Paraterraforming vs. terraforming the Moon and Mars

Combs, Mike wrote:

> > Post-terrestrial mean post-human.
>
> Maybe. Maybe not. The plasma portion of our blood is very much like
> ocean water. Once biochemistry evolved to function in seawater, moving
> up to the land meant either starting all over again from scratch, or
> just carrying a bit of the ocean along with us.
>
> Maybe space colonization will be like that.

Could be.

I'm sure it's become apparent by now that I fully expect mind uploading
to happen sometime in this century -- quite possibly before we have any
large O'Neill-style space colonies.

But the future is always difficult to see, and I think it prudent to
pursue many different paths of advancement. That means, in our case,
that we should continue to pursue O'Neill style colonies on the
assumption that our biological requirements will be pretty much exactly
what they are now.

If in fact those requirements are reduced or go away, then our
engineering options will expand. But until that happens, we should
assume and plan for pure 20th-century human colonists. We certainly CAN
build colonies for such folk, and that's a very important point. Space
colonization can be done independent of any revolutionary medical or
biotech. So, when making our case, we don't need to (and should not)
bring in any more assumptions the listener may question.

Indeed, if we don't develop radical biotech, we need space colonization
all the more -- it's the only long-term way to ensure survival of humanity.

That's why I'm here, and why I support space colonization in the O'Neill
style, even though I suspect it may prove mostly moot in the long term.

Best,
- Joe