What To Do With Our Moon?
October 2020 Editorial
www.ink2quill.com

What do we do with our Moon? Now that is a big question. Assuming we´re smart enough to realize that the Moon is not a good place for the theater of war the possibilities are indeed endless. So, let´s give this question a ponder.

Firstly, is the challenge of building cities or towns on the Moon. I don´t believe energy would be an issue if we did things like set up solar arrays which would harness energy from the Sun. Solar energy if used from space by means of arrays might actually be a very profitable venture with very good returns since the arrays would not be muffled by the Earth´s atmosphere. We could also set up types of wind farms that would harness the power of solar winds and that might be a very lucrative industry also. Furthermore, means of communication like the internet and Earth to Moon trade is another possibly lucrative venture.

We could have tourism, university and corporate internships of all kinds from the technical and scientific to the astro-biological and astro-botanical. Yes, because growing anything or raising livestock in that different environment would probably require a different manual than what we have here on Earth. I don´t doubt that diets might be different but that does not mean we would not need restaurants, cafes, bars and all other places people go to have fun. I could even see seedy places like casinos with neon lights dotting a strip of the Moon.

Imagine renting a ship to fly around the Earth and then take a hike on the far side of the Moon? Or take a cruise on a ship that regularly travels back and forth from the Earth and Moon like the gambling ship that goes from Sweden to Finland.

Imagine the types of scientific projects corporations, governments, private citizens and quacks of all kinds could have? There´s a Canadian bloggar and insect enthusiast who claims to be preparing an ant colony for space. He swears that with a good food source and water supply they could do better than people. That doesn´t seem as crazy a project as it did a few months ago. More power to him.

Another thing to consider is the need for things like hospitals, fire departments, customs enforcement, political bodies and all those other services we take for granted in society. Because communities away from Earth will still have a lot of the problems that communities on Earth do.

One very important thing to consider which is more important than money or internet or even normal gravity is water. Yes, water. A new colony would have to find ways of managing its water. That means sewage, drinking water and the recycling of it all. That is the single most important thing for any budding colony in space to thrive. Without answering that question a colony will fail no matter how much resources and people are poured into it.

So, let´s get our heads screwed on correctly and our priorities straight. We must first not allow warfare to engulf our only Moon and next, we must set up a proper management system of the water supply. From there the colony can be left to thrive organically and we can push out further into space.

Imagine a city as large and vibrant as New York City on the Moon. Imagine that.

John

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