more easily with space exploration because the extremes of surviving in such hostile enviroments will force us (the hard way) to develope cleaner and more efficient technologies.

(I just hate anti-humanists. Have a little respect for a species that was given weak physical traits but triumped none the less over more powerful organisms due to its powerful and unique brain)

I'm sorry if you understood me as a anti-humanistic because I'm not.

I agree with you totaly, I think It is time now for us to learn from what we have experienced and done and move past this self-destructiveness as I see humans have massive potential so you could call me pro-human I beleive we can and will do what is needed.

I think if we fully understand the problems we have caused in the past as a young and learning society(and I know we do) now it is time to move past being children and start being responsible adults.

I was trying to explain in my last post that we act like a virus but we dont have to continue on the same path and repeat the same mistakes.

If we know those things cause harm it would be our responsibilty to fix it since we created it, we can make new harmless products(something we are allready doing)we should shift it into high gear and make it illegal to produce any products that cause harm to human or enviroment through extensive testing and control. Done by an outside group and highly enforced.

Well I agree with you too then. As much as I'd like a complete change from fossil fuels to something cleaner, that simply cannot happen over night and would not be to our benefit anyway (if it happened all at once I mean). The economy is directly related to our success at survival, and oil is a big part of that, for the time being. Humans do learn from their mistakes. We are learning. When we crash an oil tanker and ruin hundreds of miles of coastline we strive not to do so ever again. When we burn down a tropical rainforest and release a deadly virus or lose the chance to find life-saving vaccinne... many work to prevent such a thing from happening. (people still need the lumber, but things do improve, slowly)

The ironic thing is, the more mistakes we make and the more costly they are, the more we learn and the more we're prepared for the future. Viruses can be destructive and scary, but they can also be beneficial. My point was, that even viruses have a place in the universe. So if humans are a virus, then they too have a place. (which in the future, will hopefully be the task of ensuring that life from Earth survives elsewhere in the universe)

Ok, apart from the Earth, Venus, Mars and Europa, what's so great about the rest of the solar system that there should be nature reserves, I mean it's not like there are endangered plants and animals on the moon.

I figure, apart from the four places mentioned above, we should utilize the system to it's fullest benefits.

And even with Mars and Venus, we should terraform them.
Though with Europa, if there i ansy life there, we should only set up a science station, and turn the planet/moon into a reserve.

I think as we go out, we'll become less polluting, for the obvious reason, that was mentioned above, you cant really produce lotsa waste when you have limited resources.

What we need to do is start building system wide colonies, and than fix the Earth amd set up nature preserves here.

There are two treaties in place with the moon. The Outer Space Treaty, which pretty much makes the moon an international thingy in the sky. Basically it's like international waters. Then there's the Moon Treaty which prevents exploitations of resources on the moon. Guess who signd the first and guess who signed the second. Most of the space faring nations signed the first, none of them signed the second .

Put up laws ?

I just became the president of europa !
I got dibbs !! LOLOL