On Sun, 12 Feb 1995, Patrick O'Neil wrote:
> Conversely, I have considered the wideer ramifications of such
> manipulations and capabilities and have come to the conclusion that
> significant life extension in general would be disastrous. The worl
> population is already booming and there is concern about the environment
> and available resources for the ever-growing minions.
> ...
> Unless there is another planet sitting around for us to expand onto, or
> unless everyone will accept strict population control methods, then it
> cannot work. The problems are the same, to varying lessor extents if you
> are only considering minor life extensions.
I think your analysis is essentially correct. Humanity's gestation is
nearly over; the difficulty is making sure that Mother Earth does not die
due to complications of childbirth.
The only long-term solution, of course, is to expand from Earth. As you
pointed out, long lives would be benificial given ample room and
resources. Fortunately, there are resources aplenty in our home solar
system. The gas giants, especially, are rich in energy and raw
materials. Of course, the original question was about life extension
through biological means, and it is doubtful that such methods will
enable people to live on other worlds except in enclosed structures, and
this will limit the rate of expansion.
Of course, it would take an extremely aggressive emmigration program to
counter the growth rate; births will have to be legally restricted, most
likely, as they are in China already. The combination of emmigration and
birth restriction may succeed in saving Earth -- despite an extended
lifespan.
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| Joseph J. Strout Department of Neuroscience, UCSD |
|jstrout at ucsd.eduhttp://sdcc3.ucsd.edu/~jstrout/ |
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