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Preparing for extraterrestrial contact

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Abstract

This article introduces the issue of extraterrestrial life to the study of disasters, their prevention and their management. Up until now, major journals in the field of risk and disaster research have ignored the potential threats posed by the existence of extraterrestrial life. With increasing scientific support for the existence of planets able to support life, and the rapid development of scientific disciplines such as astrobiology, the article argues that limiting the scope of disaster research to terrestrial matters is increasingly intellectually untenable. In order to rectify this situation, and begin a debate within the field, the article develops five theoretical scenarios concerning the likelihood of, and the threats posed by, extraterrestrial life forms. Doing so highlights possible new themes in disaster and risk management research. It is thus hoped that subsequent researchers may close the gap between scholarly discourse about risk management, and the scientific findings of disciplines such as astrobiology.

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Notes

  1. Three notable exceptions to this have been US Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton; and former Canadian Defence Minister, Paul Hellyer. On several occasions, Ronald Reagan observed that Earth’s political conflicts would soon be overcome if its populations were faced with an extraterrestrial threat (Sala, 2009). On 3 May 2013, senior Canadian politician, Paul Hellyer, made a formal statement to the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure, in Washington DC, claiming that at least four species of aliens have been visiting earth for thousands of years. He further stated that ‘aliens are living among us and that it is likely at least two of them are working with the US government’ (Removing the Shackles, 2013). Both Reagan and Hellyer experienced widespread ridicule in the media. There was also the case of the discovery of an atypical meteorite, 84001 in Allan Hills, Antarctica in 1984. Scientific research on the object appeared to find traces of extraterrestrial microorganisms within the rock. These findings stirred up major media and public interest, and on 7 August 1996, President Bill Clinton made a formal statement on the matter, including the following passage (NASA, 1996):

    Today, rock 84001 speaks to us across all those billions of years and millions of miles. It speaks of the possibility of life. If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined. Even as it promises answers to some of our oldest questions, it poses still others even more fundamental. We will continue to listen closely to what it has to say as we continue the search for answers and for knowledge that is as old as humanity itself but essential to our people‘s future.

    Subsequent research on the rock has indicated non-microbiological origins of the structures. Bill Clinton has not publicly commented on this matter since.

  2. Some journals do now publish realist social/political research and commentary concerning space issues. The Elsevier Journal, Acta Astronautica, examines issues to do with space travel and exploration, and has published articles on SETI, some of which are cited in this article (for example, Almár, 2011). Another scholarly publishing outlet is the Taylor and Francis journal, Astropolitics: The International Journal of Space Politics and Policy, which concentrates on human-centric issues to do with space, property rights and jurisdiction. Likewise, Elsevier’s journal Space Policy explores such issues, including some articles about SETI (Atri et al, 2011). The International Journal of Astrobiology, published by Cambridge University Press, has published realist articles on ETI (see Shostak, 2013). Outside mainstream academic publishers, there is the Exopolitics Journal, which approaches the issues of extraterrestrial life from a thoroughly realist standpoint. In 2014, a further publication, the Journal of Astrosociology, is being launched.

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Neal, M. Preparing for extraterrestrial contact. Risk Manag 16, 63–87 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/rm.2014.4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/rm.2014.4

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