“we’ll fill the entire universe in a couple thousand years.”
I remember reading something a few years ago, projecting human kinds colonization of the stars. I don’t have the exact cite unfortunately, but it postulated that if humans could ever build space craft that could attain sustained velocities of aprox. .5c, it would take about a million years for us to colonize the GALAXY (well, colonize ‘earth like’ planets at least on the periphery…not counting core systems). The universe?? Even if you could build magical space craft that could instantly jump to the stars could you hope to colonize the universe in ‘a couple thousand years’. lol.
As I said earlier, in response to the OP (you guys know, the actual question we are supposed to be debating), it would be bad if we never got off this rock because we would not be fulfilling our potential. There are vast resources out there. There is room out there…room for us to spread and diversify, and protect the treasure that is our species. I don’t think that colonization will save the earth, alleviate poverty, or any other such thing…but I DO think that colonization of the stars will save our species (from natural disasters, and from ourselves). And, I maintain, that sentients is THE most precious thing in the universe. A species that is sentient, that can look up and wonder, can appreciate, can strive to know…THATS something worth protecting IMO.
-XT