How big is your footprint?

[Roger J Carlson]

To a certain extent, I like to inject a bit of devils advocacy to these threads. I apologize to both Unique and Reph if I went overboard. I'll never take a position that is diametrically opposite my own beliefs, but sometimes I take a more polar stand than I truly believe. But this is what I really believe.

I believe in the ingenuity of humanity. What is often missing from these discussions it the fact that so far, humanity has overcome all obstacles in its path. I don't see why that should stop.

In the 70s, we were told that all the oil would be gone by 2000. What happened is engineers developed new and better methods of finding and extracting oil. Now, of course, this can not happen indefinitely, but even now, they are making progress on hydrogen technology which could make the problem moot.

In the 70s, people "viewed with alarm" the fact that the forests in Minnesota and Wisconsin were dying due to acid rain. They predicted the forests would be dead by now. Recent studies have shown little additional damage and even regrowth. Why? Certainly it is partially due to warnings by environmentalists. But environmentalists didn't fix the problem, engineers did. They took those warnings and developed better ways to scrub powerplant emissions.

We are told we are running out of landfill space, that we are drowning in our own garbage, that we all need to cut back and conserve. I don't necessarily disagree. Our pre-packaged, consumer economy is too wasteful. But I also think that in the near future, as the cost of raw materials climbs, someone will find a cost-effective way to mine landfills. If there's money in it, someone will find a way.

I further believe that space technology is the ultimate salvation of the Earth. Yes, resources on Earth are limited, but space is vast and putting manufacturing up there, mining asteroids and comets for materials, and generating power up there will more than make up for the limits of Earth.

That was the point of my original post in this thread. I WISH everyone on the planet could live like I do. If they did, by necessity we would have the infrastructure to make it happen, which would include applicable space technology. Rather than bemoan the fact that I live well when others don't, I would rather see everyone live well. I think it's possible.

Granted, there are obstacles: poverty, over-population, greed, political considerations (not just here, but in developing countries as well), and a host of others. But the fact is the average standard of living across the planet has steadly risen. I firmly believe it will continue because we are humans and humans don't let anything stand in their way.

[maestrowork]

I think most people are not worried about "Earth" but their own "survival." I still say, Earth will be fine long after humans are extinct...

Then we'll all turn into oil for the next civilization to harvest...