Wandering around a shopping mall today got me thinking about the rate at which we humans consume the earth's resources. Even if we master the art of recycling and somehow manage to replace the earth's resources at the same rate that we consume them, our growing population will immediately upset that balance.
Even the very space we inhabit is limited, and if we choose to preserve some of the earth's natural areas (an endeavour I wholeheartedly support) we may soon find ourselves literally running out of room to live.
Short of culling the human population, our only recourse is to expand to new areas in which we can continue our growth. Below are some potential candidates, each more ridiculous than the last:
1. Tunnelling underground: The most reasonable solution. It is however only temporary, as the area beneath the earth's crust can only accomodate limited growth in a stable manner. We would soon find ourselves back where we started. Furthermore, this solution would not provide us with enough resources to continue our growth.
2. Underwater cities: Much like with the first option, this solution can only ever be temporary, since the earth's oceans can also only accomodate limited growth. This solution becomes even more impractical when we consider that the oceans also provide us with a tremendous proportion of the resources needed to sustain the human global population, and as such, building within them would limit their ability to replenish their resources. In addition, we should also be trying to preserve the oceans, rather than exploit them further.
3. Occupation of other planets: We have yet to discover a planet capable of sustaining human life, and yet this seems like the most reasonable option in the long run.
Discussing this issue does seem a little ridiculous at the moment. After all, our situation has not deteriorated to the point where humans need to explore the aforementioned options. However, resource shortages and overcrowding are current issues, and are poised to become more serious as time passes.
