BEYOND SPACESHIP EARTH – Environment Ethics and the Solar System, Edited by Eugene C. Hargrove, Sierra Club Books, 1986, ISBN 0-9626807-1-0, 353p, hardcover: $14.95

It is now thirty years since the launching of Sputnik marked the dawn of the Space Age. Yet, diverted by the drama of Earth-bound humans struggling against the laws imposed on them by nature and on the technical magic that has enabled them to overcome their limitations, astoundingly little attention has been paid to the ethical issues concerning the space program and the environmental issues related to the Solar System as a whole. In Beyond Spaceship Earth, Eugene C. Hargrove, the founder and editor of the journal Environmental Ethics, bring together the works of experts from government, the aerospace industry, and academia to inquire into the social, political, scientific and technological questions related to man’s exploration of space.

The contributors to this landmark study-including experts from NASA and NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), engineers, ecologists, philosophers, and medical and legal authorities-consider a broad range of topics, including the implications of space exploration for the human psyche; practical considerations of space settlement; the increasing load of Earth-orbital debris; problems associated with mining and industrializing other celestial bodies; moral considerations related to the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life; an interpretation of the theological implications of space exploration; and the political consequences of the utilization of space. Finally former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk sharply criticizes the “Star Wars” defense system, and explains the dangers it poses to political stability and the continuation of life itself on planet Earth.

Should strip mining be permitted on the moon? Is it wrong to alter the atmospheres of Mars and Venus to make them hospitable to human life? Should technological disasters like nuclear meltdowns be simulated on another planet? If we make contact with extraterrestrial life, how should our interactions be governed? Indeed, will the future in space resemble the antiseptic environment depicted in 2001 or will more closely approach the ark visions of Blade Runner or Outland? The contributors to this provocative collection of essays reveal that we are close to deciding, or even understanding, the moral and ethical issues raised by exploration and interaction with Solar System. Moreover, in interpreting the myriad issues raised by challenging the ultimate frontier, concerned environmentalists and ethicists themselves face potentially divisive concerns; should celestial resources be judiciously exploited or carefully protected?

Soon, mere technical obstacles will no longer restrain humans from leaving Earth to colonize other planets, moon and asteroids. Yet, as this important book makes clear, if we mistreat the fragile ecology of space, we could create an environmental crisis that dwarfs the one we now face.

CONTENTS

Beyond Spaceship Earth – Eugene C. Hargrove, editor of Environmental Ethics

The Arguments Against Space Exploration – David Brin, novelist and consultant to the California Space Institute, University of California

Space and Society – T. Stephen Cheston, Geostar Corporation

Earth Orbital Pollution – Donald J. Kessler, Johnson Space Center

The Commercial/Industrial Uses of Space – Radford Byerly, Jr. Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications, U.S. House of Representatives

The Exploration and Utilization of the Planets – Geoffrey A. Briggs, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Space Exploration and Environmental Issues – William K. Hartmann, Planetary Science Institute

The Preservation of Natural Value in the Solar System – Holmes Rolston III, Colorado State University

Wilderness and Space – Paul E. Uhlir, National Academy of Sciences, and William P. Bishop, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Environmental Ethics and Extraterrestrial Ecosystems – Frank B. Golley, University of Georgia

Moral Considerability and Extraterrestrial Life – J.Baird Callicott, University of Wisconsin

The Social and Physical Environment of Space Stations and Colonies – Paul C. Rambaut, National Institutes of Health

Consent to Risk in Space – Norman Daniels, Tufts University

Theology and Space – John B. Cobbs, Jr., Claremont School of Theology

Star Wars: The Nuclear/Military Uses of Space – Dean Rusk, University of Georgia, former U.S. Secretary of State