To: Alex Kelly, Biologist
From: Scientists Against Space (SAS)
Re: P-L5
We are at a profound crossroads in our history as a species. With the current push to move populations off Earth and into surrounding planets, our galaxy has been thrown off and polluted as never before. Not only is colonization a risk to us, but to th e planets and ecosystems we invade. P-L5 is a prime example of this crisis. Against the advice of our scientists, the planet was "adjusted," polluted and colonized. Oxygen levels were rapidly increased, the very chemical concentrations of its once beautiful seas were changed and foreign organisms were introduced. Is it any wonder that the seas turned murky and the native species frightening? We have already started this once harmless planet down an uncertain path, with new species and phylum that might one day threaten us. To re-colonize this planet would only put hundreds of people in danger and destroy what is left of this fragile ecosystem. As fellow scientists we urge you to convince the judges to ban re-colonization of P-L5.
Thank You!
| Kim Menicken, Columbia Ph.D., Extraterrestrial Biology | Jim McCay, Boston U. Ph.D., Biotics |
| Nada Rachim, SUNY Buffalo. Ph.D., AstroPaleontology | Lu Wang, Lunar South Ph.D., Physics |
| Sam Goldwin, Harvard Ph.D., Marine Biology | Shifra Kayle, Oxford Ph.D., Dynamics |
| J.K Nafemaya, NYU Ph.D., Chemical Philosophy | P.M Cay, U.Mass Ph.D., Geobiology |
Leads and Sources
Magazines and Articles:
"When Life Exploded," J. Madeleine Nash. Cover Story Time Magazine December 4, 1995.
"On Embryos and Ancestors," Stephen Jay Gould. Natural History 7/98-8/98, p. 20.
"The Evolution of Life on the Earth," Stephen Jay Gould. Scientific American October 1994, p. 85.
"Breathing Room for Early Animals" (Oxygen), Andrew H. Knoll. Nature Vol. 382, July 11, 1996, p. 111.
"The Big Bang of Animal Evolution," Jeffrey Levinton. Scientific American November 1992.
"Hypersea," Dianna and Mark McMenamin. Discover October 1995, p. 76.
"The Emergence of Animals," Mark McMenamin. Scientific American April 1987, p. 94.
"Life’s Grand Explosions." (theories on why the Cambrian explosion occurred), Lori Oliwenstein. Discover January 1996, p. 42.
"The Molecular Explosion," Henry Gee. Nature Vol. 373, February 16,1995, p. 558.
Internet Sites:
The Divisions of Precambrian Time
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/precambrian/precambrian.htmlLife of the Vendian
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/vendianlife.htmlLearning About the Vendian Animals
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/critters.htmlOxygen Pulse and the Evolutionary Expansion of the Metazoans http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/8200/Oxygenation.html
Cambrian Explosion
http://www.carleton.ca/Museum/camex/1ahome.html
Books:
The Emergence of Animals: The Cambrian Breakthrough. Mark and Dianna McMenamin, 1990, Columbia University Press.
Biology: The Science of Life. Wallace, Sanders and Ferl, 4th ed., 1996, Addison-Wesley.