Re: [FH] Colonisation again (was Re: Sa'Vasku Colours)

G'day Tom,

 >space - and with it the right to capture sunlight - can't really be
 >shared, and is the basic common currency of all life on terran-like
 >worlds, i would guess.

Yeah space is the one resource I think we'd always be competing for in
some 
fashion. One of the planets I've been fiddling with though is actually 
based on chemosynthesis rather than photosynthesis (rather harsh place
as 
you may have guessed) but fun watching how others react to having to
change 
their frames of reference ;)

 >i get the impression that silicon can only do biology at very high
 >temperatures,

Ich, well there goes that idea! Unless of course that in itself left
open 
great swathes of area that that life couldn't exploit.... mmm maybe...

 >i don't think there are any other serious contenders for the basic
element
 >of life,

The "we can only imagine carbon based life, because that's what we are 
catch"... thought maybe the early evolutionary guys may have beaten that

one when I wasn't looking, oh well. Obviously the problems with Si
woiuld 
be compounded for germanium, tin and lead (even ignoring the toxicity 
issues of the later two) right? So lattice wise guess C would be the
best.

 >although i have sometimes wondered about nitrogen-phosphorous
 >chemistry.

That's not a half bad idea. They don't have the same lattice formation 
abilities as C, but they obviously work in a life formation context, so
how 
do their close analogs go, say boron? Mmm wish I knew more biochemistry!

<Settle pre-land life planet>
 >well, apart from our impact on the atmosphere and water cycle, which
might
 >be considerable.

An impact true and potentially a large one, guess it depends on the 
prevailing conditions and how advanced treatment plants etc are by then.

For instance even on Earth if you're a small island nation (say) in a
high 
flow area you could dump untreated human/organic waste straight into the

sea with no noticeable impact as the deposit feeders and physical
dilution 
would see it broken down before it could accumulate, its only when you
get 
high density settlements in low flow areas that the problems really
mount 
up in that area. Ecosystems have a lot of give in them and even when
pushed 
too hard they still function perfectly as an ecosystem just not
necessarily 
the one they used to be (or one that still allows the presence of man), 
guess it would come down to how strongly the public of the time felt
with 
regard to the modification of the evolution of another planet.

Better stop musing and get back to work.

Have fun

Beth

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Elizabeth Fulton
c/o CSIRO Division of Marine Research
GPO Box 1538
HOBART
TASMANIA 7001
AUSTRALIA
Phone (03) 6232 5018 International +61 3 6232 5018
Fax 03 6232 5053 International +61 3 6232 5053

email: beth.fulton@marine.csiro.au