RE: Latest Nations/States/Organizations document

At 16:05 22/04/98 +0100, you wrote:
>On Wednesday, April 22, 1998 2:56 PM, Peter Mancini
[SMTP:Peter_Mancini@onesource.com] wrote:
>> That sounds good.  I always laugh when I hear a planet described by
as
>> having a single environment like "Ice World" or "Desert World"!
>
>In the case of Europa though its true. But its a bit of a cliche I
admit.
Looking
>at our own solar system though quite a few of the solid planetary
bodies
seem to have a
>very pretty uniform environment. Mars - cold desert, The Moon - airless
desert, Venus - hot C02 
>inferno. Only good ol earth has decent environmental range.
>
>>I think you overestimate their fearful reputation a but, but perhaps
that
is reflective
>> of their national pride.
>
>I see them as being the cold version of the fremen (as in Dune)
>
>tim jones

I think our multiple environment types are largely due to the large
amounts
of water lying about on the surface (oceans) and in the atmosphere,
allowing
large heat transfers from place to place and temporarily (on a
geological
scale) isolating particular regions.  I should think that an Earth-like
planet on the way to becoming Venus-like might spend a long time (human
scale) as jungle-world, or a Mars-type planet might spend a long time as
a
habitable (by specialists) desert world. 

cheers
Rob

"Rob Paul

Dept of Zoology
Oxford University
South Parks Road
Oxford
(01865) 271124
----------------------------------------------
"Once again, villainy is rotting meat 
before the maggots of justice!"
"