Habitat Contamination - Warning: Rambling Ahead!

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 residents may enjoy
life without the common cold and 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 better or
worse off than we are at present.

Regards,

Mike Combs