There are a great many world with opportunities for life, both in our Solar System and beyond, and we’ve only just begun to discover them. Perhaps Enceladus, Europa or Titan harbor some form of life right now, and perhaps Mars or Venus had plentiful lifeforms in the earliest moments of the Solar System.
The surface of Venus. Image credit: Venera landers / USSR.
But compared to everything we’ve found out there, there’s still no planet as friendly to life or hospitable to humans as Earth is. It’s the fact that we went beyond the Earth and discovered the Universe that’s allowed us to appreciate just how rare, precious and special our home world is.
Image credit: NASA / Apollo 8.
Make the most of it this Earth day, and remember it every day to come!
Important Earth Day Observation #1: There is so much weed at Earth Day Celebrations that I don't understand why it isn't just moved to April 20 every year.
Important Earth Day Observation #2: Have you noticed that the same people who scream the loudest about GMO crops seem to have no problem with the latest strain of Cannabis?
No, I haven't, and I have a difficult time accepting such a universal assertion without evidence.
Ethan mentions “life” seventeen (17) times in his Forbes piece. He talks about the search for life, the possibilities of life.
Mainly about life out there in space. And the willingness of many to go to great lengths in the hope of finding that life.
But he ends with thoughts about life here on earth:
“… remember how *fragile and tenuous* our existence is…that if we’re not careful, we could *wipe ourselves off* of this pale blue world in a matter of hundreds.”
One gets the impression that Ethan highly values life, particularly human life.
How ironic that probably over 95% of the people reading his words and mine will go to great lengths to assure that we can wipe ourselves off of THE most fragile and tenuous lives among us.
"assure that we can wipe ourselves off of THE most fragile and tenuous lives among us"
That is incredibly meaningless even for you.
Goodness, you really had to stretch to get that abortion tie-in See. Tell me, how do I "wipe myself off of" some woman's fertilized egg? What exactly am I doing that fits that description?
"abortion tie-in"
That's what he's on about? And he can't even make a clear statement about that?
"Ethan mentions “life” seventeen (17) times in his Forbes piece."
Ah, we have See Nowt now relying on numerology and other "heathen" practices...
How sad.
"No, I haven’t, and I have a difficult time accepting such a universal assertion without evidence."
This is a problem for denier, since his rhetoric requires you just accept his proclamations. He certainly isn't going to go to any effort to justify or prove them.
"How ironic that probably over 95% of the people reading his words and mine will go to great lengths to assure that we can wipe ourselves off of THE most fragile and tenuous lives among us."
How ironic that this moron will do this because AGW isn't going to happen - gawd said so.
I, for one, was disappointed that he aborted the angle that was almost certainly the source of the uncontrollable urge to publicly spill his seed electrons on this post, viz., a deep-seated loathing of Earth Day, with a Crisco-style frosting of pseudo-theology to back it up.
@ Denier#1. I agree.
Notice how the leftist have no issues with smoking weed, but are hell bent on banning tobacco products.
I will prophesy this day that when the day comes that there are "Big Weed" companies you will see the leftist all rallied up for Banning, Regulating, Taxing out of existence "Big Weed" companies.
LOL
Wash rinse repeat the left has no new Ideas. Just trash and ruin everything that is good.
@#11: There is no level of stupid you won't pursue is there? Are you seriously suggesting that smoking marijuana raises the risk for serious illness as tobacco? Because if you are you'll ned to supply a whole lot of statistical studies for your stance.
@12:
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/marijuana-and-lung-healt…
@ Dope Smoking dean. Now I know why your a... Dope.. LOL..
"Notice how the leftist have no issues with smoking weed"
And notice the rightwingnutjob claims to worship individual responsiblity and the removal of government from private issues, but really REALLY want the government interfering in private matters to enforce THEIR version of morality.
Ah, so instead of actually providing evidence that dope is worse than tobacco, you go off on a tangent and proclaim someone smokes dope.
But the problem here is that the only one who thinks that's a problem is little curtain twitchers like yourself.
From the link rt provided.
So suspicion, but no data.
A rare case where rt was correct (although his past performance tells us it is quite unlikely he actually read the reference but simply chose it based on its title, so being correct was due to chance rather than any honesty on his part).
Again, a suspicion but no research yet to support or refute it.
The article continues in this vein: raising some points and providing references, raising more with "no research on this yet" idea. The final sentence is
And in chimes "WoW" oh such a fitting name.
Backwards or forwards it sounds the same.
WRONG.
"but for things of which they disapprove they assert "proof" when that is not the case. It must spring from their basic dishonesty. It certainly seems to for the rt and sn."
Soke all the geef ya want dean I Don't Care!!!
It's a States rights issue in my book AND so is abortion ect..
Another ignorant assumption - and wrong.
By the way, states do not have rights. Do you even have the ability to understand the Constitution?
Well done, Denier. You brought earth day to 'shit' in one entry. (pun intended)
:)
"Do you even have the ability to understand the Constitution?"
Of course not. They don't even understand the second amendment (nor, indeed, what an amendment IS).
Hell, they don't even understand the history of their country around it.
"Backwards or forwards it sounds the same."
Yes, that's what a palindrome is, teabaggie.
"WRONG"
No, that's not the way to say "Wow".
Ask your three year old grand niece how to spell it.
Look at anything but the pictures and the subject, eh?
Lovely distraction tactics.
Ethan missed a quote that belongs at the top:
_________
You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, 'Look at that, you son of a bitch.” ― Edgar D. Mitchell.
________
We just have to accept that we will kill planet Earth and then die out :)