[TrueKaiser]

well i am watching a show right now on the future of space travel and why we need to do it other then the 7 billion year deadline before the earth in engulfed by our sun when it changes into a red giant of course.

anyway it made me wonder, did we blow our specie's only chance to move off this planet? or could we still go up there at a later time?

[Scooter_Rider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TrueKaiser', 'w')ell i am watching a show right now on the future of space travel and why we need to do it other then the 7 billion year deadline before the earth in engulfed by our sun when it changes into a red giant of course.

anyway it made me wonder, did we blow our specie's only chance to move off this planet? or could we still go up there at a later time?

[k_semler]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Scooter_Rider', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TrueKaiser', 'w')ell i am watching a show right now on the future of space travel and why we need to do it other then the 7 billion year deadline before the earth in engulfed by our sun when it changes into a red giant of course.

anyway it made me wonder, did we blow our specie's only chance to move off this planet? or could we still go up there at a later time?

[clv101]

A billion years is an inconceivably long time for a species like humans. I think it's clear that we're not going to be leaving the Earth over the next few decades... but 300 years from now? 1000, let alone a million years ANYTHING could happen.

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TrueKaiser', 'w')ell i am watching a show right now on the future of space travel and why we need to do it other then the 7 billion year deadline before the earth in engulfed by our sun when it changes into a red giant of course.

anyway it made me wonder, did we blow our specie's only chance to move off this planet? or could we still go up there at a later time?

[Itch]

Seven billion years? Well, shit. We better get started if we only have seven billion years. I can't think of an accurate word to describe how long that is. By that time, the tree of life will grow and be pruned to a stump thousands of times, and if the less hairy apes don't suffocate themselves and others from their own filth, then something else will come along and kill them.

[tmazanec1]

First, at this point in time, I think we should go unmanned, not manned. I think the stream of missions will dwindle to a trickle, then stop forever or turn into a torrent, depending on which of my two scenarios come true (I go back and forth on this a lot).

[Doly]

To put things in perspective, Earth is only about 5 billion years old. In 7 billion years time, any feature that you can recognize on Earth will have been obliterated. Human beings will have become extinct or become something that probably doesn't look at all like human beings today. Even the stars will be in a different position. There is even time for a new intelligent species to evolve in the meantime. Maybe several, in fact.

[khebab]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TrueKaiser', 'w')ell i am watching a show right now on the future of space travel and why we need to do it other then the 7 billion year deadline before the earth in engulfed by our sun when it changes into a red giant of course.

[clv101]

A few billion years is also enough time for several trillion more barrels of oil to be produced. In a billion years time a new intelligent species could have developed in a very similar way... and could be about to experience their own peak oil!!

[cmlek]

No. We haven't blown it. And I don't see any lack of space missions in the near future. A thing to remember: space exploration has often been linked with military endeavors and intelligence gathering. So, especially if we on Earth start squabbling for resources in the upcoming years, we'll still spend heartily on the war machine.

For purely educational purposes, unmanned space flight has the highest potential. Space colonization, however, is a pipe dream.

[Tyler_JC]

Most of the good stuff was wasted on SUVs, Coca-Cola cans, plastic bottles, and Cell phones. The iron, coal, oil, aluminum, copper, tin, zinc, marble, granite, and natural gas has already been used up. The cheap, easy to find stuff was used. Look around .

Yes, oil/coal/NG can be replaced over time. But will there be time for all of the coke cans to melt down back into aluminum to make the space ships?

Also, we created lots of alloys. Those will need to be broken down again, collected into easy-to-find pools, rise to the surface, be found by some intelligent life form, constructed into a civilization, built into a space ship, and finally launched into space.

It happened once. It took 4 billion years. Can it happen again, in time?

Without recycling and modern mining, what would the world's copper production be? Remember that everything must be done by hand and refined without coal/oil. I have a feeling we would measure it in tons, not million tons.

All of the current deposits of useful metal were constructed over the course of billions of years. It's unlikely that the conditions leading to our takeover of the planet will happen again.

Earth had its chance at colonizing space. We gave up on that dream in exchange for a $2 gallon of gas, a 6 ton SUV, and a trip to Burger King. Ever wonder why we don't see more aliens buzzing around space? Each planet only has 1 shot at the stars and we used ours up. If we did find intelligent life, it would be busy colonizing the galaxy. We have a planet full of nice little goodies. I have a feeling we would lose that war.

Star Trek means free energy and benevolent aliens. I don't think either would exist.

I borrowed this thought line from someone, I can't remember his/her name . If you happen upon this, thank you.

[Permanently_Baffled]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('clv101', 'A') few billion years is also enough time for several trillion more barrels of oil to be produced. In a billion years time a new intelligent species could have developed in a very similar way... and could be about to experience their own peak oil!!

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'M')ost of the good stuff was wasted on SUVs, Coca-Cola cans, plastic bottles, and Cell phones. The iron, coal, oil, aluminum, copper, tin, zinc, marble, granite, and natural gas has already been used up. The cheap, easy to find stuff was used. Look around .

Yes, oil/coal/NG can be replaced over time. But will there be time for all of the coke cans to melt down back into aluminum to make the space ships?

Also, we created lots of alloys. Those will need to be broken down again, collected into easy-to-find pools, rise to the surface, be found by some intelligent life form, constructed into a civilization, built into a space ship, and finally launched into space.

It happened once. It took 4 billion years. Can it happen again, in time?

Without recycling and modern mining, what would the world's copper production be? Remember that everything must be done by hand and refined without coal/oil. I have a feeling we would measure it in tons, not million tons.

All of the current deposits of useful metal were constructed over the course of billions of years. It's unlikely that the conditions leading to our takeover of the planet will happen again.

Earth had its chance at colonizing space. We gave up on that dream in exchange for a $2 gallon of gas, a 6 ton SUV, and a trip to Burger King. Ever wonder why we don't see more aliens buzzing around space? Each planet only has 1 shot at the stars and we used ours up. If we did find intelligent life, it would be busy colonizing the galaxy. We have a planet full of nice little goodies. I have a feeling we would lose that war.

Star Trek means free energy and benevolent aliens. I don't think either would exist.

I borrowed this thought line from someone, I can't remember his/her name . If you happen upon this, thank you.

[Dezakin]

The world isn't ending. Of course we can go to the stars:

http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/

We are going to hit peak oil sometime in the next 50 years, maybe the next 5... but that likely to be no more than a painful recession as we transition from oil to coal for liquid hydrocarbon fuels, and coal to nuclear for electricity.

And we have enough nuclear fuel for several hundred million years at current demand... perhaps only several thousand in growth scenarios but by then we will undoubtably figured out how to use cheap solar and nuclear fusion.

Why does everyone think they're so special to be at the end of civilization?

[Tyler_JC]

HAVE YOU READ ANYTHING ON THIS SITE???

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Q'). Isn't the world running out of usable fresh water supplies.

A. No, but some countries may have to spend a lot of money on water projects, just as our ancestors did

[maverickdoc]

Clam down Tyler. Dezakin does not really know what he is talking about.

Dezakin you need to read up before posting some thing like that. You might want to start out by watching some videos.

http://smalley.rice.edu (this guy won a nobel prize)

http://www.peakoil.net/Colin.html

[Tyler_JC]

I took a few chill pills and now I'm fine.

It's reached the point that I expect everyone to know what I'm talking about. I assume everyone who takes the time to become a member has already read a few articles on Peak Oil. I know that the PO aware only make up 1-5% of the population. But some day "we" will make up a large enough group to do something about it; mainly rape and pillage for months on end...

[trespam]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('maverickdoc', '
')
http://smalley.rice.edu (this guy won a nobel prize)

http://www.peakoil.net/Colin.html