"A part of me was comforted to see novel photographic evidence of a sister planet with a recognizable, Earthlike geology. But another part—the part that has an affinity for dystopian sci-fi stories—was unsettled. Given that our drive to create world-altering technologies is outpacing our ability to mitigate their consequences, my thought was this: how long will it be before vast tracts of our ever-booming California are refashioned to look more like the surface of Mars?"