Saturn

There are some questions in Astronomy to which we are attracted … on account of their peculiarity … [rather] than from any direct advantage which their solution would afford to mankind… I am not aware that any practical use has been made of Saturn’s Rings… But when we contemplate the Rings from a purely scientific point of view, they become the most remarkable bodies in the heavens… When we have actually seen that great arch swing over the equator of the planet without any visible connection, we cannot bring our minds to rest.

—James Clerk Maxwell

As the new century begins … we may be ready to settle down before we wreck the planet. It is time to sort out Earth and calculate what it will take to provide a satisfying and sustainable life for everyone into the indefinite future… For every person in the world to reach present U.S. levels of consumption would require [the resources of] four more planet Earths.

—Edward O. Wilson