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> > Space habitats for six billion people,
>
> Would take eighty years from the time the first habitat is built,
> assuming Stanford Tori, a four year doubling time, and also assuming
> that we never get any better at it (i.e., a three-year doubling time,
> like the 1976 study concluded was reasonable) or start building
> larger habitats (which would be more efficient of materials). It
> also assumes an area-per-person ratio larger than that assumed in the
> study. Of course, the Solar System's population might well itself
> double in those eighty years, but that's OK. In another four years,
> there would be room for them also. And do keep in mind that I'm
> talking about twelve billion people who not only have a place to
> live, but who enjoy a standard of living that less than a quarter of
> Earth's population enjoys today.
>

How many people would live in a Stanford Torus? About 5,700? (My
shaky math suggests that's the starting number to reach six billion in
twenty doublings.) I'm imagining a million Stanford Tori orbiting
Earth, trying to beam their energy down without microwaving each
other. The image I get is the Washington Beltway at rush hour, with
phasers ... :-)

But then, what will they sell to Earthlings, when no one is left on
earth to buy?