You've set up a very strange strawman; never have I argued that we should "use up" or "abandon" the Earth. I specifically said post-Sol. The reality of this pla

You've set up a very strange strawman; never have I argued that we should "use up" or "abandon" the Earth. I specifically said post-Sol. The reality of this planet is that it has a finite lifespan. I hope with all my heart we maximize that lifespan, but we have about 1.3B years before life (as we know it today) is no longer possible on Earth without major geoengineering projects on a planetary scale -- which would presumably also enable us to settle other planets. The Sun will simply get too hot, our planet will not be able to maintain any sort of thermal equilibrium and carbon cycle. It's a physical inevitability. Within 2.8B years, the average surface temperature of the Earth will be 147C [0]. Dreaming of the stars is one of the most natural and wondrous human experiences. It's the only constant across hundreds, thousands of generations; a single canvas we've pointed to and asked questions about for millennia. Do not mistake optimism for our species as a dismissal of the problems we face today. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future