Too Many People

Since 1987 we've been using Earth resources faster than they are naturally created. Though this is a fact is undeniably debatable, it is generally accepted by scientists.
There are five basic ways we can reach equilibrium:
  1. Do nothing. Eventually Earth will become so inhospitable that the human population will decline, until we go either extinct, or severely reduced.
  2. Reduce human population by having fewer children
  3. Reduce our consumption of resources through both good will and legislation
  4. Reduce our consumption by finding ways to live on Earth with less impact
  5. Get people off the planet faster than they are born
Here I explore the final option. It is the only option which can sustain unbounded population growth. The resources available in the solar system as a whole greatly outstrip those available only on Earth. Though reaching the limits of our solar system may happen eventually, that point is so far in the future, it will be as realistic to look beyond our solar system then as it is for us to look beyond Earth today.

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