New Earth? We'd just end up polluting it

The discovery of a Goldilocks planet known as Gliese 581g, a mere 20 light years from Earth, has occasioned much excitement among scientists.

The planet, which is found in the Libra constellation orbits a low-energy dwarf star called Gliese 581 and is called a Goldilocks planet because it is roughly the size of Earth and is situated not too close to, nor too far from, its sun making life possible. So its distance is just right which is why it’s called Goldilocks because it is like the fairytale character who found the bed and porridge which were just right.

At a mere 120 trillion miles away from Earth, in space terms it’s almost like a next-door neighbour of key interest to researchers looking either for existing (and possibly intelligent) life or for future homes for the human race.

The fact it lies in a Goldilocks zone means that it could contain liquid water and its size means it’s neither too big nor too small for the proper surface, gravity and atmosphere. Thought there have been many sightings of Goldilocks planets in the past, which turned out to be dud, this time scientists believe they have the right one.

There are, however, many unanswered questions about the planet. It is around three times the mass of Earth, slightly larger in width and much closer to its star; 14 million miles away versus our 93 million from the sun. Because of its proximity to the star it orbits every 37 days and doesn’t rotate much leaving one side almost always bright, the other dark. Its temperatures are believed to vary between 160 degrees and 25 degrees below zero.

Scientists, however, believe that between the extremes in permanent sunlight lies a mild habitable zone which would be perfect for human beings. Unfortunately scientists don’t know whether water actually exists on the planet or the type of atmosphere it has but seeing as though conditions are ideal for liquid water they believe there is a 100% chance of life being found on the planet.

Gliese 581g was co-discovered by R Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Penn State University’s Jim Kasting, Steven Vogt of the University of California at Santa Cruz and two other astronomers whose findings were published in Astrophysical Journal and announced by the National Science Foundation.

The problem, for me, is that should humans ever achieve the speed of light and start populating the planet they would invariably begin the same process of destroying it as they are doing with the Earth.

How long would it take to start the first conflicts over water, nuclear weapons programmes or anything else we seem to trump up rather than trying to find solutions. If we spent a fraction of what we do on wiping each other out on research, many of our problems would have solutions.

Of course as far as the environment is concerned we tend to simply expand regardless of what impact it has on any species but our own. So no doubt those would soon be dying out after we arrive.

And undoubtedly there would soon be a United Nations on Gliese 581g where everyone would waffle while those with the biggest weapons would carry on in the same old way regardless, while those with the smallest would land up living on the dark side and depending on the big guns for hand-outs.

Pollution and contamination of most of the planet would probably be a priority for the corporates and new religions would spring up all over the planet. Anyone who has to live with humans can only start praying for a greater good.

Then there would be those who don’t get their own way blowing up everyone and everything as if it ever achieved anything other than killing the most defenceless.

The original inhabitants of that planet would land up living in reserves being told how lucky they are because if humans hadn’t arrived to show them how to murder, pollute and destroy themselves they’d still be savages.

Makes you drink, doesn’t it?