Getting heavy industry off the earth soon may be a matter of survival. Not to mention the best extinction protection program we could reasonably hope for that might save other species as well.

I agree that we should take far better care of our cradle: but by now there's a mountain of evidence that we won't.

Do you think colonizing North America was a complete boondoogle?

Ben Franklin's reply is best, since he got the same kinds of criticism for spending money exploring the phenomenon of electricity: "Of what use is a new-born babe?"