[Wilhelm Tell]

I knew it. The "environmentalists" are against taking a dead or virtually dead planet like Mars and restoring it to life. If no microbes are found on Mars, the environmental extremists will argue that man ought not harm the "purity" of the lifeless dirt. What animates the environmental extremists is a hatred of mankind.

[samtheman]

I knew it. The "environmentalists" are against taking a dead or virtually dead planet like Mars and restoring it to life. If no microbes are found on Mars, the environmental extremists will argue that man ought not harm the "purity" of the lifeless dirt. What animates the environmental extremists is a hatred of mankind.

The novel Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robin predicts exactly what you describe. Terrorist environmentalists killing settlers in order to save the "purity of red sand".

[hopespringseternal]

It isn't called the culture of death for nothing.

[Wonder Warthog]

"...the environmental extremists will argue that man ought not harm the "purity" of the lifeless dirt."

Actually, they are ALREADY arguing that way about the Moon.

[GregoryFul]

The "environmentalists" should be made aware that if we terraform Mars, we could potentially save millions of earthly species from extinction due to some stray asteroid hitting earth, or some gigantic volcanic event, or even global warming, ice age, etc. Maybe they would go for the idea!