posted on Oct, 2 2007 @ 12:02 AM
First and foremost, many thanks to Vagabond for this debate competition. To my opponent more_seratonin_pls – I wish you the very best and may the
best person win.
“Humans will most likely become extinct within the next 1000 years” – I seriously doubt that will happen in 1,000 years. In fact I doubt it will
happen in 10,000 years – however, I don’t doubt it will happen in say 1 to 50 million years - on Earth. And you may agree or disagree but consider
the following:-
What needs to happen for a species to become extinct? It may be because of natural causes, i.e. a species genetic trait that unfortunately limits the
species chances of progressing or adapting in short periods of time; it may be sudden changes in climate to which a species cannot adjust or adapt in
a reasonable period of time; it may be that a species is wiped out by another species that may not be native to that specific region and the species
that becomes extinct has no natural defenses; other reasons are over hunting, pollution or the destruction, by humans, or non-native species, of their
natural habitat.
Now, if we had asked this question 200-300 years ago the answer may well have been a resounding yes! However, in the last 80 years technology has
progressed at such an accelerated pace that we have been to the moon, set satellites in space etc. Now I will not go into the possibilities of space
travel, as we may have read in some threads, but what we need to understand is that, considering the pace at which we are becoming a more
technologically aware and advanced “planet”, I would wager that humans, in the next 100 – 200 years, will have the required technology for us to
live for long periods of time in space OR on other planets like Mars, or the Moon, with readily available food sources.
I think it is prudent to realize that humans have the ability to adapt to most environments with technology that can change the habitat, required to
live in a specific area, to a place of comfort regardless of the climate or location.
The key to our survival is adaptability and foresight.