I'm leaving Earth for Mars...but before I do that I have to make it livable. Mars is freezing cold, with a mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere, no ozone layer to shield the surface from space radiation, and extremely low air pressure. Not exactly an ideal getaway spot for those who want to shed their environmental suits to really soak in a distant sun.

So how do I go about making this harsh world suitable for life? Well, I must terraform it! What's terraforming? It's the alteration of a planet's environment to make it resemble that of Earth. That means the air has to be breathable and the soil capable of generating and sustaining vegetation.

The concept of terraforming has long been a staple of science fiction. Even before the term was invented by science fiction writer, Jack Williamson, the idea of terraforming was and continues to be explored in real science. 

Back to the matter at hand! How the heck am I going to breathe life into Mars' cold, dry body? How?!?

Well, first of all we have to heat the atmosphere. The problem is, Mars' air pressure is too low to retain heat. We're going to have to increase that pressure. This can be achieved by pumping chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere. CFC is a greenhouse gas, detrimental in an Earth context, but a potentially useful terraforming ingredient. Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) is another, better catalyst in the process. PFCs won't cause damage to a newly formed ozone layer.

As the atmosphere begins to warm, frozen carbon dioxide in the polar regions will melt and saturate the air. Carbon dioxide is another gas that, if it became too many parts per whatever measure in Earth's atmosphere, would impart great misery on most organisms. But we want that CO on Mars, as much of it as can be liberated.

The heat will also melt the permafrost, which very likely contains true water ice...H2O! Melted permafrost will create lakes and rivers, which in turn will create water vapor, another important ingrediant aiding the greenhouse effect.

So, we have the heat, but we still have to make the atmosphere breathable. That means drastically reducing the carbon dioxide. How do we do that? We plant trees. Trees and other vegetation generate oxygen. Spread enough vegetation on the Martian surface and that should create the right amount of oxygen to make it permissable for humans to move about without masks. 

There you have it, folks, my blueprint for altering Mars so that I can enjoy a fun vacation breathing the air of an open sky that doesn't belong to Earth. Some of you may have ethical issues about what I plan to do. In regard to those issues I pose this question: Is altering the environment on a planet where life may possibly not exist be a bad thing?