Re:SpaceX craft overshot Mars’ orbit and is headed to astero...
by jdavis703 on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @10:22AM
(#16324973)
If everyone consumed like an American we’d need something like 4x Earths. There are not enough resources on this planet unless westerners start scaling back their consumption and members of developing societies scale their ambitions down to match the new, lower consumption models of the West.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:SpaceX craft overshot Mars’ orbit and is headed to astero...
by Asdfbla on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @10:43AM
(#16325150)
Then making that consumption sustainable and reducing waste would be a far better investment than pipe dreams of asteroid mining.
Keep in mind scarcity of resources is not the only issue. If everyone on Earth really ever started consuming as much as Americans then it doesn't matter if there's enough surplus material in space, the ecosystem on Earth would be dead anyway and we'd have much bigger issues.
Re:SpaceX craft overshot Mars’ orbit and is headed to astero...
by jotm on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @10:37AM
(#16325088)
There's enough resources (especially since they don't just disappear and can be recovered by recycling), afaik, except for food - that's what we're consuming too fast to replenish.