[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.93,0:00:03.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're at a tipping point in human history,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.42,0:00:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a species poised between gaining the stars\Nand losing the planet we call home.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.33,0:00:12.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even in just the past few years,\Nwe've greatly expanded
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.06,0:00:16.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our knowledge of how Earth fits\Nwithin the context of our universe.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.39,0:00:19.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NASA's Kepler mission has discovered
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.13,0:00:22.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of potential planets\Naround other stars,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.08,0:00:26.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,indicating that Earth is but one\Nof billions of planets in our galaxy.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.27,0:00:28.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kepler is a space telescope
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.14,0:00:32.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that measures the subtle dimming of stars\Nas planets pass in front of them,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.43,0:00:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,blocking just a little bit\Nof that light from reaching us.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.73,0:00:38.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kepler's data reveals planets' sizes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.33,0:00:41.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as their distance\Nfrom their parent star.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.12,0:00:45.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Together, this helps us understand\Nwhether these planets are small and rocky,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.16,0:00:47.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the terrestrial planets\Nin our own Solar System,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.71,0:00:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and also how much light they receive\Nfrom their parent sun.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.08,0:00:54.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In turn, this provides clues as to whether\Nthese planets that we discover
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.96,0:00:57.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,might be habitable or not.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.42,0:01:01.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unfortunately, at the same time\Nas we're discovering this treasure trove
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.48,0:01:03.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of potentially habitable worlds,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.59,0:01:07.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our own planet is sagging\Nunder the weight of humanity.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.05,0:01:11.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,2014 was the hottest year on record.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.47,0:01:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Glaciers and sea ice that have\Nbeen with us for millennia
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.81,0:01:17.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are now disappearing\Nin a matter of decades.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.94,0:01:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These planetary-scale environmental \Nchanges that we have set in motion
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.06,0:01:26.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are rapidly outpacing our ability\Nto alter their course.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.35,0:01:31.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I'm not a climate scientist,\NI'm an astronomer.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.06,0:01:34.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I study planetary habitability\Nas influenced by stars
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.43,0:01:36.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the hopes of finding\Nthe places in the universe
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.89,0:01:39.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where we might discover\Nlife beyond our own planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.86,0:01:43.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You could say that I look for\Nchoice alien real estate.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.90,0:01:48.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, as somebody who is deeply embedded\Nin the search for life in the universe,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.24,0:01:51.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can tell you that the more\Nyou look for planets like Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.61,0:01:55.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more you appreciate\Nour own planet itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.26,0:01:57.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each one of these new worlds\Ninvites a comparison
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.95,0:02:01.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between the newly discovered planet\Nand the planets we know best:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.57,0:02:03.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those of our own Solar System.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.66,0:02:05.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Consider our neighbor, Mars.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.62,0:02:09.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mars is small and rocky,\Nand though it's a bit far from the Sun,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.41,0:02:11.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it might be considered\Na potentially habitable world
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.93,0:02:13.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if found by a mission like Kepler.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.94,0:02:17.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Indeed, it's possible that Mars\Nwas habitable in the past,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.30,0:02:20.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in part, this is why\Nwe study Mars so much.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.74,0:02:24.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our rovers, like Curiosity,\Ncrawl across its surface,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.13,0:02:27.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scratching for clues as to the origins\Nof life as we know it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.38,0:02:30.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Orbiters like the MAVEN mission\Nsample the Martian atmosphere,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.89,0:02:34.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to understand how Mars\Nmight have lost its past habitability.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.58,0:02:39.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Private spaceflight companies now offer\Nnot just a short trip to near space
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.14,0:02:42.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the tantalizing possibility\Nof living our lives on Mars.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.84,0:02:44.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But though these Martian vistas
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.79,0:02:47.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,resemble the deserts\Nof our own home world,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.35,0:02:52.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,places that are tied in our imagination\Nto ideas about pioneering and frontiers,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.92,0:02:54.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compared to Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.59,0:02:57.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mars is a pretty terrible place to live.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.89,0:03:01.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Consider the extent to which\Nwe have not colonized
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.16,0:03:03.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the deserts of our own planet,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.07,0:03:05.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,places that are lush\Nby comparison with Mars.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.90,0:03:08.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even in the driest,\Nhighest places on Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.69,0:03:11.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the air is sweet and thick with oxygen
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.29,0:03:15.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,exhaled from thousands of miles away\Nby our rainforests.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.37,0:03:21.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I worry -- I worry that this excitement\Nabout colonizing Mars and other planets
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.32,0:03:24.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carries with it a long, dark shadow:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.43,0:03:26.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the implication and belief by some
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.45,0:03:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Mars will be there to save us\Nfrom the self-inflicted destruction
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.00,0:03:34.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the only truly habitable planet\Nwe know of, the Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.14,0:03:36.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As much as I love\Ninterplanetary exploration,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.57,0:03:38.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I deeply disagree with this idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.92,0:03:41.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are many excellent reasons\Nto go to Mars,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.61,0:03:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for anyone to tell you that Mars\Nwill be there to back up humanity
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.02,0:03:48.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is like the captain of the Titanic\Ntelling you that the real party
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.13,0:03:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is happening later on the lifeboats.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.50,0:03:53.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.45,0:03:56.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.36,0:03:59.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.14,0:04:02.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the goals of interplanetary\Nexploration and planetary preservation
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.93,0:04:05.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not opposed to one another.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.11,0:04:07.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, they're in fact two sides\Nof the same goal:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.64,0:04:11.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to understand, preserve\Nand improve life into the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.98,0:04:16.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The extreme environments\Nof our own world are alien vistas.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.04,0:04:17.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're just closer to home.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.93,0:04:22.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we can understand how to create\Nand maintain habitable spaces
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.10,0:04:25.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of hostile, inhospitable\Nspaces here on Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.50,0:04:28.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,perhaps we can meet the needs\Nof both preserving our own environment
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.93,0:04:31.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and moving beyond it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.16,0:04:33.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I leave you with a final\Nthought experiment:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.47,0:04:35.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fermi's paradox.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.17,0:04:40.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many years ago, the physicist Enrico Fermi\Nasked that, given the fact
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.03,0:04:42.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that our universe has been around\Nfor a very long time
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.88,0:04:45.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we expect that there\Nare many planets within it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.54,0:04:48.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we should have found evidence\Nfor alien life by now.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.63,0:04:50.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So where are they?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.68,0:04:54.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, one possible solution\Nto Fermi's paradox
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.04,0:04:57.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that, as civilizations become\Ntechnologically advanced enough
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.53,0:04:59.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to consider living amongst the stars,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.85,0:05:02.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they lose sight of how important it is
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.33,0:05:06.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to safeguard the home worlds that fostered\Nthat advancement to begin with.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.86,0:05:11.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is hubris to believe\Nthat interplanetary colonization alone
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.25,0:05:13.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will save us from ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.13,0:05:16.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but planetary preservation\Nand interplanetary exploration
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.66,0:05:18.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can work together.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.55,0:05:20.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we truly believe in our ability
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.68,0:05:24.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to bend the hostile environments of Mars\Nfor human habitation,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.18,0:05:27.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then we should be able to surmount\Nthe far easier task of preserving
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.77,0:05:29.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the habitability of the Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.94,0:05:30.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.100,0:05:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)