I suspect I wouldn't like the climate, so I'll stay here, hoping our own ecosystem holds out.

As much as space travel interests me, I find the thought of humans infesting other planets depressing.

Originally posted by tamusan
I suspect I wouldn't like the climate, so I'll stay here, hoping our own ecosystem holds out.

As much as space travel interests me, I find the thought of humans infesting other planets depressing.

"The meek shall inherit the Earth. The rest of us will go to the stars!" -- unknown

Originally posted by dorkfish87
Mars is closer and it doesn't rain acid there

Venus is significantly closer to the Earth than Mars, it only took the Russians 3 months to get a probe there, and that was in 1961! However it is rather hot, so hot in fact that even probes don't survive long, Mars is much more suitable for exploration, despite being further away.

Im trying to think Terraforming through logically and there seems to be no reason to even attempt it whilst the earth is not in danger of being absorbed by the Sun- for at least within a thousand years of that event.

Just about every man made or stellar incident imaginable (aside from complete planet destruction) would still leave the Earth more habitable than the likes of Venus.
(Over 2000 Atomic bombs have been detonated since the 40's and we're 6.8 billion strong with little or no sign of slowing.)

Overpopulation crazies like to talk about popualtion growth as a pre-cursor to man habiting other planets but hang on a minute, there is over 6 Million Square miles of barely populated Desert alone on Earth.
We could adapt these so called inhospitable areas of Earth at a franction of the cost of terraforming another planet...it just doesnt seem likely to me.

Venus is closer to Earth than Mars, but also a lot closer to the sun.

Mars is more distant from the sun than Earth - which makes it important from the point of view of the remote future.

In about 3 billion years from now, our sun will begin to die.

The first things that any humans on Earth then will notice is that the sun will get smaller, brighter, and hotter.

So hot that it will boil away the oceans - so, far too hot for life on Earth.

But conditions on Mars will become pleasantly warm, whereas they are now too cold.

That's why there is so much interest in Mars, above any of the other planets.

It will be mankind's new home in the remote future.

Originally posted by Jukiodone
Im trying to think Terraforming through logically...

Well THERE'S your problem!

I don't disagree with anything you say, Jukiodone. As I said before, it's a fun mental exercise. IMO, it actually helps us to think about environmental problems on Earth by coming at them from the opposite direction. People talk about how difficult it is to reclaim a desert, or replant a forest, or restore ground water. Then someone like you comes along and says,

...there is over 6 Million Square miles of barely populated Desert alone on Earth.
We could adapt these so called inhospitable areas of Earth at a franction of the cost of terraforming another planet...

...and that makes the above problems seem a lot more manageable, solvable even.