Musings on the ripening of new possibilities and whether or not we are ready for them

Listening to NPR last night, I learned about a sweet new section or "habitable zone" of the universe that has planets similar to Earth in size and distance from their stars. These planets, although their density is not known, possibly receive the right amount of "energy" which translates to heat creating the right termperature to support life. Tom Ashbrook questioned weather this makes our planet less "special."

Thinking about this made me realize how "special" our home really is. Yes there may be 10-40 billion more planets around 12 light years away that possibly have some form of life(and this new habitable zone is just a small part of our vast universe that we have had a chance to somewhat observe,)but to me that doesnt make Earth less "special," but more. We have a moon, and a view of the Milky Way that is no doubt like no other.

Not to say that other planets will not have a beautiful view. And It is fascinating to speculate what forms life could take on other planets. Someone did call in to question if liquid water was needed to support life or if we would recognize life if it came in a form supported by another liquid. I have always wondered if life exists that we cannot see with our eyes or instruments. Tom Ashbrook wanted to know if "they" were out there mowing their lawns. I am sure some minds try to visualize what these alien neighbors could look like.

 I wondered if these potential beings were peaceful or whether they fight over their precious resources and want to conquer other lands, and planets as we do. One caller called in to ask if this meant we were looking for an exit plan since we are destroying this planet. I have always thought that we need to learn to live here without destroying our environment, other species and each other before we travel to and probably do the same to wherever we find to go. Why is it acceptable that we proceed to eradicate the possibility of life on one planet while looking for others that support life? And why if another could support life wouldn't there already be life there? And why then is it justifiable to expect it to be our "exit plan?" Have we not learned anything from our invasions of other continents here on Earth? The scientist whose team discovered the possibility for life elsewhere put it more eloquently. "My personal opinion is that we need to resolve our differences here before we...(send our 'offspring' to search for other opportunities.") Thank you. Since we cant venture off to explore these places yet because at this point they are millions of years travel time away from us, maybe we have time to learn a few more skills in diplomacy, and work on sustaining ourselves without rendering our current home uninhabitable and losing our unique perspective...

 No matter how many billions of other lifeforms are living in this universe with us there is only one Earth and the more I walk amongst its beauty the more respect I have for the intelligence of its Nature...

and the more I wonder how giving in to greed ignorance and fear could be worth even the possibility of its destruction...

and why do we not believe in the value of each life or conceive that extinction of any creature may possibly lead to our own.