New World, Old Idea

New worlds have always existed - or they've been perpetually in a state of being discovered - ever since science-fiction was invented. Now it's true again. Even scientists are satisfied that this time they've stumbled upon a world that is actually inhabitable. Rudimentarily liveable. Don't believe me? (Fiction writers are prone to lying.) Then check out these stories:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/17/first-habitable-planet-2030_n_862785.html

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=128764

http://gizmodo.com/5802902/new-home-for-humans

Of course, I knew it could not actually be Ghoupallesz, the planet featured in The Dream Land trilogy - I know it to be about 100 light years from Earth, give or take. But this is not a bad find. Twenty light years is doable. Traveling at a quarter of the speed of light, you have an 80 year journey. That's only one human lifetime. Cut that in half (traveling slower) and you have 160 years or about 5 generations living it up on a big spaceship from Carnival. You've read it in Arthur C. Clark and Clifford D. Simik stories (and plenty of others) and seen it depicted more recently in that animated flick Wall-E. So it may truly be possible to leave this world once we succeed in making it uninhabitable.

So start packing! It's not too soon.