tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618880.post3130685694345022753..comments2024-03-27T00:26:31.343-07:00Comments on The Commercial Space Blog: Do Current Laws Support Private Space Activities?Chuck Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09506476753520146858noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618880.post-71019344913951690552012-04-17T07:53:51.770-07:002012-04-17T07:53:51.770-07:00Private ownership of stuff like the moon, etc, rea...Private ownership of stuff like the moon, etc, really is a touchy subject. My family "owns" a certain amount of land. But it used to belong to somebody else? Their were first nations here long before we came.. we stole it from them.<br /><br />I think in large part we as a people aren't prepared to consider dividing up the moon, selling it off. in fact, considering that it is something we have been looking at through telescopes for ages, enjoying the beauty of it's untouched, pristine surface, I would argue that many people would be against colonizing it, destroying that beauty. Perhaps an alternate solution is to open up colonization of the dark side of the moon? That wouldn't mar it's beauty from the perspective of people here. I for one, don't really relish the idea of looking up at the moon one day and seeing a city there instead of the (very definitely spiritual) sight I see now. My mind might change, but that is one of my gut reactions to the article. Particularly if most real-estate is owned by mining companies. The idea that we as a human race have to constantly go in search of more raw material to grow our civilization, "colonize the universe" is distinctly unappealing. One wonders why we can't be satisfied with the one planet we have. Many people would argue that we will only have earned the right to spread our civilization beyond the earth the day we have learned to respect the earth and take care of it properly, the day we conquer greed, and can be motivated only by the desire to explore, respecting and cherishing what we find. Do we really want a future in which we destroy all that we find by mining it to pieces, like during the conflict between the federation and the Klingons?<br /><br />Comes to mind the piece in the hitch-hikers guide about a planet whose people lived in some kind of dust cloud. They couldn't see anything, except the light of their own sun or something. Then they gained the ability to travel beyond the cloud, and suddenly were able to see the whole galaxy, and other galaxies. They decided the sight was ugly, and set about extinguishing all the stars so that they could re-create the beauty of their dark dust cloud for everybody.<br /><br />makes my head spin. the morality of existence? :-)Michael Jensennoreply@blogger.com