Somehow, an acquaintance forwarded me an article that appeared in The Guardian back in 2002. It was just another example of WWF propaganda about the Earth's population, but what interested me most was the attempt to demonize the possibility of space colonization.
A report released this week says that if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, Earth's population will be forced to migrate to two separate planets within 50 years.
A study to be published on Tuesday by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns that humanity is plundering the planet at a rate that exceeds its capacity to support life.
The report harshly criticizes Western societies for their high levels of consumption, adding that another planet (the size of Earth) will be needed by 2050 as existing resources become depleted.
The report, based on scientific data from around the world, reveals that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by humans over the past 30 years.
The report uses the image of humanity needing to colonise space as a grim example of the problems facing Earth, warning that unless consumption rates are dramatically and quickly reduced, the planet will not be able to sustain its growing population.
It systematically stokes fear and condemns human activity as unnatural, even parasitic. Of course, we have read all this before, but it was the cosmic perspective that caught my attention.
I find it ironic that this article portrays space colonization as something negative, when in fact it should be one of the top priorities for getting us out of the economic mess we're currently in.
Take the US Apollo program as an example. Whether or not the program actually put a man on the moon, the technologies it developed permeated new products, returning over $7 for every dollar spent to the US economy. It inspired kids to become scientists and engineers, giving them goals and direction for their futures.
The conquest of space should be a top priority for any country with a bright future, and if we ask our young people to risk their lives for any national cause, it should be for the conquest of space, not the defense of Afghanistan's poppy crops.
What happened to our sense of adventure?
