tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232161716029893381.post3681863051296005614..comments2022-05-11T10:10:29.782-07:00Comments on Philosophy of Space Exploraton: THE BALANCE OF NATURERyan Munevarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819338408967576382noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5232161716029893381.post-87269748714699381822011-12-08T20:57:18.852-08:002011-12-08T20:57:18.852-08:00That is a thoughtful post. I would posit a couple...That is a thoughtful post. I would posit a couple of critiques. First, your hypothesis might be weakened by the fact that population growth is projected to stabilize and even to start trending downwards around 2050. Second, it is quite possible that countries will find ways to generate significant amounts of "clean" energy, thereby ameliorating environmental issues. As a corollary, it might be wiser (from a cost-benefit perspective) for countries to put money into developing these clean fuels as opposed to investing in space travel. Finally, I do not think that we (the world) currently have the technology necessary to create viable colonies either on the Moon or on other planets. I am not even sure if we could develop these technologies regardless of how much we spend.<br /><br />I think that your hypothesis also assumes rapid advancement in robotics, physics, computer science, nanotechnology, etc. I think it is quite feasible to expect this scenario to occur. At the same time, I do realize that current population estimates assume that both average and maximum human lifespans do not increase significantly. If biotech and other scientific discoveries radically increase human lifespan, populations may continue to increase well into 2150 or beyond.Anthony Hopperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708347177061466201noreply@blogger.com