Episode 6
Living on Mars: Utopia or Fool’s Paradise? | Review of City on Mars
Reviewing A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
The notion of colonizing Mars often sounds like a thrilling adventure, but let’s hit the brakes on that rocket ship for a moment. Right off the bat, we tackle the idea that Elon Musk’s vision of a bustling Martian colony is, to put it mildly, a touch delusional.
As we delve into the complexities of what it would actually mean to settle on another planet, we confront the sobering reality that space isn't just a hop, skip, and jump away; it’s a harsh environment where every human function must be rethought.
We explore whether escaping a troubled Earth is viable or if our human flaws will simply accompany us to the red planet. Ultimately, our discussion highlights the pressing need to learn how to live sustainably and peacefully here on Earth, our true home, before we think about packing our bags for Mars.
Takeaways:
- Colonizing Mars is not just a technical challenge but a profound philosophical question.
- Elon Musk's timeline for colonization seems overly optimistic given the myriad obstacles ahead.
- Humans tend to carry their societal issues with them, questioning the idea of a utopian colony.
- To escape Earth’s problems by colonizing Mars is a flawed perspective; the challenges remain the same.
- Living sustainably on Earth should be our priority; if we can't manage here, why would it be better elsewhere?
- Space exploration is essential, but we must first learn to thrive on our home planet.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
Should we colonize Mars? Is that a good idea? Maybe. Before we ruin the Earth, is it even feasible? Within any reasonable span of time, Elon Musk would have us think so.
But what's the reality? What would it be like to really, truly colonize space? 1, 2, 3. I recently finished reading A City on Mars by Kelly and Zachary Wersmith.
As the book's name suggests, the Wynersmiths explore the all encompassing reality of colonizing space and given its implications throughout human history. The Weinersmiths start with a discussion on the advisability of invoking the word colonize.
While tech billionaires pronounce their visions of Mars settlements by mid century, A City on Mars reigns in that hubris. With sober humility, Elon Musk believes we have failed as a species if we don't spread our seed into the cosmos, at least Mars.
He is not alone in such thinking, though he arguably has the most incentive to see its fruition. It's not going to happen. Not in my lifetime. Yours or Elon Musk's. Money can't buy everything.
That's not to say it won't or necessarily shouldn't happen at some point in the future centuries. It doesn't preclude ongoing robotic exploration of the solar system or a handful of astro explorers landing on Mars sometime this century.
But colonized with a permanent and semi autonomous human population, it will take more than a giant rocket to pull that off. And a lot of big rockets. The authors discuss the minimum viable population for a colony to survive long term on Mars.
Of course, nobody knows, and the experts consulted with the book very widely. For our discussion, let's go with 100,000.
Noting that Elon suggests we'll have a million people on Mars within 30 years of first putting boots on the Martian soil, we must ask ourselves why we think building a colony of that many people on another planet is a good idea. What problem does it solve? Several arguments promote a permanent interplanetary settlement.
For the uninitiated, like I was before reading the book, the level of thought, conjecture and imagination given to how and why we'd want to live on Mars can be surprising. Let's consider two popular narratives. One, to save humanity. Two, to escape a ruined Earth. But there is no escape.
If we imagine a utopian egalitarian community thriving on a new world, we should remember that humans tend to take their baggage with them wherever they go. Why some think we'd behave any better in space is puzzling.
How much will we trust that all the spacefarers will play nice and not choose to throw rocks down Earth's gravity well when relations get nasty. And it certainly isn't the weather, even a ruined Earth is more livable than a stroll across the Martian landscape.
Unless you've got a spacesuit on, you'll be dead momentarily. As the Weiner Smiths write, space sucks, noting that most non geeks understand that it sucks, but underestimate the scale of the suckitude.
Every human function, from the most intimate to grand social governance, must be rethought to accommodate an immediately deadly environment. It's very likely to go badly. Most of humanity will be left behind on Earth anyway, and that is the point of all this. We're only human.
We cannot escape our humanness. Our curiosity, intellect, ingenuity, imagination and drive push us out beyond the confines of Earth.
I support the effort to explore and reach for an understanding of the unfathomable. We live or die as a species here on Earth. This planet is our home.
If we can't learn to live within the limits of a bountiful Earth without destroying it and each other in the process, then there is little reason to think it will be any better someplace else. There's always more we can do to stop climate change. No amount of engagement is too little, and now more than ever, your involvement matters.
To learn more and do more, visit globalwarmingisreal.com thanks for listening. I'm your host, Tom Schueneman. We'll see you next time on Global Warming Is Real.
