{"product_id":"terraforming-the-creating-of-habitable-worlds-9781493939145","title":"Terraforming: The Creating of Habitable Worlds","description":"The word ''terraforming'' conjures up many exotic images and p- hapsevenwildemotions, butatitscoreitencapsulatestheideathat worldscanbechangedbydirecthumanaction.Theultimateaimof terraforming is to alter a hostile planetary environment into one that is Earth-like, and eventually upon the surface of the new and vibrant world that you or I could walk freely about and explore. It is not entirely clear that this high goal of terraforming can ever be achieved, however, and consequently throughout much of thisbooktheterraformingideasthatarediscussedwillapplytothe goal of making just some fraction of a world habitable. In other cases, theterraformingdescribedmightbeaimedatmakingaworld habitablenotforhumansbutforsomepotentialfoodsourcethat, of course, could be consumed by humans. The many icy moons that reside within the Solar System, for example, may never be ideal locationsforhumanhabitation, buttheypresentthegreatpotential for conversion into enormous hydroponic food-producing centers. The idea of transforming alien worlds has long been a literary backdrop for science fiction writers, and many a make-believe planet has succumbed to the actions of direct manipulation and the indomitable grinding of colossal machines. Indeed, there is something both liberating and humbling about the notion of tra- forming another world; it is the quintessential eucatastrophy espoused by J. R. R. Tolkien, the catastrophe that ultimately brings about a better world. When oxygen was first copiously produced by cyanobacterial activity on the Earth some three billion years ago, it was an act of extreme chemical pollution and a eucatastrophy. The original life-nurturing atmosphere was (eventually) changed f- ever, but an atmosphere that could support advanced life forms came about.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Springer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/23\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781493939145\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 291\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.94lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.64d","brand":"Martin Beech","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44391879639221,"sku":"9781493939145","price":32.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_59a555e7-06de-4ed0-a4aa-5ef54615645c.jpg?v=1719949072","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/terraforming-the-creating-of-habitable-worlds-9781493939145","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}