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" Mars does not belong to 'America,' nor to Earth, nor to human beings. "
David Grinspoon
America
Belong
Earth
Related Quotes:
" Astrobiology is a great point of contact for science outreach. The public is naturally interested in extra-terrestrial life. Astrobiology provides an accessible point of access that leads to deeper questions. "
David Grinspoon
Questions
Point
Great
" Time and time again, our species has escaped existential threats by reinventing ourselves, finding new skills not coded in our genes to survive new challenges not previously encountered. "
David Grinspoon
New
Challenges
Finding
" We don't know that Venus had oceans, but there's every reason to believe it did. "
David Grinspoon
Know
Reason
Venus
" Among the radio astronomers of SETI - the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - it's only sort-of a joke that the true hallmark of intelligent life is the creation of radio astronomy. "
David Grinspoon
Intelligence
True
Search
" Radiation is one of the important factors in evolution. It causes mutation, and some level of mutation is actually good for evolution. "
David Grinspoon
Important
Evolution
Good
" I will defend the NASA Earth Science Division with everything I've got. "
David Grinspoon
Earth
Division
Science
" Now, humans have become a dominant force of planetary change and, thus, we may have entered an eon of post-biological evolution in which cognitive systems have gained a powerful influence on the planet. "
David Grinspoon
Change
Evolution
Influence
" Responsible global behaviour is ultimately an act of self-preservation of, by, and for the global beast that modern technological humanity has become. "
David Grinspoon
Become
Technological
Beast
" I think chemists always think they know more than they know, because nature has a lot of possible pathways it can try. "
David Grinspoon
Try
Always
Know
" Humans are possessed, to some degree, with the power of foresight. Yet we so often learn things the hard way, through disaster. "
David Grinspoon
Disaster
Some
Way
" In my Ph.D. thesis, written in 1989, I discussed the fact that when a civilization develops the technology to prevent catastrophic asteroid impacts, it marks a significant moment in the evolution of the planet. "
David Grinspoon
Technology
Fact
Evolution
" Through space-based climate studies, my colleagues and I have learned that a stable and comfortable climate is not something to take for granted. "
David Grinspoon
Take For Granted
Colleagues
Through
" As long as we can imagine a better path, of course we are obligated to seek it. This is why unwarranted pessimism about our future is actually irresponsible. "
David Grinspoon
Better
Why
Path
" Whenever I see a nighttime picture of Earth from space, with its glowing lights, I am stirred by its beauty. "
David Grinspoon
I Am
Beauty
Space
" Ever since the environmental movement was sparked by photos of the whole Earth taken by astronauts onboard Apollo Lunar Modules, I've seen planetary exploration as an extension of a reverence and care for Earth. "
David Grinspoon
Exploration
Environmental
Earth
" I'd like to jump a couple hundred years into the future and work with the scientists who are getting back the first information from our probes to planets orbiting nearby stars. "
David Grinspoon
Stars
Future
Work
" There are other planets besides the Earth and Mars. I'd like to remind you that studying Venus is vital to understanding life elsewhere. "
David Grinspoon
You
Understanding
Life
" Titan has rivers and lakes of liquid methane and ethane, methane weather systems of clouds and storms that mirror Earth's hydrologic cycle, and seasonal cycles that rival Earth's in complexity. "
David Grinspoon
Mirror
Storms
Clouds
" As a kid, I became a total SF geek. It started in the 5th grade with Asimov's 'Lucky Starr' series of what would now be called 'young adult' novels of adventures in the solar system. "
David Grinspoon
Young
Now
Solar
" We need visions of a future in which we have applied our infinite creativity to the task of living on a finite world, where we have embraced our role, become comfortable and proficient as planet-shapers, and learned to use our technological skills to enhance the survival prospects not just of humanity but of all life on Earth. "
David Grinspoon
Earth
Creativity
Future
" If we gutted NASA Earth Science, it wouldn't be NOAA or some other agency that would take the lead. It would be the Chinese and the Europeans and the Japanese. "
David Grinspoon
Lead
Science
NASA
" I think Pluto has to be considered among the places in the solar system that are possible homes for life. "
David Grinspoon
Places
Think
Solar
" Certainly for me, as an astrobiologist, science fiction has played an important role. One of the quandaries of our field is that we are trying to study and search for something - life - that we can't define in a rigorous way. We only have one example of a biosphere, so we can't really give a good definition. "
David Grinspoon
Life
Good
Trying
" Our most valuable resources - creativity, communication, invention, and reinvention - are, in fact, unlimited. "
David Grinspoon
Communication
Creativity
Invention
" There was a long history of people believing there was life on Venus. It was about the same size as Earth. It had clouds. It was commonly believed it was tropical - wet, hot and steamy. "
David Grinspoon
Life
Hot
History
" We're pretty sure there's plenty of organic material on Pluto. The atmosphere is largely methane, and in sunlight, methane builds organic molecules. We see reddish stuff on the surface that we think is organic material. "
David Grinspoon
See
Pretty
Sunlight
" It turns out one of my dad's best friends was Carl Sagan when I was little. They were both Harvard professors. "
David Grinspoon
Dad
Out
Little
" My high-school friends and I felt part of a community of smart, forward-looking space and technology freaks. "
David Grinspoon
Community
Smart
Space
" It's OK to pursue speculative ideas because we don't want to be too cozy and safe and assume that we know everything about life in the universe. However, we have to be rigorous and careful and honest and logical and scientifically meticulous when we speculate. "
David Grinspoon
Universe
Want
Ideas
" There is a real danger of unintended consequences, of encouraging people to give up. Pessimism, if it becomes a habit, can reinforce a narrative of unstoppable decline. If there is nothing we can do, that releases us from our obligations. "
David Grinspoon
Nothing
People
Consequences