Indeed! We should be trying to put life out there.
Terraforming, anyone?
It kind of reminds me of withholding development of ANWR oil because there might be life there, too. It is possible there is life in ANWR. What we ought to do, morally, is develop the resources and if we come across some odd species of alien lifeforms, rope off that area for later study. The most productive way to search for life would be major resource development.