Mars on Earth – is the red planet an indicator of things to come?
There’s a lot to like about Mars. For centuries the name given to the Roman God of War (in honour of its blood stained hue) it has given us an opportunity and point of focus to think beyond our own planet. There’s been some vast mythologies about the deep channels (interpreted as canals meant signs of alien built water infrastructure) faces in the soil (signs of alien intelligence) and the home of a warring life force destined to wipe us out, only to die due to bacterial infection (thanks HG and later Orson).
In the meantime we’ve been doing an initial dump of electronic waste on the Martian surface as can be seen in this chart which is perhaps good news given the build up of e-waste in other parts of our planet we may have another place to store it all.
From what we know of Mars so far, it appears that it used to have a fair bit of water on it, likely had a much denser atmosphere than it does now (around 10% of Earth’s); had significant geological actvity, and may have (if it doesn’t now) sustained life. Over time the atmosphere has thinned, temperatures on the planet fluctuate wildly, there are significant winds and lots of barren dust.
So taking a stretch of imagination here looking at our own planet’s development, if the Ozone hole continues to be damaged, if weather events, warming and whatever else cause ongoing detriment to many species on the planet; if we use the resources we hve poorly, do we also create the kind of environment that sees our own atmosphere change significantly? I’m not the scientist here so ‘a grain of salt’ if you please. I’m merely wondering out aloud.
So the lesson or warning if you like, is that maybe, we don’t need to go to Mars because we’re making it right here on our own blue speck?
The Australian Government has announced a ‘Repeal Day’, intended to be used to axe the existence of hundreds of outdated laws. The concept is a good one, though for me, doesn’t quite get the Australian Parliament into a forward looking setting in how it could develop FUTURE legislation. So what could be done instead and…
Read More >Continuing his run of suggesting an annual theme and idea of world focus for the year ahead, Futurist Marcus Barber has declared 2014 to be the International Year of Food Security. ‘The year ahead is going to bring into sharp focus, what has often been seen as an ‘other-world’ problem’ Barber says. ‘For a number…
Read More >Yes I know, committing to an early morning chat on ABC Radio on New Year’s Day may to some seem tinged with the ‘what were you thinking?’ bug, but hey, what better time is there than chatting about the future, than at prime New Year’s Resolution time? You’ll be able to listen to the stream…
Read More >The Australian Strategic Planning Institute website has a new article on why Visions, rather than being useful shining lights, end up being ‘ruts’ for organisations. Counter instinictivley and yet simply put, the never ending nature of some Visions leads to an inaction toward that Vision. Companies and individuals spin their wheels in a quagmire…
Read More >One of the great things about technology (especially of the instantaneous ‘social’ kind) is the ability to attend a conference without leaving your office. Which is a salient point because yesterday I followed a number of the presentations looking at the idea of tele-working or remote workers, and did so by following the tweets of…
Read More >About once a week I get a call from a client or a media group asking if I can tell them what the future will be like. The conversation usually goes something like this – Me: can I ask what you’re trying to discover? Journalist: Oh you know, something really catchy, about how the world…
Read More >Now before any of you rush out and stick your hard earned on anything I say here, please note that a) I’m answering this because I get asked every year and b) My track record is appalling. Still I’ve put a bit of thought into a near term prediction to see who you might like…
Read More >Tonight I have the privilege of being the MC for Blackwood 8’s Celebration of Hope Gala Ball at the Manningham Function Centre in Doncaster. Blackwood 8 raise funds to find a cure of Brain Cancer and are strong supporters of Dr. Charlie Teoh’s Cure for Life foundation. With a crowd of around 300 it’s going…
Read More >‘ve just spent a delightful day learning about digital issues at the v21 Digital Conference at the State Library and my presentation at that conference is now available at the link below. My all too brief summary of presentations is also provided Sessions have covered Branding, Blogging, case studies, education & health; future of…
Read More >When it comes to ‘anti-technology’ thinking, a term often thrown disparagingly at people is ‘Luddite’. Luddites were indeed anti-tech BUT contrary to modern day thinking, they had a particular dislike for technology that would put people out of work. If technology helped keep people employed or created more jobs they were all for it. Which…
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