Does This Worry Anyone Else?
Just gotta hand it to those communists - always thinking ahead. Take for instance Red China's plan to mine the moon:
By 2010, China hopes, in the words of its chief space scientist, Ouyang Ziyuan, to "set up a base on the moon and mine its riches for the benefit of humanity." Since China's entire space program is controlled by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), it is unlikely that humanity's benefit is high on China's agenda. As Lt.-Gen. Edward Anderson, the deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command, has put it: "It will not be long before space becomes a battleground."
Now, set aside for just one moment the political ramifications of such interplanetary intentions. They're gonna do WHAT to the moon???
Let's see...one of the 76 (or so) factors that enable life
to exist on Earth is the fact that we have one (1) moon, and the fact that it is as dense as it is, resulting in it having the orbit that it does. So what happens when we mine the moon? We cut holes, dig tunnels, and empty the core of its
dense materials. So then what? Well, let me forward a semi-educated guess:
The Earth would be so affected by the change in gravitational pull that the oceans would lose their regular tide schedules. This would probably lead to mass flooding of our continents by our oceans (re: widespread death). The Earth's orbit is very precise, and rather precarious. If we're just a bit off-kilter, then we'll either fly further away from the sun (ie. we get REALLY cold) or we fly further toward the sun (ie. we get REALLY hot). Neither movement is a good thing, and both (besides destroying the planet as we know it) will result in the deaths of most every living thing.
What is one of the major gravitational forces keeping us in just the right orbit around the sun? That's right - the moon, and its perfect density.
So why don't I find the communists' desire to destroy the Earth surprising?
Solidaridad
