Wednesday, December 7, 2011

I'm moving to Kepler 22b


Rumor has it that after years of combing outer space looking for Earth's long lost siblings, NASA has finally stumbled upon a new planet that they say could be just right for life. This planet, which is referred to as Kepler-22b, is within what they refer to as the "Goldilocks Zone," which is the band of distance away from a star which could allow for liquid water.* Kepler-22b circles a star much like our sun, has a year of 290 days and has a temperature of about 72 degrees... sounds like Los Angeles. And I have some questions about this:

1. Are humans going to rush into inhabiting and then, quickly, deplete it of all of its resources and trash it like a bad frat party the way we did with Earth?
2. Is there going to be some kind of lottery for the lucky few who get to go and start a new life on Kepler 22b like in the movie, Another Earth?
3. Can I have in because I would like to go.

It's funny, all these movies are coming out lately about another Earth being seen and a planet set to collide with Earth and the imaginings of what could happen if this were a reality. And now it is. My father has always told me, since I was very little, that science fiction is just getting us ready for reality. When he was very little, before man ever went to the moon, my father watched Buck Rogers and never in a million years thought that this science fiction show would ever be something that he would witness in his lifetime. And here we are, just a few short years later, finding out that NASA is looking, no, racing, to find another planet that could be right for life (because we done fucked this one all up and need to start again) and they've found one.

I have a vision of what needs to go down in order to restore justice in the world and for Earth to have a chance to purge itself of all of the garbage it has had to endure for as long as humans have discovered how to play with fire. Here's what that vision might look like, as it plays out in my mind:

There is a highly intelligent system for choosing people who get to start a society on the Kepler-22b. These people who get to go are forward thinking, noble, and driven toward sustainable living. They have a working knowledge of how to live with a light footprint and in an eco-friendly way. These people who get to start the new society understand that everyone needs to live within their means and work with what foods are available and in season and there is NO factory farming and no large corporations belching out chemicals into the land around them. People will go back to a simple way of life and not compromise our health for ease and comfort, nor will we compromise the happiness of the world in which we live. We would instill that value in everyone who lives on this Kepler-22b.

All people who work as a higher up for a corporation or in some way screws the environment and compromises the well-being of other humans for a shit-load of cash must stay on this Earth in which they have screwed. Bye-Bye, heartless, soul-sucking assholes! I'll see you in HELL!

Around the time that all the forward-thinking people who care will be put upon a rocket ship that is environmentally sound and doesn't rip apart the ozone layer or contribute to smog or pollution in any way. Once all us smarties who care are safely up in this new world (and yes, I put myself in this category) creating our own personal Utopia, the Earth will exact its plan of vengeance. An ice age will begin. In order to replenish itself, the Earth will have to spend a long time under ice. And somehow, the Earth will win.

Wouldn't that be nice? This is what I'm picturing.

Do you think if I proposed this plan in a letter to President Obama, he'd go for it?

*http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nasa-finds-new-planet-kepler-22b-outside-solar-system-with-temperature-right-for-life/2011/12/07/gIQAPfzFdO_story.html

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I love this! Love love LOVE!!!