Well, that's all well and good, but if we take the same racism, sexism, religious fanaticism, and utter disregard for Nature into the galaxy, we're really just delaying or prolonging our tendency to destroy things. A microcosm of an expansion into the galaxy can be seen in how the Old World came into the New: sure, the Americas were an outlet for criminals, the oppressed, those seeking new adventures (not to mention riches), but how many millions died in the process? A shaky trade at best, the creation of the US at the cost of untold millions of Natives and Africans. Going into space because we may destroy ourselves on Earth only means we're giving ourselves a bigger stage on which to--destroy ourselves. If Hawking thinks someone may drop a killer virus on Earth, then in a couple of centuries the concern may be mass drivers hurling asteroids at whole systems, or armadas raining antimatter down onto unsuspecting planets. We're like locusts in the main: ravaging an area, then mov ing on. Until we curb that tendency, we'd really just be carrying our bad habits to the starts
-------------- Original message -------------- From: "Brent Wodehouse" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060613/D8I7ADB81.html Hawking Says Humans Must Go Into Space Jun 13 By SYLVIA HUI HONG KONG (AP) - The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth, world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking said Tuesday. The British astrophysicist told a news conference in Hong Kong that humans could have a permanent base on the moon in 20 years and a colony on Mars in the next 40 years. "We won't find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system," added Hawking, who arrived to a rock star's welcome Monday. Tickets for his lecture planned for Wednesday were sold out. He added that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can continue without support from Earth. "It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species," Hawking said. "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of." The 64-year-old scientist - author of the global best seller "A Brief History of Time" - is wheelchair-bound and communicates with the help of a computer because he suffers from a neurological disorder called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Hawking said he's teaming up with his daughter to write a children's book about the universe, aimed at the same age range as the Harry Potter books. "It is a story for children, which explains the wonders of the universe," his daughter, Lucy, added. They didn't provide other details. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get to your groups with one click. Know instantly when new email arrives http://us.click.yahoo.com/.7bhrC/MGxNAA/yQLSAA/LRMolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
