Mars has water, lots of water

[Embattle]

Its also down to the location of water...drinkable water mainly.

 

[Perplex]

Originally posted by Jas
The human race is going to be like a virus - infesting a host, raping all its resources and then moving onto another.

Ahhh, Matrix, a classic line

 

[Perplex]

Originally posted by MYstIC G
I'd like to know how they're predicting a water shortage & that the water levels are gonna rise.....

a) Exactly as summo said, changing of location of said resources (water) from one area to another

b) Exactly as Summo said, polar icecaps melting, water changing states (in this case from a solid (ice) to a liquid (water))

 

[Perplex]

Originally posted by SomeGuy
Is that being pedantic? :/

Wanna get pedantic? It's arguable that the amount of water on the planet has changed in the past 100 years... because astronauts have taken water out to space with them, drunk it, pissed it out into the toilets up there, and it's been flushed out into space as ice

Now that is pedantic

 

[Summo]

Agreed.

 

[old.Smittins]

Originally posted by Tremor
Anyone read the Andromeda Strain?Yes you are right jas, we are like a virus, the martians won't know whats hit them

amazing book

 

[JohnyWishbone]

Originally posted by Mr.Blackshirt
well now i want to know what they want to bring back from Venus...... air?

What might they bring back from Uranus ?

 

[xane]

Originally posted by Perplex
b) Exactly as Summo said, polar icecaps melting, water changing states (in this case from a solid (ice) to a liquid (water))

Beware the confusion in this, all things considered, the ice that exists as big floating lumps occupies roughly the same volume within the water when frozen as it does when melted. Melting ice will cool down the surrounding water making it contract and stopping further melting. If all the floating ice on the planet were to melt it would simply make the seas a bit colder, but not higher.

Ice contained on ground above sea level _is_ a danger, and it would make seas rise, but then again, recent surveys have revealed the ice caps are actually getting _colder_ not warming up. Remember "global warming" is a theory based on computer models, none of it has really happened yet, the actual survey of world temperature might show average rises, but localised the temperature goes up and down.

The "water shortage" refers to drinking water, and just like the "oil shortage" scares of yesterday, humans always find ways and means to discover and use more resources. Oil has been "running out" since it was in widespread use, even back in 1900 they predicted oil would last another 15 years, in fact, every time they announce a new "oil runs out in x years" the figure gets bigger each time !

There is already a water shortage, 2 million people die each year as a direct result from not having access to clean water supplies, it is a problem that could be so easily solved, yet green politicians are more concerned with clean air for the rich first world than poor starving children in the third.

 

[Embattle]

We are great at saying what we should of done but no so great at saying what we should do.

 

[Summo]

 

[Wij]

If I could be arsed voting I'd do the same

 

[Munkey-]

bet you bloody asylum seekers will try to get there now

 

[FunGas]

Don't forget boys & girls, Mars is only a waypoint. We gotta go further than that...

 

[granny]

Surely the really exciting thing about this water on Mars is the possibility (however remote) of evidence of life being found on Mars now. Without water there's no realistic chance of life being found, staying with the general sensible consensus of carbon-based life here for the moment, don't come out with any sci-fi crap about silicon-based life thanks, but now that we know there's water there, well, it means a tiny tiny chance/hope that life may be or may have once been present there.

As a biologist that's pretty fucking exciting, the discovery of life in any shape or form, even if it was just incontrovertible evidence of prehistoric, long-extinct microbes would be an astonishing addition to our understanding of how life originated in the first place.

 

[xane]

BBC: Manned Mars mission some way off

Follow up story.

Getting to Mars will certainly be much more difficult. The Moon is only three days away; Mars is 300.

And remember, there will be no second chances on Mars. If the crew is relying on technology to manufacture its rocket fuel to get home from the hydrogen and oxygen locked up in the Martian ice then it had better work - first time.

Interesting line of thought that actually supposes we will be continuing to use current H/O rocket technology to get there, the _only_ thing holding us back at present is the objections to using nuclear based rocket engines in space, outlawed by a treaty some time ago.

I'm not a fan of Mr Blair, but his quotes recently claiming that fanatics are "holding back science" rings true. There is a move in scientific circles to stop giving in to the unqualified political prophets doom and gloom, I'd hope we can get this attitude sorted out and research into better forms of space propulsion underway.

 

[Wij]

Won't somebody please think of the children !!!

 

[Mellow-]

Originally posted by FatBusinessman
They already do - they're called biomass generators. Basically you get a pile of cow shit, collect the methane from it, and burn it. Who says geography GCSE is useless?

Now that is cool

 

[mr.Blacky]

Originally posted by Wij
Won't somebody please think of the children !!!

huh in what way? to propel the rockets?

 

[Testin da Cable]

we could use decomposing kids as biomass aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

 

[Mellow-]

Originally posted by granny
don't come out with any sci-fi crap about silicon-based life thanks

Some women have silicon in their jubblies (i think) and I also think that most men would consider that life in itself


Or is that just me?

 

[Wij]

silicon b00bs = teh gh3y !

They always look the same no matter what angle the lady is at. You could break your fingers mashing them around

 

[L_Plates]

Originally posted by Mr.Blackshirt
well now i want to know what they want to bring back from Venus...... air?





TBH i hope its a nice blonde .. green skin would make it different to the usual .. 1 nighter we all have had ..


Ok im sick i know .. but it would be fun