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> I'm with Musk on this, the only way we survive is to get the hell off Earth And as a plan, I think that's basically completely stupid. Even our worst case cl
by AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
> I'm with Musk on this, the only way we survive is to get the hell off Earth
And as a plan, I think that's basically completely stupid. Even our worst case climate change projections give us an Earth that is incredibly more habitable than any extraterrestrial environment. The worst conditions you can find on this entire planet today are more habitable than the best you can find elsewhere in our star system.
Think of what it would take to have a self-sustaining Mars colony, for instance. If we have the ability to do that, then surely it would be a lot easier to do that same thing here on Earth at a fraction of the cost and risk. Why not just do that instead?
- mLuby 6y agoWhy not both? Luddites always whine about the resources "wasted" on space exploration, science, and now the beginnings of industry, but they don't appreciate how in so many ways the fruits of our efforts in space end up benefiting all of us here on Earth. And since those people claim to be concerned with finite resources and a fragile biosphere, why constrain ourselves to the resources of our mother planet (which resource extraction and utilization demonstrably damages) instead of moving our industry to the dead vacuum of space and tapping the near-infinite mass and energy of the rest of the Universe?
- davidhbolton 6y agoMuch as I love Star Trek etc. It does appear that space travel is inherently bad for us planet dwellers what with the havoc it wreaks on the bodies of people who spend long periods in space. I'd love it not be so, but I do wonder if one possible future is exploration by autonomous robots establishing automated mining of asteroids and distant planets.
- mLuby 6y ago1. Enough armor can reduce space radiation to Earth levels, or even lower. And protect against space junk. It's just currently expensive to launch. 2. Spinning habitats create artificial gravity (though astronauts on the ISS do okay in zero g for months or more). No new tech advances necessary. Humans are nothing if not adaptable and ingenious. Space is just next in a long line of "inhospitable" areas we've colonized.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y agoYou misunderstand. I'm not against space exploration or colonizing Mars at all. I'm saying that considering "Mars colony" our only hope for survival with a fucked Earth is not a reasonable idea.
- mLuby 6y agoAh, then we agree.
- tastyfreeze 6y agoIf we can get off the planet we should at least try. This is how our species has advanced and spread across the planet. If something is in grasp we try. Many fail, some succeed. Most of Magellan's crew died or abandoned the expedition. That doesn't mean it wasn't a worthwhile endeavor for our species.
- anotherman554 6y agoOur species hasn't particularly proven itself worthy of preservation if the Earth were to die. Given how poorly we continue to treat each other and the other local species I think we can chill out here on Earth and not worry about it.
- yellowapple 6y agoWell, you're welcome to chill out here on Earth. Those of us with any degree of sanity are gonna do what we can to get the heck out of dodge :)