Global Warming, Space Exploration, and Human Extinction - Report Example

Global Warming, Space Exploration, and Human Extinction The primary role of science should be to increase the chances of survivability for human beings. Humans constantly face extinction because of threats within and outside the earth. Since the destruction of the earth is among the greatest threat to the survival of human beings, scientists should now start looking for another planet where humans can live in the future. Space exploration is the key to finding another planet where life is possible. The Necessity of Finding Another Home Global warming is the greatest environmental threat to human beings. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane has caused the Earth to heat up so much that scientists predict that all of the world’s glaciers and ice caps could melt by 2100 (“Stop the Destruction”). West holds that such melting of glaciers could lead to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Since earthquakes would occur more often in the future, tsunamis would become more prevalent as well. Additionally, global warming would eventually cause sea levels to go so high that many islands would be submerged (Squires). Obviously, many countries and organizations are doing their best to delay, if not stop, global warming. However, there is nothing they can do to prevent the earth from heating up to being an unlivable planet. In a report by Cain, he showed how some researchers found that global warming is not only caused by greenhouses gases. Although those gases are still major components of global warming, the sun is also at fault. The sun continues to increase its energy output that within a billion years, every ocean in the world could evaporate. One billion years is definitely a long time. However, the livability of the earth may not reach that long. Although the ideal livable temperature for humans is just 59 degrees Fahrenheit (“Greenhouse Effect"), the average global temperature five years ago has already reached 58 degrees Fahrenheit (Baez). Between 1880 and 2004, the average world temperature was 1 Fahrenheit lower than in 2005. Given that the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hastens temperature rise, humans could only be counting hundreds of years before the earth becomes totally unlivable. Aside from the constant rise in temperature which could eventually make the world unlivable, the possibility of asteroids hitting earth is another reason why humans need to find another livable planet. Although there is a very little chance of asteroids hitting the earth, its dangers are not entirely negligible. For instance, Brain predicts that at an asteroid will pass by so close to the earth in 2028 that a slight change in its path or in the Earth’s orbit could spell catastrophe. Of course, that asteroid would not destroy the entire Earth (if it does hit it) but it could wipe out a whole city nonetheless. Another asteroid, that has the power of 20 million atomic bombs, could hit the earth in 2014. This is enough power to eliminate a huge portion, if not the whole, of human race. However, scientists made it clear that its chance of hitting the earth is less than one in 900,000. The point here though is that asteroids can really put an end to human race. In a very unpredictable universe, an asteroid could finally end the Earth’s 4.5 billion years of existence. One should not forget a popular theory about the extinction of dinosaurs. There might come a time in the future when the collision between Earth and a very massive asteroid would become inevitable. If there is no way of stopping asteroids to hit this planet, humanity could at least get out of it before it is too late. The possibility of an asteroid hitting and destroying the earth is very remote that humans do not really have to be alarmed by it; or not at least in ten centuries or so. However, the rising of Earth’s temperature is virtually unstoppable and many human efforts to delay it proved to be fruitless. For instance, while so many environmental advocates and scientists were hoping that biofuels could finally replace fossil fuels, which are the number one culprit for global warming, a recent study showed that it could hasten the rising Earth temperature instead (“Biofuels”). This is mainly caused by two reasons. First, the production of biofuels encourages the destruction of rainforests, which are the primary sources for its ingredients. Moreover, biofuels require so much energy to produce that its production actually produces huge quantities of carbon dioxide—bigger than what motorists produce by using conventional fuel. If the Earth does not become unlivable because of high temperature, probably the total depletion of its resources will do. Cohen predicts that water shortage would become so great in the future that it could actually threaten the survival of humanity (qtd. in Yu). This problem will be caused primarily by overpopulation. Unless humanity is able to massively produce freshwater or drastically cuts back on its water usage, extinction could be well at hand. If neither of these two works, moving into another livable planet remains the ultimate solution. The Importance of Space Exploration to Human Race There is a lot that humans can do to slow down the destruction of this planet. However, there is almost nothing that can be done to prevent it. The only thing left to do now is to find a place where humans could live hundreds of years from now when the earth would finally reach its end. This makes space exploration so important. As NASA explains, space exploration is essential to our self-preservation (United States “The Importance”). Through science, humanity has found out that the earth is the only livable planet in the solar system. However, science being a branch of knowledge that places more emphasis on experiment than on conclusion, it could aid humans in making a planet in the solar system livable. If such case is not possible, humans could explore beyond the solar system to find other planets where life is possible. Mass transport of humans to another planet is not possible within a hundred years or so given the current level of human technology and the cost of space transportation. Fortunately, science does not stop evolving and creating a mass transport spacecraft is very likely in the future. Moreover, given the laws of economics (which is another science by the way), the cost of space exploration could well go down in the future. The importance of space exploration all boils down to this: like the unknown frontiers that Columbus and Lewis and Clark discovered, the new planets that NASA or any other space organization will discover would one day become home to humans. Economic and Political Benefits of Space Exploration Despite all the dangers of extinction humans face, there is still a great possibility that the earth will remain livable for an infinite period of time. Although this will eliminate the necessity of finding another planet, it will not make space exploration any less important or beneficial. The $19.7 billion that the United States has allocated for NASA this year (United States “The National Aeronautics”) is indeed a huge amount of money. However, that budget does not go to aliens. As Silver points out, what the U.S. government spends on space exploration creates “knowledge, jobs, new businesses, and technologies.” (author “”) Additionally, space exploration strengthens relationships among countries as they try to unite in order to advance space research. As seen recently, the United States and China expanded their relationships to include discussions on “human space flight and exploration” (Harwood). The U.S. Embassy in Russia explains that space exploration have changed nations “from competitors to partners” (United States “Partnerships: U.S.-Russia”). Aside from China, space exploration has strengthened U.S. ties with Canada, Brazil, and 11 European nations. This new cooperation among nations ultimately contributes to humanity’s “self-preservation.” Since countries have become united instead of continuing to fight with each other, the possibility of human annihilation through a wide-scale war is lessened. Furthermore, political cooperation could spread the world’s resources more even since richer countries would have to fund emerging nations to boost their manpower. It is a perennial human sentiment to “venture into the unknown.” However, space exploration plays a far greater role in preserving human race and improving its existence. Over and over again, we have witnessed science save lives, especially in the field of medicine. Through space exploration, we can see how this branch of knowledge could save the whole of human race. Works Cited Baez, John. “Temperature.” UCR Mathematics. University of California Riverside, 1 Oct. 2006. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . “Biofuels Actually Hasten Global Warming, Say Scientists.” OneWorld South Asia. OneWorld South Asia, 17 Feb. 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Brain, Marshall. “What If an Asteroid Hit the Earth?” How Stuff Works. Discovery Communications, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Cain, Fraser. “How Long Will Life Survive on Earth?” Universe Today. Universe Today, 13 Feb. 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . “Greenhouse Effect: Its Effects on the Earth.”The Global Warming Pages. The Global Warming Pages, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Harwood, William. “U.S. and China Agree to Explore Space Cooperation.” The Space Shot. CNET, 17 Nov. 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Silver, Matt. “In Defense of Space Exploration.” The Tech Online Edition 123.66 (2004): n. pag. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . “Stop the Destruction of Our Beautiful Earth.” Stop Earth Destruction. Stop Earth Destruction, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Squires, Nick. “Pacific Island Could be Submerged Due to Global Warming.” Telegraph. Telegraph Media, 15 Oct. 2007. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Importance of Space Exploration. NASA, 22 Nov. 2007. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . ---. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2010 Budget. NASA, 1 Feb . 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . ---. Partnerships: U.S.-Russia Space Cooperation. Embassy of the United States in Russia, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . West, Larry. “Fire and Ice: Melting Glaciers Trigger Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanos.” About.com. New York Times, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Yu, Victoria. “Human Extinction: The Uncertainty of Our Fate.” The Darmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science. Darmouth College, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . Read More