The problem is the population...

We are supposed to crest 7 billion humans in 2011. Back in 1970 there was only 3-4 billion people.

Of course we cannot feed and shelter them all. Wars will spark over the simple things like food/water and farming lands. 7 Billion people drink a lot of fresh water and consume a lot of fossil fuels. Maybe the world should decide on a family size cap?

Watching this http://www.peterrussell.com/Odds/WorldClock.php makes you think about the world.

What to do?

On a lighter note they did a great job using the Fallout3 engine to make the video. 🙂

Yea, that "world clock" is scary 😯 It's looking more likely the future will end up like Fallout 3 and we are fresh out of G.E.C.Ks! 😮

On that world clock click on the 'Now' button and observe the born/deaths and abortions. If there wasn't any abortions births would out pace death 3/1 right now it is only 2/1. Just as I write this post there was 710 births and 305 deaths, hard to believe....

Don't forget the Pipboy 3000

[hsimg] [/hsimg]

The only way to save what's left is to get off the planet. We really need to start developing mass colonisation technologies and with it practical propulsion systems to the rest of the solar system. The extra resources are up there to sustain our growing population, the trick is getting to them. Of course short-sighted politicians around the world will block any such action until it's too late. Visionaries who could assist in this goal are ridiculed and ignored, "Don't you know there is a world wide recession going on, we can't fund this!", they might say, in reply I would say, that's very little compared to what awaits us if we do nothing. But what do I know? I am just one of those numbers on that clock, I think it was G'Kar (from Babylon 5) said it best, "the future is not what it used to be" 😐

Yes, we will be just a tick on that clock someday (hopefully not soon). Technology wise Geraldine I don't think we are even close to what we would need to have to really colonize another world. Yeah we could create some outposts. But a Outpost that could hold 100,000 to 1,000,000 people.... no way. We would run into the same issue as Earth, food and water. Until we can terraform a world I think we are stuck here. And we would also need the means to leave our own galaxy. Because right now colonizing Venus/Mercury is out, way to hot. And Mars we might be able to live there if we can raise the temps of the planet since they range from 1F to -178F. All food would have to be grown indoors and we couldn't rely on the planet surface for anything, well maybe the ice for water.

I know we could do it if we were focused on it. I mean c'mon the iPad has more power in it than the Apollo lander had, and that went to the moon. Most of the worlds greatest technology innovations have happened during wartime or tensions between countries. It's unfortunate that the only way humans accelerate innovation is when there lives are at risk 🙂

Well from destroying the Earth ourselves to having help from above! Thought this was well made

Interesting article here: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/08/ ... n-hawking/

More info here on the topic: http://bigthink.com/ideas/21691