Water on Mars

Did you hear they'd discovered huge amounts of water on Mars? Buried in all the news of yesterday was that tiny item, that the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter had found a stash of ice at one of the poles about 11 kilometers deep--a resource that would cover the entire planet, if unfrozen, with thirty-six feet of water! I predict that over the course of the centuries to come--assuming that there are some for us Earthlings--this discovery will prove more important to the history of humankind that all of the disasters cooked up by our current president.



We know the story of how life as we know it crawled out of the water--at least those of us who don't believe that God created the world and all its creatures in a single week six thousand years ago. We also know that all life forms (is that true--all?) depend on water. But I'm thinking more about the future, when our species might well need that water for its own extraterrestrial survival. When we bolt the hole we have polluted beyond habitability, will we be seeking other places to despoil? Knowing us, I think we might. And all that Martian water could certainly come in handy.

That's all for today. Back to the taxes. Have a good weekend, all!