I think humanity should colonize planets beyond earth, because, lets face it, eath is pretty much screwed.
How is it screwed? It's currently not going through a glory age, that's for sure, but you'd need more to 'screw' earth. And why should we leave it behind like a dirt ball and do the same to other planets? If we don't learn to handle our problems here, like Kyouzou said, it's likely we won't handle them wherever we go in the future.
but there are reports possibly hinting at a decrease of the population
While I know of the reports you're referring to, I feel inclined to point out that those reports are aimed at first and third world countries, where as the developing countries of the world are experiencing massive population booms as people feel more capable of having children and supporting them. While ordinarily this wouldn't be a big problem, countries like India and China are considered developing which makes population booms a problem.
So, we may not even be forced to colonize other planets.
In the short term? No. In the long term? That sun's gonna go Red Giant EVENTUALLY....
Humanity's goal is to well, find its goal. It's only true objective is to continue its pattern of dominance across various systems and habitable planets in the galaxy in order to reach a sense of stability and order. It would permit a higher degree of resource-gathering, and fuel the Human Space Machine. Eventually, omnipotence would be acquired, and nothing could touch our species. It's a grand undertaking that would endure many a century, but it all starts with that one Moon Colony, and ends with Humanity ruling the Galaxy. (Granted no-one else is... but that's another topic)
I think we should learn to travel the universe and see what is out there. We as humans need to learn to live on other plants. however we cannot start this until people finish a better way to move along in the galaxy.
That's gonna take 5 billion years. I think we have enough time. Anyways just the changes that will happen to the sun over the next 500 million years is estimated to kill us. But yes if humans continue to treat the planet like they do today we will need to move out. And if population continues to increase another planet could help reduce the overcrowding.
While I know of the reports you're referring to, I feel inclined to point out that those reports are aimed at first and third world countries, where as the developing countries of the world are experiencing massive population booms as people feel more capable of having children and supporting them. While ordinarily this wouldn't be a big problem, countries like India and China are considered developing which makes population booms a problem.
India, it's true, will be/is already a problem. China? I'm not sure, I've heard they might experience an important population fall due to their one-child politics, some time in the future.
I think that galactic colonisation is a bit too optimistic.
There are no inhabitable planets near us (and when I mean near I mean thousands of light years away). We just don't have the technology to travel quickly through space.
But that said, technology has improved incredibly these past few years, I'm confident that we will be able to solve the problem of overpopulation at least if not somehow make it across to another planet.
There are no inhabitable planets near us (and when I mean near I mean thousands of light years away). We just don't have the technology to travel quickly through space.
They might not be that far away, but with current methods of travel even the closest stars are out of reach.
I think they found one roughly a hundred light years away that looked to be in the correct zone to allow human survival and maybe even development of a sapient species. However, considering that it has taken upwards of fifty years for a single probe to reach the edge of a solar system, any colonial attempts we send would either have to be able to act as a fully functioning society for hundreds of years and at the very least have FTL communication, or simply be able to travel at FTL speeds. Something which I'm sure we all know is considered to be an impossibility.
What about all the dangerous stuff in space? There's radiation, space debris, and precise calculations you need to make (that if you mess up, you get in a situation where you die, e.g. Going past your target and slingshotting out into space). It's not exactly easy to survive in space, much less inhabit a colony placed in space. Most places in space aren't going to have the safe, inhabitable atmosphere that we have.
i think we should but not now (we got 16 trillion dollars in frickin debt!!)
just pointing out that if indeed interstellar travel becomes a possibility and/or , more importantly, a necessity, i would hope that earth would stop caring about something as petty as money. in the event that our planet is over populated, there will not be any amount of money that could help you.
