Hawking Says Humans Must Go Into Space

Originally posted by captinofcats
has anyone discussed the possibility of a space station? maybe this would be the next step in a transition toward living away from earth. It would at least allow us to expand more and also solve problems of overcrowding, temporarily that is.

Hey man nothing personal but it helps to be a little informed of reallity before posting on ATS because people will flame...


There is already a Space Station......

Originally posted by Xeven

What a piece of expensive, overpriced, pork-barrel junk. Ronald Reagan's last great folly.




mod edit: removed unnecessary quote of the entire preceding post

[edit on 2006/6/13 by Hellmutt]

Originally posted by Enkidu

I agree money would have been better spent on the super conducting super collider or even SETI




mod edit: removed unnecessary quote of the entire preceding post(s)

[edit on 2006/6/13 by Hellmutt]

I have already heard it is too late to save the Earth from the effects of global warming. We humans have destroyed our home, our one and only home. Our technology has advanced along with that destruction, but it has not advanced enough. We have no way out, and by the looks of it, it will be that way for a very long time. We just have to accept whatever happens to us, and not cry or anything. Humans have brought it upon themselves. Consider this our punishment. Stupid people do not try to use alternative forms of power besides oil. They try, but not enough, who cares if it costs a lot of money, we spend so much on the war killing people, why not try to save the damn Earth? We will die, so money, stupid paper, will not be of value because we won't be here to freaking use it anymore. But either way, I think it is a good thing, a cleansing of the universe. Humans are all mostly evil, bad people. Full of greed. This planet is raging with war. Criminals all over the place, so many wars. We all truly show our greed, our stupidity, by killing ourselves, and our home. If we left this planet, we will just end up going to another beautiful planet, since it will have to be one like Earth to sustain human life, and just destroy that place like here. We should change our ways, or stay here and just die like we truly, deep down, really deserve. It is like mother Earth's punishment to her children.

Actually thats pretty interesting, as Ive just finished reading The Alan Arthur Winston Hypnotherapy Sessions with Edward Peterson transcript, of a hypnosis session that takes a patient into the future.

www.viewzone.com...

Space travel, comet hoping, future of earth, with its wars and diseases ...an interesting read.

The roots you want to follow, lead you here, Wingmakers.com. I´ts very suggestive, powerful, and beautiful, enter with your outmost skepticism and let us know what YOU discover. Every thread,post, speculative conspiracy will be answered.

Originally posted by Phoenix521
I have already heard it is too late to save the Earth from the effects of global warming. We humans have destroyed our home, our one and only home. Our technology has advanced along with that destruction, but it has not advanced enough. We have no way out, and by the looks of it, it will be that way for a very long time.

Where have you heard that? Scientist can't even figure out for certain is GW is natural or man made or a combination of the two. If its largely a natural effect its likely going to be followed by a cooling peroid as it was many times before.

Either its highly doubful GW is not going to be the destruction of the human race because humans are among the most adaptive creatures that have ever lived on earth and have lived through Ice Ages and global warming before. With technology a few degree difference is global temp is not going to kill off the human race.

Polar bears and other less adaptive animals might not make out as well.

First off id like to say that our species comes way before our planet. Our planet might be ruined by moronic tyrants who detonate nukes everywhere, but that doesnt mean the rest of the world has to be punished for it. And as for global warming and polution, so what, eventually another ice age will insue. There are probably countless planets similar to earth that have no intelligent native life, there is no reason why we shouldnt inhabit those.

I agree with phoenix, if we move some where else it will be the same story all over again. Maybe we do go into space in time and maybe we do survive but it wont change the core of humanity. But I do have hope for us, and I do believe that we will eventually become in balance with this planet.

Bacteria exsists on this planet that does not depend on photosynthesis or oxygen. There are deep sea vents and ice cold caves, all have life. What ever the conditions are outside they wont care, thell still be here.

I believe that we do have the technologie to survive a long trip into space and deep space at that. The main component that would be essential would be water. Once we figure out that, then there is no limit as to where we can go. How far and to where would we go? What I also think that Dr. Hawking may also be refering to is that the earth can only support so much life on it, before it is no longer able to do such. A major diseaster that would hit, would essentially put the human race back several steps. Perhaps he is seeing something that we are not. I do respect him and what he has to say as he sees in ways that only few have, such as Einstein to name one perons, the other person seems to have escaped my mind.

Moving on to other planets should be the largest global programme that we have, its vitally important that we do such a thing.

If humanity as a whole can't do it, what happens if one country does?

What if the US develops that ability to have colonies on mars and the moon?

Shoudl it permit others to follow on their own? Or will that competition result in war and endanger the colonies?

Its not like in the past when the New World was colonised, now the US could probably stop any 'mission' to setup a colony from ever acheiving orbit.

And if the US could establish a base, what if it just moved its entire population to anotehr planet, and left all the problems of this planet behind?


How many of us here would volunteer to go to a space colony?

I have thought for a while that mankind in terms of evolving has STALLED dramatically in the last 20-30years.

Sure computers, cars, technology has gone further and further, but REALISTICALLY when was the last time something was Found, invented or discovered that meant our species advances?

All we've done is evolve on things we've ALREADY had, we've made them smarter, faster, smaller, or something along those lines.

We arent going to get to other planets in space bcause we still rely on GRAVITY, and FUELS to manage how we interact with nothingness.

Until LIfe from another planet, with different technology has come down, and offered us something to throw ALL our scientists into, we arent going no where.

Problem is, if 'they' do visit us, and offer us something to help our species, it will create a global war ANYWAY.

cause it basically throws religion OUT THE DOOR!

maybe thats what there WAITING for?

or maybe we are such a small spec, earth being a numerical percentage of the universe i imagine would be such a long number, it probably would never be able to FIT into a ATS post, letalone a computer.

we need to ATTRACT them,

I reackon that every planet with civilisation has something about there planet that makes them unique.
they can figure out hwo to USE a natural recource for great enery,
ours is uranium and enrichment.

I say send up a huge bloody nuke so far into space,
detonate the bug'r.

then pump the our solar system with radio signals.

such a blast of such power and using such elements might arrouse some suspicion,
or it could turn up on there ET1.4 RADAR system inbuilt on the mothership.... series 2 that is..

I am not a bad person, but if most of humanity is bad, and there is no way out of it, then why live? All we end up doing is suffering, and it seems like we cannot do anything about it. And true, the core of humanity is always the same. So what if we are intelligent life, we really just are stupid. If all the good people would just stand up for once and stop letting the bad people take control, it will be a good place. But unfortunately, it does not look that way, so we would pretty much all deserve to die. Not all, but why live like this? So might as well die. Hopefully someday humans will change. I hope greed will just stop, that is the main problem. Look at why people do things, most of it is for money, or power or both. People kill, steal and do stupid things for money and power. Perhaps there is hope, but it does not look that way. I am not saying Global Warming will kill us, but it's effects might, humans cannot adapt to hurricanes, lately there seems to be many more hurricanes.

Only time will tell, we just have to wait and see what happens, if we will change things or leave as is and just doom ourselves. So what if we don't die from GW, we did cause it. We messed up our envoirement. Humans destroyed the forests. Humans created the big ozone hole. Humans have created inmense amounts of waste, humans have created wars that destroy each other.

Yes, humans have their good side. But it hardly seems to show. If we left this planet, we will destroy the next one. Oh my god, we would probably kill ourselves for sure. If we find a new habitable planet, don't you think nations would try to race to that planet? Don't you think they will try to take the whole planet for themselves? Or at least take as much land as possible? Don't you think humans will fight for the resources?

Look at the history, WE WILL FIGHT OVER IT.

Look at the Great Crusades, even religous people had wars to attempt to have control over Jerusalem. Look at Europe and their 'exploration' of the Americas. They just killed all of the Native Americans and took over as much land as possible. Each country fought each other. Then when the United States was formed after the revolution, they expaned westward with the 'Manifest Destiny'. The U.S. moved into Texas and ended up fighting Mexico for a lot of land. Then Natives were pushed and pushed, until the U.S. caught up and took them over.

Napoleon tried to take over all of Europe and the Asia, but Russia stopped him. But look at what he did. Humans have always been fighting for 3 things out of pure greed: Power, Money, and Land.

Also, if the planet is to 'reset' and fix itself up, we will still suffer during that time period. Also, I did not say we should not inhabit other planets, but we will most likely destroy it as well, even if it 'resets', same story. It is responsibility. We have to protect our planet, our home. Who cares if it can fix itself, it is principle. We have to show we are intelligent, not idiotic morons. We just show our laziness.

[edit on 14-6-2006 by Phoenix521]

Prof. Hawking was not talking about abandoning our planet after having made a mess of it. He was talking about spreading some part of the human race offplanet so that a planetery disaster (such as a meteorite strike of Dinosaur Killer proportions) would not wipe out the human race. He was suggesting that we take some of our eggs out of the single basket they're now in and spread them a little wider. That's simple common sense and I, for one, find it almost impossible to disagree.

In my view, this business of living on planets is just so yesterday. Planets are where intelligent species arise, not where they're supposed to live in perpetuity, for heaven's sake. Who wants to live at the bottom of a well?

Besides, planets have other uses more important than simply being carved up for real estate. Earthlike planets and pretty but non-earthlike ones where survival is not too much of a challenge are much too precious to colonize and loot: they should be allowed to revert to wilderness. We could take our holidays on them and use them to teach our children survival skills and toughen them up, Outward Bound style. Earth, in particular, should be evacuated and preserved as an historical theme park and biomass reservoir.

Inhospitably frigid, molten or radiation-drenched rocky planets and gas giants should be mined to provide the raw materials and reaction masses we will need to power the planet-sized, artificial orbiting habitats and generation starships on which it is our destiny to live.

[edit on 14-6-2006 by Astyanax]

How many of us here would volunteer to go to a space colony?

I would, in a second.

Sign me up!

Originally posted by WyrdeOne

How many of us here would volunteer to go to a space colony?

I would, in a second.

Sign me up!

Me too!

original quote by:Nygdan
How many of us here would volunteer to go to a space colony?

Ill be your huckleberry. Although I might have a hard time convincing my wife.

I dont think there would be any shortage of volunteers.

I don't know about that, I had brought it up to a group of friends once and no one was interested, they thought I was nuts for wanting to do it. I mean, I figure that if I was around in teh colonial era, I'd move to 'that crazy new city 'new amsterdam' in a heartbeat. But then again, most people didn't move to the americas, and that was the same planet. So probably even less people would move to mars or the moon.

How many of us here would volunteer to go to a space colony?

Sign me up as well

IMO having a self-sufficient off world colony is a vital step for any advanced species.

I would be all for Mars independance from earth though forgot letting earth politicans make important decisions for Mars colonies if they realy became self-sufficient.

Viva la Mars revolution

Originally posted by ShadowXIXEither its highly doubful GW is not going to be the destruction of the human race because humans are among the most adaptive creatures that have ever lived on earth and have lived through Ice Ages and global warming before. With technology a few degree difference is global temp is not going to kill off the human race.

How did you come up with that ?
The temperature raises a few degrees over centuries, and you think that makes us the most adaptive?
In the last, what.. 1000 years have we had any such event that RISKED mankind unless they adapted?

I read that if you display the lifetime of humans on a CLOCk, along with dinosaurs and rah rah, we make up only 5minutes.

5 minutes, of 60???

we havent had to adapt.

we've enjoyed a prolonged period of MINIMAL change.
to say we have adapted is a very incorrect statement.

We caused this global warming,
its like NOTHING that has happened on this planet before.
In the last 5 years it has accelerated to the point where we WORRY about our next hurricane season,

Droughts, Floods, Earthquakes, Storms they are all multiplying and growing stronger.

Adapt, HAH! I laugh at that.
We're still arguing as to weather Global warming is REAL, and if we CAUSED it.
Dont mind the indicators, the melting icecaps..

I believe hawkings is SPOT ON.

We have a president that REFUSES to engage in global warming conferences,
meanwhile we STILL pump unbeleiveable amounts of CRAP into the atmosphere,
all the while removing the natural lubricant of the planet and ever increasing rates.

We're not adapting at all,
we're just finding news ways to speed up the destruction of this planet.