Guest:  Dr. David Grinspoon;  Topics:  Running or managing Earth, challenges, learning from space exploration, exoplanets, planetary exploration and more.  Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com.   Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.   

We welcomed Dr. David Grinspoon to the program to discuss his new book, "Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet's Future," plus running and managing Earth while learning from space and planetary exploration.  During the longer first segment of our 95 minute discussion, we mostly talked about different ways of looking at how we humans manage or run planet Earth.  Dr. Grinspoon explained how exploring other planets, looking for life off Earth, studying exoplanets and more help us in learning how to better run our own Earth.  He talked about human history over time, many of the challenges we have ahead, and why it was important to take the long term view, even out to 10,000 years.  Another topic was Earth consciousness and wondering if our planet was alive.

Some of the issues discussed by our guest included managing Earth's climate, over time evolving to a different energy source instead of fossil fuels plus evolving in behavior, responsibility, and our on the job training as well as learning on the road (a term used in an email question from B John) as we continue to undertake planetary and space exploration.  I asked Dr. Grinspoon why we did not have unlimited budgets given the importance of planetary and space exploration as he stated.  Don't miss his response to my unlimited budget question.

Dr. Grinspoon fielded several questions about alien life and was there ET life out there someplace in the solar system.   Our guest thought there probably was but did not think it would be found on Mars.  He talked about other likely spots such as Titan and those with an interior ocean including Europa &Enceladus, and possibly even in the clouds of Venus.  This was an interesting min-discussion so don't miss it. 

We started the second segment with a call from Kim in Mexico.  Kim talked about exoplanets, learning about Earth form other planets and more.  Our guest talked about seeing Earth from out in space looking back at us. We talked about looking for possible life signs and what they might be if we looked at Earth from several light years away.  I asked a question about this, misspoke about the distance of Proxima B to Earth but in the end, Dr. Greenspoon said there would likely not be many changes even several hundred lights out when looking back at Earth.  This was a fascinating discussion so don't miss it.  Looking for atmospheric and bio markers for life instead of radio signals shows promise and we might hear more about this in coming years. 

Dr. Greenspoon then took us into a discussion about SETI.  Listeners and I asked about radio signal searching which dovetailed into what we started talking about with Kim.  Our guest said that we hardly begun SETI like searches so it was way too soon to say that we have struck out searching for ET radio signals.  He also said that civilizations that had survived their challenges with advanced technology over time may have decided to stay silent, another reason to search for atmospheric markers.  Our SETI discussion was very interesting, another one you do not want to miss.  Also, don't miss what our guest said would constitute atmospheric and bio markets to look for as signs of life on a planet.  Our discussion about sustainable civilizations as you will hear was absolutely applicable to us here on Earth. 

As we neared the end of our program, we talked about expanding our view to the 10,000 year view he mentions in his book.  He talked about collectively humans having to answer such questions as what role we might play in running Earth?  What kind of world do we want and what do we do about external threats such as asteroid impacts.  Do we establish a serious planetary protection plan?  He talked about humans needing to answer the questions about being up to all of this and more as we evolve in our capacity to run and manage Earth. 

We took a final last call from Kim, this time asking about the 10,000 year vision and how you actually sell and market such a long term vision to the people.  She suggested it might be very hard to involve people in a view that goes out that far in the future.  Our guest talked about changing our mindset and more.

Please post your comments/questions for Dr. Grinspoon on TSS blog.  You can reach our guest through his website, http://funkyscience.net.  I do recommend you buy his book.  If you do so through Amazon, please remember to do so though the OGLF/Space Show portal or Amazon programs.  You can find out more about these programs and get the links on our home page or send me a note and I will help you do it.