Europe's migrant problem

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

True, the entire world's full.

This one, at least.

Here's the solution:

The sooner we inhabit multiple planets, the better.

I think any serious colonization of Mars is between 100 and 300 years off (barring disasters). I don't think it will happen until after there is significant mining and manufacturing on the Moon or asteroids. I also think some kind of fission or fusion based propulsion will need to be developed before people go there with enough equipment to stay.

But the problem with thinking of Mars (or anywhere else) as a fallback planet, besides the lack of oxygen, magnetosphere, air pressure, food and liquid water is that it overlooks the obvious. Wherever we go, we’ll take our territorial selves with us. How long before the Chinese Mars Colony's terraforming policy starts screwing with the Western Mars colony's terraforming plan and vice-versa? Either we’re capable of dealing with the challenges posed by our own foibles or we’re not. Perhaps the reason we haven’t met any alien civilizations is that those which survive long term aren’t the type to go zipping around the galaxy. Maybe they’ve stayed quietly at home, tending their own garden and living within their means.