How about a new super earth that is 42 light years away? Well, if we don’t stop destroying our own planet, we may have to jump to the new super-Earth, GJ 1214b, a watery planet that has been spotted by astronomers and scientists. It is said to have a very large, hot and deep ocean. The estimated temperature of the water in that ocean is 370 degrees Fahrenheit. Not even our most robust inhabitants of deep-sea volcanic vents can tolerate water at such high temperatures. Our deep sea microbes can only tolerate temperatures of 284 degrees Fahrenheit according to sources. The gas components of GJ 1214b are hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, magnesium, oxygen and carbon dioxide (David Charbonneau, astronomer – Harvard University).
As a result of the gases mentioned above, scientists surmise that the new super-Earth could support life. Although the way of life would be very different from what we are used to seeing. Any life form that can tolerate temperatures of 370 degrees will have to be very different from what we are used to seeing.
People in the scientific community and the blogosphere are talking so much about this new super earth that bloggers are encouraging their readers to think of a better name for the watery planet. Suggested names range from “Oceanus” to “Megasea” (Wiredscience).
We are destroying our land so rapidly that we might as well start looking for another habitat elsewhere in our solar system. GJ 1214b could be a great place to start. All it would take is a heat resistant suit!
Speaking of Earth’s destruction, large chunks of icebergs are breaking off from Antarctica and ending up off the coast of Australia as we speak (AFP). These chunks of icebergs are as big as islands. Obviously, they will eventually break up and dissolve as soon as they reach increasingly warmer waters. This raises a big question. Where does this extra water go? It definitely won’t end up in the backyard pool for sure!
The sad truth is that this extra water from melting icebergs will end up in low-lying areas of the world, causing beaches and land to disappear. This was the case in a fishing village off the coast of India. This area of the world was just another normal place for people to live and fish. However, a phenomenon began to happen, year after year. When it rained, the area was flooded. However, this was not a normal flood because the flood waters did not recede as normal flood waters normally do; the waters of the deluge lingered and lingered. Now the town is largely under water. The areas that are not underwater are so isolated that the natives have to use boats to get around. Most of the town has been totally united to the sea.
To make matters worse, divers from India and England recently made a startling discovery based on accounts from local fishermen and an ancient Indian legend, the Seven Pagodas. The Legend told of a sunken city that was once very beautiful. The divers discovered that such Myth was very true. They made the dive and discovered the lost city underwater. They knew it was the lost city that Legend mentions because it had many man-made artifacts. In fact, it was found in the same place as the Myth described.
In fact, in ancient times there was an Indian city called Pagodas. The Legend said that this city was a beautiful city, and had six temples. Indian myth suggests that the city was so beautiful that the gods became jealous and sent a great flood and washed it away in one day (BBC). The fishing village off the coast of India and the Legend of the Pagodas come to life can be used as an example of what could happen to most of our cities if we are not careful.
As human beings and inhabitants of planet Earth, we have a responsibility to ourselves and our children’s children to do everything possible to preserve our planet. We should stop using fossil fuels and use alternative ways to power our world. Several studies have shown the negative effects of using fossil fuels. Its use produces greenhouse gases that destroy our ozone, the protective layer of gases that protects us from the sun’s harmful radiation. Not only that, every time crude oil is extracted or pumped from a hole in the ground, the hole is filled with water to take up the space of the extracted oil.
In effect, we are putting more water into the ground than we should not have been putting. No wonder when it rains a little in certain places it floods very easily because the ground is already full of water in those places, a possible consequence that could become a bigger problem if we continue to drill for oil. Wherever water is too abundant, it will travel to an area that has little or no water, thus spreading the water to places under the Earth that have never had water before.
The destruction of the Earth’s ozone makes our planet warmer. This is the reason why we are experiencing such hot summers all over the world. People are falling victim to heat-related illnesses now more than ever. We are experiencing more floods, tsunamis and earthquakes on a regular basis. Increasing heat on Earth is melting Antarctica’s ice caps, causing large, island-sized chunks of ice to float to places on Earth like never before. When are we finally going to get the message?
We have the technology that can help us produce fuel from sources other than fossil fuels. We are simply reluctant to use them. Why are we so reluctant? We can send human beings into space, but we cannot devise another way to produce fuel. This doesn’t make much sense at all! Many discoveries have been made of alternative means of running our engines and machinery. So why aren’t they used on a larger scale?
We may be reluctant to use available technology to produce alternative means of fuel because of the money. People operating in certain sectors of our society would lose money if we drastically switched to another form of fuel. Money is the root of all evil good and bad. Without it we cannot survive and with it we are destroying ourselves.
If we don’t find another way to feed our world, we will destroy our planet. It will become another planet, one that we will not be able to tolerate and that will cause us to mutate into other forms of life. Our only alternative would be to find another planet to live on while Earth is in its last stages. As we have noted so far with all of our astronomical discoveries, none of these so-called super-Earths have come close to being as hospitable as Mother Earth. This is to show us that we must do everything we can to protect it from destruction or else we will have no chance of survival.
