Where do we go from here?

[Chandrasekhar]

A subject brought up by a slightly OT discussion on another thread.

So, we're a fairly robust species, we humans. Recently added our six billionth currently living member, and adding another 200,000 or so every day. It's fairly well agreed that we could destroy the rock we live on without going to too much trouble, though no one has seemed interested in doing so for the last few decades.

Here's my question: where do we go from here? Do we settle into our seat as the masters of Earth, or do we start populating our sister rocks around the Sun? Do we build a utopia of fufilled desire and peaceful enlightenment, or do we collapse inward into ourselves as our resources diminish and our institutions crumble? Lacking a crystal ball, I turn to the second most reliable method of predicting the future- the CFC OT community. Discuss.

 

[Xanikk999]

Mars would be the next likely choice, along with the moon.

We have the technology to do it now. In fact we did years ago, it just isnt economically feasable and there would be no benifit to doing it right now.

 

[Old Spice]

I can't wait to have my own spaceship in 20 or so years! I bet in 100 years we will populate the entire solar system.

 

[Kraznaya]

The world ends on 2012.

 

[El_Machinae]

We'll continue to industrialise and urbanise. I believe that some of our urbanisation will move onto the seas, with things like offshore wind farms. As well, birth rates will drops.

If we're smart, we'll set aside swaths of land to maintain ecosystems.

As time goes on, the opportunities to go to space will increase - so that eventually it will be considered a type of migration.

We've got a proud future ahead of us; but we have to want it and work for it. And that means as individuals and as communities.

 

[Narz]

Dismantle the suburbs and change them into tens of thousands of ecovillages instead. Phase out polluting technology and place an embargo on any nation that continues to pollute. Place human interest over economic interest. Voluntarily reduce population.

I'll get back to the other thread in a bit (tonight or mañana).

 

[Whomp]

From the UN report

During 2000-2050, eight countries (India, Pakistan, Nigeria, the United States, China, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order of population increment) are expected to account for half of the world’s projected population increase.As a result of these trends, the population of more developed regions, currently at 1.2 billion, is anticipated to change little during the next.

The US seems to have plenty of land to expand but the rest of these countries could become mighty crowded.
If I lived in one of those countries I'd move to one of these countries.....

In addition, because fertility levels for most of the developed countries are expected to remain below replacement level during 2000-2050, the populations of 33 countries are projected to be smaller by mid-century than today (e.g., 14 per cent smaller in Japan; 22 per cent smaller in Italy, and between 30 and 50 per cent smaller in the cases of Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine).

Some of these countries seem rather congested already so maybe it will be a little more comfortable around there.

 

[Old Spice]

Lock away all the hippies, and continue on as if they never existed.

 

[Elrohir]

From the UN report The US seems to have plenty of land to expand but the rest of these countries could become mighty crowded.
If I lived in one of those countries I'd move to one of these countries.....
Some of these countries seem rather congested already so maybe it will be a little more comfortable around there.

Yep, the US still has plenty of land. If you want it for a reasonable price you'll have to live outside of the city, but with our interfaced society it isn't too difficult to do a lot of your work from home if you really want to. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of companies decentralized in the future, with many of their workers working from computers at home fifty miles out in the country where land is cheap.

China, though, is pretty much screwed. I don't know what they're going to do when they have 2 billion people. At the rate they're going, pretty soon they'll have to take turns lying down while the rest stand!

 

[amadeus]

I think overpopulation is a lot of hype.

There are huge open spaces that are underpopulated and with time could be turned into very productive regions. Unfortunately, a lot of this open space is in politically unstable areas and development is in part hindered by the fear that a venture into those territories may result in expropriation of assets.

 

[QuoVadisNation]

Most developing countries will probably just keep on killing each other while the industralized ones will probably just keep on contemplating a good enough reason to hate eachother. Even when space travel comes about, countries or blocs will probably just continue that same struggle for dominion of space. All of this will more or less continue until we finally meet aliens. By then we'll finally ignore each other and work out ways to start hating those aliens.

"My" prediction, countries will stop relaying so much on a substantial militrary and focus on simple terror tactics.

 

[Perfection]

It's fairly well agreed that we could destroy the rock we live on without going to too much trouble

It is?

 

[Babbler]

It is?

Well, it generally agreed that we can make the world a very unpleasant place for ourselves.

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

We somehow develop the ability to terraform other planets and shortly thereafter discover subspace conduits that course through the galaxy like highways and gain the ability to travel across them by entering subspace nodes at the extremities of each star system. We continue to expand and multiply forming a nation of the stars until we come across other likewise races. Gradually, races form superpowers but extend too far and numerous systems breakaway from the parent nations to form lesser republics, aligning themselves with a superpower and forming blocs of power, which leads to catastrophic wars over spheres of influence over lesser republics, resources, and with certain races believing they have a rite over others. Amidst it all, one university graduate after living his whole life on the terran homeworlds moves to another part of the Terran republic, joining a secessionist movement of the system, eventually succeeding in establishing an independent republic before being crushed by the weight of the Terran military. He then escapes along with some other supporters to another superpower which quietly grants them amnesty, setting up the next installment in the series.

I love writing.

 

[Shaihulud]

The universe is our domain. It is our sacred duty to continue and perpetuate the human species by colonizing every corner of it.

 

[Perfection]

Do we settle into our seat as the masters of Earth, or do we start populating our sister rocks around the Sun?

We do both and more!

We also gotta putt stuffs on the moon and other moons because moons are moony.

 

[Bad Player]

A subject brought up by a slightly OT discussion on another thread.

So, we're a fairly robust species, we humans. Recently added our six billionth currently living member, and adding another 200,000 or so every day. It's fairly well agreed that we could destroy the rock we live on without going to too much trouble, though no one has seemed interested in doing so for the last few decades.

Here's my question: where do we go from here? Do we settle into our seat as the masters of Earth, or do we start populating our sister rocks around the Sun? Do we build a utopia of fufilled desire and peaceful enlightenment, or do we collapse inward into ourselves as our resources diminish and our institutions crumble? Lacking a crystal ball, I turn to the second most reliable method of predicting the future- the CFC OT community. Discuss.

Well the population surge is from poor countries who can't afford to set up colonies on other planets. What's the point of rich countries with below replenishment birth rates populating other planets?

 

[Eli]

The universe is our domain. It is our sacred duty to continue and perpetuate the human species by colonizing every corner of it.

Time for a new Manifest Destiny.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

We hit a technological singularity between 2026 and 2045, possibly. Hopefully.

 

[Swedishguy]

It's in the human instincts to break all the limits. What seems impossible now should be possible in a couple of years.

Time seems to accelerate when humans get more advanced.

We will colonize the moon.