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 immediate needs of farming families are obvious. Feed to keep stock alive, someway of holding onto their farms under the stand-over tactics of some banks, and Rain. Donations can fix the immediate short term to an extent but they cannot fix the long term trajectory. That requires difficult conversations and an acceptance of the…
Read More >There are four phases of thinking that every organisation MUST have available to them if they plan to be resilient to challenges, adaptable to changing circumstances and able to sustain themselves over time. The Phases are Strategic; Operational; Execution; and Evolution. If you miss any one of them or underplay an area, sooner or later…
Read More >Life is full of interesting and not so interesting choices. Some seemingly mundane or innocuous choices turn out to be life makers (and breakers). Occasionally the noisy intensive choices turn out to be little more than a passing zephyr carrying dust. The National Party in Australia have just been presented with a ‘Fork in The…
Read More >It probably does not get much simpler than this – no MBA required, no advanced training needed. And rather than give you the ‘mistake’ I’ll just give you the solution which is this: NEVER mistake the positiveness of Your Intent… with the ACTIONS you have taken! You cannot improve if you convince yourself that ‘good…
Read More >In parts of the world it’s Christmas day, a time for excusing your retail spending on a ‘worthy cause’. Which is fun in some ways and delusional in others 🙂 Don’t allow my grinchness deter you from enjoying today. As for me, I’m delighted that a) my present was wrapped in old newspaper and b)…
Read More >Part of being effective as a futurist is being able to assess potential issues and their impact over time. The Victorian State Election is on this Saturday and though many say that State elections have little bearing on issues we face, our system means that the fluctuations at a Federal level are often countered by…
Read More >‘m wrapped to be acting as EmCee for the third year in a row at Blackwood 8’s Celebration of Hope event, raising money to find a Cure for Brain Cancer. And delighted that the event has sold out. But fret not – you can still bid for some great auction items online or make a…
Read More >The major party in Australia’s dual party Government, the Liberal Party, has removed their leader Tony Abbott, replacing him with the previous leader, Malcolm Turnbull. PM designate Turnbull may be inclined to spend the first few days appeasing and reassuring his party members that everything will be okay. And that would be a mistake. Public…
Read More >When I look at my overall client types, it seems to me that I have two main types of client. The first is a client that has a good business and is generally successful and wants a futurist to help keep them ahead of emerging issues and opportunities. The second main client type is one…
Read More >As a consultant, one of the great puzzles I consistently discover is the mindset many clients hold with regard to their own abilities to conceive of and pursue, their own approach to futures thinking. I know this is not an issues restricted to futurists as where some clients have a ‘not invented here’ approach to…
Read More >