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Originally Posted by Skybird
The greatest fantasy is to assume that by invention of new tools and discovering new reserves we can afford not to change our ressources-wasting way of life.
The greatets challenge will not be new technology. the greatest challenge will prove to be changing our mental attitudes, and redesigning our way of life - and very far-reaching so.
People keep on thinking that everything will change for the better, just they themselves have not to change at all, and have not to accept reducing their claims and expectations. But that is a lethal mistake. The earth can sustain only so many people with this living standard. If it becomes more people, the living standard has do decline. If you want more living standard, there have to be less people.
Unlimited economic growth is also a fantasy. Physically it is not possible to have unlimited growth within a system or environment of limited dimensions. Also, the more industrial growth, the more energy needs - the more pollution - the more problems the more people there are, with growing material expectations.
Medicine has a term for unlimited growth. It calls it cancer. and that is what human civilisation is behaving like.
Don't try to change the world. change yourself and your expectations first. A changing world then will come all by itself. Trying it the other way around will only lead to what we already experience in excessive dimensions: bringing our old problems to ever newer, ever greater proportions.
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What? You think we are going to say "Screw it" to modern way of life? Who makes that decision?
One step at a time here... Lets fix the current crisis then work on getting offworld. The resources in space are great and the ability to use them grows. Hydroponics for instance can mean that people can live and work in space. And while I don't believe my generation will live in a giant space station. I do believe man will go to the stars before just saying we have grown enough. Can you imagine the wars if someone tried to tell another that we can't reasonably grow anymore?