Original View - the alternative teens' paper

The surface of the planet Mercury (above) is scarred with meteorite craters. Many other bodies in the solar system are also. But meteorites hardly ever hit the earth’s surface because they burn up in our atmosphere before they reach the ground. Is it just by accident that our planet has this protective shield?

Despite all the speculation about 'extra-terrestrial life' these days, the fact is that very special conditions make life on earth possible — conditions which are not known to exist anywhere else in the entire universe! Scientists sometimes say that conditions on earth are “finely tuned”. So is this just a fluke — a lucky accident — or did some supreme intelligence finely tune it for our benefit? There are so many things which make earth unique that we need to seriously question the prevailing secular view that it just "happened" to be like this. Why is the earth situated in the "habitable zone" of our solar system? Why is the earth the right size to allow it to retain an atmosphere? Why is our atmosphere not poisonous like that of other planets? Why do we have such a convenient day/night rotational period, compared with 10 hours on Saturn to 243 days on Venus? Why do we have a large, unique moon which stablises the earth's orbit, and prevents it spinning too fast?(without the moon a day would last only 8 hours!)

Earth’s average distance from the sun is 93 million miles (150 m. km). This is within a narrow band where liquid water can exist — astronomers call it “the goldilocks zone”. Earth’s average temperature is 15 deg. C, compared with the average of 470 deg. C. for Venus and –50 deg. C. for Mars. Many scientists are urging us to cut carbon emissions, fearing a dangerous rise in earth’s temperature, which could cause serious problems.

Tree and other plants play an important part in maintaining life on earth. Through photosynthesis, they convert the Sun's energy into nutrients. Trees are like “lungs” which help the earth to breathe, because they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. So when forests disappear more carbon is added to the atmosphere. Without green plants we'd all be doomed, yet in the past 500 years, almost half the earth’s vegetation has been destroyed. Of particular concern is the depletion of tropical rain-forests which are being destroyed at the rate of 6000 acres an hour — that’s an area the size of 4000 football pitches! The trees are often cleared in order to ranch cattle, or grow food crops. However, this is very short-sighted, since removing the forests is having a serious effect on our planet’s natural balance. It changes the climate, too, because the forests increase rainfall and prevent soil being washed away. Destroying forests increases the area of desert. Rainforests are also home to up to 50% of the world species of plants and animals — many of them quite rare — and destroying their natural habitat may result in their extinction. The destruction of the rain-forests cannot be allowed to continue at the present rate. This doesn’t mean that trees should never be cut down, but when they are they should be replaced with new plantings. Otherwise the finely tuned and well-designed balance of nature is being upset. Thankfully, many people are now realising how serious this problem is, and are campaigning to halt the destruction.

NOT only is our planet specially suited for life to exist, it is also ideally suited as a home for intelligent beings who have a desire to learn more about the universe itself. That’s the view of astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez who with fellow-scientist Jay Richards in 2006 co-authored The Privileged Planet — since made into an excellent documentary film.1 As well as describing the “rare and finely-tuned array of factors” that make earth suitable for complex life, they explain that our position in the Milky Way galaxy itself is also crucial. We are in what they call the “Galactic Habitable Zone” — “the best overall location to be a successful astronomer and cosmologist.” Gonzalez and Richards point out: “Even though we’re near the mid-plane, there’s very little in the way of dust in our neighbourhood to absorb light from nearby stars and distant galaxies. We’re far enough from the Galactic center and the disk is flat enough that it doesn’t excessively obscure our view of the distant universe. We have access to a striking diversity of nearby stars and other Galactic structures, as well as a clear view of distant galaxies.”2
In the film, Jay Richards says:“I think you have to ask yourself, 'What if this convergence of factors didn't come about as the result of simply a cosmic lottery…or a mere fluke or luck? But, what if it's the result of some larger underlying purpose or design?
1. Price £13 + p & p from our online shop.
2. The American Spectator, 1st May 2004.

Many moons — but only one is right for us!
How did it all begin? "We don't know," say scientists!
Well Designed: Backswimmers — tiny "scuba divers" of the insect world which have their own "buonancy vest."
"A desirable, detached residence": Like a modern house, our planet seems designed for our benefit. The Bible says, "Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." (Hebrews 3: 4). Sounds logical, doesn't it? And there's no greater incentive to care for our planet than when we love its Owner and Creator!