Phil Plaitt of the Bad Astronomy blog (and author of Death from the Skies!: The Science Behind the End of the World) has an interesting blog post about what it would be like if the Earth had rings like Saturn's. And it got me thinking about colonizing planets with rings.

First of all, how much of a hindrance would rings like Saturn's be? As Phil points out, the rings could change the way plants grow on the planet. But also, they could clutter up equatorial orbits with large amounts of debris, making what are traditionally the best orbits for satellites and space stations rather dangerous.

Would it be an option to eliminate the rings, possibly by coalescing them into a moonlet? Would that even be desirable (as they could eventually prove to be a tourist attraction)?