There’s no denying these eight-legged segmented micro-animals are pretty cute. But the real allure of the tardigrade lies in its incredible hardiness. These small creatures have been subjected to all manner of supposedly unliveable conditions – from temperatures near absolute zero to crushing pressures and radiation that should easily kill them. They’ve even been thrown into the vacuum of space – all without batting an eyelid. Everything You Need To Know About Tardigrades
How far apart are we?
Observers have commented that Americans are more divided than ever. It is certainly true that many Americans have very different views about who should best lead the country and what the right policies should be. Some have said they will move out of the country if the election does not turn out their way. Others have said they will stay and “fight like hell”. While America is divided, the world is even more divided. Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran, North Korea and South Korea, China and Taiwan, various countries in Africa, civil war in Haiti to mention just a few.
Is our country falling apart? Is the world falling apart? I certainly hope not. We have no choice but to get our act (s) together or to blow up the only world we know, the only world we are likely to ever know, the only world our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren may ever know. And global warming? Are we doomed to end up like Venus where the average temperature is over 800 degrees Fahrenheit?
What about moving to a different star system? According to scientists the diameter of the universe is around 92 billion light years. There must be lots of habitable planets out there for us to settle, right? All we need is a modern day Columbus, right?
Get real. One light year is the distance light travels in a year. It’s how scientists measure distance in space. One light year is about 6 trillion miles. It’s a bit more than a hop, skip and jump. It turns out that it would take about 27000 years to travel one light year given our current technology. Alpha Centauri is the nearest star to our sun and the closest solar system that might have habitable planets. The problem is that Alpha Centauri is 4.24 light years away, that’s about 25 and a half trillion miles (yep, trillion with a “T”). It would take about 115,000 years for us to travel there.
So, what’s the deal? Well, we’re all stuck here so we better find a way to live together. No matter how far apart we think we are, we’re alot closer than the next habitable planet if there is one. Of course, if we are, as Nietzsche says, human-all too human, we may fail to find common ground. What will happen then? We humans will disappear. If anything survives it’s most likely to be the Tardigrades. That’s assuming they get along better than we do.