What’s All This Nonsense About Saving the Planet? Part Three of Three; Darwin’s Science vs Elon Musk’s Ego

I began this series admitting I am a believer of Darwin’s theories about Natural Selection. I have written elsewhere, and will repeat that Elon Musk is, in my opinion a child-genius who never grew out of childish ways.

So, you know where I’m going, but I owe you a defense

Elon plans to make humankind inter-planetary to escape our home planet before it does us in. I would argue that the Earth exists without intent and, if we have done ourselves in, it was by the failure to examine the obvious evidence. We-the-jury were lulled into quiescence by all the goodies we invented for ourselves.

That stuff in which we wrap ourselves comes at a price, and we knew the cost, but I’m rambling.

Elon Musk says SpaceX is planning to send a million people to Mars

Hang on now, because he may fire the planners if they don’t suit him. He has a reputation for that. But the announcement aligns, at least for now, with his ambitious space exploration goals. His ego envisions a future where humans have a moon base, Martian cities, and venture out among the stars.

There are, of course, a few practical details to be worked out. Since Mars has less mass than Earth, the surface gravity on Mars is less than that on Earth. It’s only about 38% of the surface gravity on Earth, so if you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you’d weigh only 38 pounds on Mars. But your golf balls would fly further, if you can find a place to play.

Unfortunately, less gravity would play havoc with your guts, as well as the functions of major organs but, what the hell, Elon dreams big. Charles Darwin, were he alive today, would not countenance such interference.

Colonization of Mars would require a wide variety of equipment

Stuff to directly provide services to a million humans and production equipment used to produce food, propellant, water, energy and breathable oxygen. If all goes well, just getting there is estimated to take seven or eight months. There is no estimate for steel, concrete, IKEA kitchens and infrastructure. Let’s see, one million humans would weigh about 150 million pounds at a Space X launch site, not including box lunches. The ‘wide variety of equipment’ is unknowable, but I have a hunch Elon’s ‘planners’ are running some pretty big numbers.

Darwin’s theory does not bode well for moving the family to Mars

But it pales by comparison to the hopelessness of Elon Musk’s plans. If there is hope for the survival of the human species, it lies right here on this lovely planet we inhabit.

To date, our best bet relies upon a study by Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, and Aalborg University in Denmark. This consortium offers several solutions to making clean, renewable energy reliable enough to power at least 139 countries by 2050.

Of course, the boulder in the road is, and always has been, the political will to do what is necessary to sustain the human species

Charles Darwin probably had an opinion on that subject, but so far as is known at the present time, he never shared it. Even so, in any rational cost-benefit comparison, Elon’s plans for Mars are a child’s dream, while the Stanford University consortium’s plan is practical, doable, affordable, and a very Darwinian move in the direction of sustaining homo sapiens.

The Planet has no skin in this game, because we who think we are its protectors have come up short, at least so far. But, if it’s any comfort to you, please don’t fret about the survival of the planet.

It will be just fine…