[niceguyrichy]

I love reading this kinda stuff, I do wonder why we're so obsessed with taking off to Mars or whatever when we haven't discovered all there is on our own planet.

Yahoo news linky

Scientists have discovered 11 plant and animal species, including a snake, in a remote area of Vietnam, environment group World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Wednesday.

The new species, found in an area of Vietnam’s Annamites Mountain Range known as the Green Corridor, also include two butterflies, five orchids—including three leafless varieties—and three other plants.
“You only discover so many new species in very special places, and the Green Corridor is one of them,” said Chris Dickinson, WWF’s chief technical adviser in the area.
“Several large mammal species were discovered in the 1990s in the same forests, which means that these latest discoveries could be just the tip of the iceberg.”

[PangingJr]

can't recall if i ever wondered about that myself.
but see if this will satisfy your question.

Why space?

With so many unsolved problems in our own planet, the Earth, why should humans commit themselves to space exploration? Why should time, money and efforts be dedicated to designing spacecraft and technological solutions to explore outer space when they could be used to provide for the urgent necessities that we are facing here on Earth?

read on...
Introduction