"The disappearance of our planet is still 7.5 billion years away, but
people really should consider the fate of our world and have a
realistic understanding of where we are going. We live in a fabulous place at a fabulous time. It's
a healthy thing for people to realize what a treasure this is in space
and time, and fully appreciate and protect their environment as much as
possible."
In "The Life and Death of Planet Earth," Brownlee and UW
paleontologist Peter Ward use current scientific understanding of
planets and stars, as well as the parameters of life, to provide a
glimpse of the second half of life on Earth and what comes after.
"If we do
begin to slide into the next glacial cycle, there probably are grand,
planetary-scale engineering projects that might stop or lessen the
effects," Ward said.
The big unknowns are whether we can afford
to do such projects and would we really know what to do
clipped from: www.dailygalaxy.com 