Starship Asterisk*

We're told that tidal action gives momentum to the Moon, thus aiding its recession; and that one day it will be too far away to produce total solar eclipses. Ice melt seems to contribute to the recession by increasing the tidal sloshing. Scientific American (June 14 2010) has an article on this at http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... -solstice/
There's a deeper implication: if mankind is causing ice melt changes then, in a tiny way, amid all the noise, we might have become celestial engineers (or mechanics). But then, other living organisms might also have such a role, e.g. bacteria producing greenhouse gases (or fixing them).
Life's sphere of influence extending beyond its home? Quite a thought!

"Engineering" implies knowledge and intent. If we're moving the Moon, it's not a voluntary action, and therefore not what I'd call "engineering", any more than a forest fire caused by pine beetles killing trees can be attributed to insect engineers.