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This wins the prize for the most nightmarish scenario of all. Here are the assumptions it's based on: 1. Not content with having burned through earth's resour

This wins the prize for the most nightmarish scenario of all. Here are the assumptions it's based on: 1. Not content with having burned through earth's resources, transmuting them in to garbage and pollution, we fly to space, a hugely energy intensive enterprise which sources even more raw materials to convert in to garbage and pollution. 2. Having had unlimited energy in the form of fossil fuels, humanity causes climate change bad enough to eventually wipe out most species and all of civilisation, driving humans to the very brink of survival. Now, given a new unlimited power source, what next? Escape all responsibility and push forward business-as-usual for a few more decades, maybe a lifetime, to ensure that we eventually asset-strip everything in reach and wipe out all hope for humanity to ever rebuild a civilisation. 3. ??? 4. But as all the cattle die off due to the heat, we'll still have burgers with a satisfying mouthfeel, so that'll be nice.

shrimp_emoji 4y ago
1. All life on Earth, including human life, has a much better chance of surviving a billion years into the future if we make it interplanetary -- billionS of years into the future if we make it interstellar. 2. Nuclear is the only obvious alternative to fossil fuels. 3. ¿¿¿ 4. There's no reason to believe handling climate change is hopeless, and there's reason to believe it's hopeful. The biosphere's natural lifespan[0] not so much. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future "500–600 million -- By this time, carbon dioxide levels will fall to the point at which C3 photosynthesis is no longer possible. All plants that utilize C3 photosynthesis (≈99 percent of present-day species) will die.[76] The extinction of C3 plant life is likely to be a long-term decline rather than a sharp drop. It is likely that plant groups will die one by one well before the critical carbon dioxide level is reached. The first plants to disappear will be C3 herbaceous plants, followed by deciduous forests, evergreen broad-leaf forests and finally evergreen conifers.[69]"

shrimp_emoji 4y ago

1. All life on Earth, including human life, has a much better chance of surviving a billion years into the future if we make it interplanetary -- billionS of years into the future if we make it interstellar. 2. Nuclear is the only obvious alternative to fossil fuels. 3. ¿¿¿ 4. There's no reason to believe handling climate change is hopeless, and there's reason to believe it's hopeful. The biosphere's natural lifespan[0] not so much. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future "500–600 million -- By this time, carbon dioxide levels will fall to the point at which C3 photosynthesis is no longer possible. All plants that utilize C3 photosynthesis (≈99 percent of present-day species) will die.[76] The extinction of C3 plant life is likely to be a long-term decline rather than a sharp drop. It is likely that plant groups will die one by one well before the critical carbon dioxide level is reached. The first plants to disappear will be C3 herbaceous plants, followed by deciduous forests, evergreen broad-leaf forests and finally evergreen conifers.[69]"