Habitat Contamination - Warning: Rambling Ahead!

Message My expectation has always been that we'll see a broad spectrum of habitat strategies. At one end of the spectrum we'll have habitats which are obsessive about keeping viruses, spores, etc. out of the habitat. Their residentsmay enjoy life without the common coldand some kinds of allergies, but entering such a habitat will always be a trying ordeal, with draconian decontamination procedures comparable to what we saw for the Wildfire lab in the movie Andromeda Strain, along with a lengthy quarantine period. These will probably be habitats that won't see (or desire) a whole lot of traffic in or out. At the other end of the spectrum, we'll have habitats which need or desire rapid and routine entry/exit (perhaps tourism is a significant part of their economy). In those habitats, most everything from Earth will eventually make it in. But the way to look at that is they'll only be no betteror worse offthan we are at present.