Do you think a colony should be set up on another planet to ensure the survival of the human race?

Question

Would you volunteer to leave Earth and become a member of an extra-terrestrial colony? Is the potential for global nuclear war on Earth a compelling reason to establish the colony? Would there be any guarantee that the colony would not repeat Earth's nuclear mistake? Aren't human beings their own worst enemies?

Thank all of you for such fascinating answers! What a thoughtful bunch! I had lost hope that such a group could be assembled on Answers.

Answer 1

Well I think that we should colonize at least our own solar system. We as human beings are curious and want to know the unknown and discover and try new things, yeah, sure I would volunteer to go to a colony to anywhere in the solar system. I think that this planet will one day in the distant future will not be able to hold life if we don't do something quick to try to make this work. I guess that going to Mars or the moon or even to one of the moons of Jupiter or Saturn is a good idea. About the nuclear problem the real problem is in whose hands does the information of how make a nuke bomb is. As you can see those radicals in the middle east are crazy as hell, and I think that the G8 should take matter very seriously to do something about it.

Answer 2

before reading howard zinn's book "a people's history of the US", I really wanted to go... But now I have a better idea of how people acted like monsters during the colonization of the USA, then I don't really want to go anymore...

Now, SHOULD we go out in space and make colonies? well, it's really a philosophical question. And therefore has no easy answer.
Either we go to ensure the survival of the human race
Or we don't. After all, if only 100 or so humans can go to another planet, why bother? I mean, if earth is destroyed, then 100 persons won't make such a difference. (and it would be impractical to make a new colony with more than 100 people : would weigh too much and cost too much to transfer to another planet... therefore bring there only the minimum number of people. Preferably 100 females with a freezer full of male sperm for fecondation... and during the first 10 generations or so, only produce females... well, only speculating, there...)

well, what I mean to say is that the "should we" part is really difficult to sort out. Let's just say that IF we want the human race to survive no matter what earthlings' fate is, then you absolutely have to colonize other planets.


now, nuclear wars... you heard about the cold war? at that time, we had the power to destroy earth 100 times over with nuclear bombs... now, we only have the power to destroy it 10 times or so...
But either way, people would survive the holocaust. Either because they were on their boat fishing far away from the land, or because they were deep inside a mountain. So, even if a nuclear war broke out, some people would still survive.
Also: a nuclear war isn't going to break out. not until a madman gets his hands on one, at least : if someone launches a nuclear bomb, he'll get 10 others on top of his head in the 5 next minutes. And since most powerfull people aren't suicidal...


a guarantee the colony doesn't copy earth? absolutely none... But if you colonize 1 thousand planets, then in all likelyhood, one of them isn't going to be as stupid as the others.


are we our own worst enemies? well... there isn't any other intelligent race we could call enemies, is there? And wolfs, bears and lions aren't enemies, they're predators. You need to be intelligent to be an enemy. So, since no other species we know of fullfils this 1st requierement, then yes, we are our own worst enemies... (and our least horrible enemies too... and best friends... etc)


does that help?

Answer 3

An honest answer would be NO WAY! I dread to think what we would do to the universe if humans formed colonies on other planets.

Trying to be less cynical is pretty hard when you have lived through half a century wondering when we are going to get blown to pieces.

The 60s saw the Cuban crisis, I was at school then, we were terrified! Films about what to do in a Nuclear war were nonsense, no one except officials hidden in deep bunkers would have survived.

We saw hope when the cold war ended, but that was short lived.
Here we are again with North Korea flexing they nuclear muscles. Whilst Iran shows defiance of any restrictive policy towards its nuclear capability.

The war in the Middle East is proof that humanity cannot be trusted. Even the most powerful countries in the world cannot (or choose not to) solve the Middle East crisis.

Imagine earth as having a virus - us - isn't it best to keep the planet under quarantine?

So in answer to your questions - No, No, No, Yes.

Answer 4

Turn off your TV and step away from the remote control...contrary to the popular opinion hyped by the media, we are not headed for armageddon. Brush up on your history...humans have always been a rather barbaric race. (There's a lot of barbaric behavior in nature...it's a survival mechanism.) The fact that we humans are so screwed up and have still managed to make it this far, gives me great hope that we will survive for millions of years into the future. Of course, I don't expect linear progression of civilization to continue all that time. Rome fell and, one day, so will our civilization...though I don't expect that to happen anytime soon.

If one takes an objective look at history, it has never been such a great time to be alive. Food and resource availibility is at an all time high, humans live longer than ever, and the standard of living (on average) is better than it has ever been. Best of all, despite the appearance of us all having very busy lives, there has never been so much leisure time...time we can just wile away answering questions on this wonderous thing we call the internet.

Cheer up, the only reason to set up a colony on another planet is because we can. But count me out, I actually like living on Earth...this is a great place to be once you stop fretting about imaginary annihilation.

Answer 5

I would volunteer to become a member of an extra-terrestrial colony in a New York minute. I think we will colonize another planet, it's just a matter of time. I also don't think we'll kill each other off as many people have hypothesized. Mankind has survived much worse with natural disasters, etc. and I believe that we will continue to survive and triumph over these things. Yes, I do think that mankind is its own worst enemy.

Answer 6

I think a colony on another planet is very necessary for the survival of the human race, if a meteor where to strike the planet i might just end the existence of the human race. Would i volunteer to leave earth, hell yes in a heart beat the idea of becoming a colonist is a dream of mine and one way or another I'll see it happen in my time, as for the nuclear war isn't going to happen nuclear weapons destroy everything and that isn't good for the war effort, think biological or chemical weapons maybe even neutron bombs that kill all living things and leave buildings and cars unharmed, lol the ultimate muggers tool.

Answer 7

Thankfully, there is zero propsect that we could reach other inhabitable planets to colonize them.

Zero prospect because they are far, far to far away to get to using any form of technology (other than the "magic" space ships of science fiction that do not observe the laws of physics).

Thankfully because the record of colonization on earth is dreadful. The US and Britain both conducted successful and deliberate campaigns of genocide against the rightful inhabitants of the lands they took over. Spain and Portugals efforts only differed in the fact that they were not deliberate, but the genocide was just as dreadful.

If we cannot make a go of our own planet, what right do we have to anyone elses? It is arrogance and evil of the worst form to think that this is a solution.

And if the planet we go to has no life, how will it support us?

Answer 8

We can't afford to set up a sustainable colony on another planet, it is simply unattainable at this point. Yes we are our own worst enemies.

Answer 9

No..
Not a good reason to colonize Mars which is inhospitable at
this time...
Nuclear war, when and if it comes, is not going to make a serious dent in the worlds population of humans..
Don't panic ..
The sky is not falling...

Answer 10

Why not?