Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet, 2021a

4 Space Colonization 62
<strong>Human</strong>s have explored (a small portion of) the crushing deep ocean,
scaled Earth’s highest <strong>and</strong> wholly inhospitable peaks, <strong>and</strong> visited the
harsh ice cap at the north pole. In such instances, we had zero intention
of establishing permanent residence in those locations. They represented
places to test our toughness <strong>and</strong> also learn about new environments.
We do not view these sorts of explorations as mistakes just because they
did not pave the way for inhabitation. Rather, we speak fondly of such
excursions as feathers in our collective cap: feats that make us proud as
a species. Space might be viewed in a similar way: superlative in terms
of challenge <strong>and</strong> wonderment, reflecting positively on our curiosity,
drive, ingenuity, <strong>and</strong> teamwork. We also derive benefits 23 in the way of
technological advancement propelled by our quest to explore, <strong>and</strong> in
furthering our scientific underst<strong>and</strong>ing of nature.
23: . . . among them a deeper appreciation
for the rare <strong>and</strong> precious Earth
So even if space does not fulfill the fantasy of continued human expansion
across the cosmos, it is in our nature to at least explore it. We would do
well to put space exploration in the category of conquering Mt. Everest
rather than that of Europeans stumbling upon the West Indies (one is as
imminently uninhabitable as the other is inhabitable). Let us not make
the mistake of applying the wrong narrative to space.
Many positive things might be said about space exploration, <strong>and</strong> hopefully
we continue poking into our outer environment indefinitely. Yet
hoping that such exploration is a pathway to human colonization of
space is probably wrong <strong>and</strong> almost certainly counterproductive at
present, given the short timescale on which human expansion is likely
to collide with Earth’s limits.
If, in the fullness of time, we do see a path toward practical space
colonization, then fine. But given the extreme challenge <strong>and</strong> cost—
both energetically <strong>and</strong> economically, <strong>and</strong> for what could only be a
tiny footprint in the near term—it seems vastly more prudent to take
care of our relationship with Planet Earth first, <strong>and</strong> then think about
space colonization in due time, if it ever makes sense. Otherwise, not
only do we spend precious resources unwisely, but (even worse) our
mindset is tainted by unrealistic dreams that diminish the importance
of confronting the real challenge right here on the ground. We need to
have our heads in the real game. Perhaps twenty øne piløts said it best
in the song Stressed Out:
Despite the pessimistic tone of this chapter,
the author is himself captivated by space,
<strong>and</strong> has built a life around it: Star Wars was
a transformative influence as a kid, <strong>and</strong>
later Star Trek. The movie The Right Stuff is
still a favorite. He has peered to the edge of
the universe—first through a 10-inch telescope
he built in high school, <strong>and</strong> later using
the largest telescopes in the world. He
has worked on a Space Shuttle experiment,
met astronauts, knew Sally Ride, <strong>and</strong> spent
much of his career building <strong>and</strong> operating
a laser system to bounce <strong>and</strong> detect individual
photons off the reflectors placed on
the lunar surface by the Apollo astronauts
(as a test of the fundamental nature of gravity),
which directly inspired part of a Big
Bang Theory episode via personal interactions
with the show’s writers. So a deep
fondness for space? Yes. Would volunteer
to go to the moon or Mars? Yes. Believes it
holds the key to humanity’s future? No.
We used to play pretend, give each other different names
We would build a rocket ship <strong>and</strong> then we’d fly it far away
Used to dream of outer space but now they’re laughing at our face
Saying, “Wake up, you need to make money.”
Yeah.
Space colonization might be treated as a pretend fantasy for the moment.
We would be better off waking up to face real here-<strong>and</strong>-now challenges.
In some sense, perhaps the only way to achieve the dream of migration
to space—should that be in the cards at all—is to first pretend that
© 2021 T. W. Murphy, Jr.; Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Lic.;
Freely available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/energy_ambitions.