New Member

Steve Long wrote:

"The kinds of people who would
be interested in this kind of adventure don't give two expletives
about "the benefit of all mankind." They either want the adventure,
or they want a chance to become filthy rich."

Damn straight. That is why people go to the frontier. Same old
motivations.

"The kinds of people who
would develop Papua to benefit all mankind would end up ruining Papua
and hurting everyone else by sucking their wealth away. And what's
wrong with Papua as it stands? And have you asked the Papuans about
their opinion of your plan?"

I bet they have a lot to say about that.

"You seem to have been suggesting that species that live on the surface
of a planet suffer all kinds of disadvantages, most of which they are
unaware of. Are you saying that it would be the best of all possible
worlds if all of humanity moved off-planet? Space habitats for six
billion people, and just use the Earth as a raw materials source?"

In my novel-in-progress, I postulate that Earth would NOT be a source of raw
materials because it sits at the bottom of a gravity well. Such a planet
might revert back to wilderness in many places if the bulk of the population
migrated off-world. In fact, in my novel Earth is a backwater -- all the
heavy industry and commerce is scattered throughout the solar system,
probably concentrated in the asteroid belt for the most part. (Actually,
the novel doesn't take place in the solar system, so this is just background
material).

In my novel there is mention of two 'garden' worlds other than Earth. One
has too high an oxygen content for human life (not to mention surface winds
of 200 mph). The other, because it sits at the bottom of a gravity well, is
a site for research facilities and tourism.

Personally, I don't see why 6 billion people couldn't live in space
habitats. Earth will probably have as many people, though at a much lower
standard of living than the societies in space. For comparison, think of
the Middle East 5000 years ago and what it is like today -- they've gone
from the center of civilization to becoming a backwater supplying one raw
material (petroleum) to the new centers of civilization.

As to the settlement of Mars: as I've said before, somebody will say
either, "I wonder if I can make a profitable living here?" or "If we move to
Mars, no one will bother us."