02-17-2016, 05:31 PM
As I understand it, the biggest driver for finding another habitable planet is not any "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow", but avoiding extinction. Any number of apocalyptic events (nuclear war, chemical war, biological war, giant asteroid, super-virus, super-volcano, supernova, Gamma Ray Burst, etc... have a nice day!) could wipe out all human life on earth. Nice to have settled a spare planet or two, just in case.
I suspect there might be a subtle but universal attitude adjustment as well. If humanity's destiny is limited to this obscure little planet and who can steal more of it from the rest, well... not much point in getting out of bed in the morning, really. It's an enormous galaxy out there. So much of the squabbling over bits of land would seem silly if our eyes return to the skies and the endless prize that lurks beyond that far horizon.
I suspect there might be a subtle but universal attitude adjustment as well. If humanity's destiny is limited to this obscure little planet and who can steal more of it from the rest, well... not much point in getting out of bed in the morning, really. It's an enormous galaxy out there. So much of the squabbling over bits of land would seem silly if our eyes return to the skies and the endless prize that lurks beyond that far horizon.