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by gkafkg8y8 3498 days ago
The main two reasons we wouldn't settle anything beyond Earth would be:

1. Lack of interest.

2. Lack of time.

#1 is the biggest problem as far as we know right now. #2 is a problem only if we destroy our planet to the point where we can't expend resources or time, or we overpopulate and run out of resources, or a natural disaster sets us back too far or kills us.

We have sufficient resources right now, we're just not focused on the effort enough. If every government said, "You, need to change what you are doing and start helping us get off of this planet," and changed laws and regulations to encourage or enforce this, it would happen. Is that realistic? Not really. That's the reason that Musk and others are focusing so much on space. Because, if they don't do it, then who?
2 comments
forgotpwtomain 3498 days ago
> 1. Lack of interest.

F-35 was a lot more important, what would we do if we had to stop interfering in the middle-east?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning...

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grkvlt 3498 days ago
For one thing, if we (meaning you, i.e. the USA) stopped 'interfering' in the middle east the F-35 program would be completely unaffected. The F-35 is not being used in Afghanistan, and was nowhere near combat ready during the Iraq wars. I believe they are just beginning to be deployed overseas actively now [1] but that is still a long way from active combat.

1. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/washington-deploy-f-35-fighter-jets...

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forgotpwtomain 3498 days ago
> The F-35 is not being used in Afghanistan, and was nowhere near combat ready during the Iraq wars.

To clarify I wrote: "what would we do if we had to stop interfering" as in "if we didn't have a fighter jet for future interference" when the current line goes EoL.

> For one thing, if we (meaning you, i.e. the USA) stopped 'interfering' in the middle east the F-35 program would be completely unaffected.

I don't really buy that, at least in the broader sense, if the US didn't have an agenda which involved active interventions in the middle east and around the world, the F-35 wouldn't be worth the glamorous budget.

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babyrainbow 3498 days ago
>If every government said, "You, need to change what you are doing and start helping us get off of this planet," and changed laws and regulations to encourage or enforce this, it would happen.

Would't be better if they tried to "fix the planet" instead? Boring, I know. But much more easier and possible and most importantly, proper.

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gkafkg8y8 3498 days ago
> Would't be better if they tried to "fix the planet" instead?

It would be, but based on what I hear, it's too late. Also, you can't easily keep Earth from being hit by a giant meteor or a large CME that takes out all of our electronics and sends us back to the bronze age.

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