Ron de Varona
Staff Writer

Given the entire history of our species, where will we be in 100 years? Most people might say “who cares I’m gonna be dead.” I don’t blame them entirely for that way of thought. It is hard to imagine what we could do in such an amount of time, considering how much we have accomplished in the past 100 years. It is even harder to imagine a world absent of us. Often we see our world centered around the individual and what “I” can accomplish. But what sets us apart is our capacity to collaborate and succeed monumental tasks. There is much to be said about learning to fly as a species. 

Since our species started to walk upright, it honestly has been nothing but innovation and advancement regarding how easily we can live. Fire, agriculture, war, science, philosophy and basically everything we know has been achieved in the blink of an eye given the age of our planet and how many species came before us.

Look at what we can do in this very moment in time. We are printing houses. Cars can drive themselves. We have been to space numerous times and continue to venture further and further. 

There are some negatives, though, that come with the age of accessibility. I hope you’ve been enjoying the weather because it is going to continue to get worse. With some efforts being made towards curbing global warming, there is some hope but we are nearing the eve of irreversibility. This means coasts will flood and we will have more environmental refugees than ever before. If you’re a glass half full kind of person, new beach front property will soon be available. 

I honestly feel that our future in space can help us back home in so many simple ways. Where would we go? I think we could start a new civilization on the Moon easily, on a budget, and soon. 

The Moon is an obvious stepping stone to anything else we are trying to do outside of our atmosphere. It can provide storage, production and habitation. 

In the beginning, it will be difficult and should remain an international effort so no claims can be made about the ownership of our Moon. It will require many willing and adept individuals who would take the risk of going to the moon to create the first international, interplanetary colony. The first step is getting the colony self sufficient. It takes three days to the moon so a constant stream of supplies and crew members will be readily available.

Mars, however, would be a much harder project. The perfect alignment for a trip to Mars only comes about every two years. Plus, the trip itself would take 150 to 300 days.

We can achieve a lunar colony within our lifetime easily. A growing colony means more people would be leaving Earth. If overpopulation is a legitimate concern, this seems to be an easy fix. We could expand what we can do as a species and create a functional and growing population. I stress the importance of colonization of the moon simply because what better way to relieve the stress that humans make on our home than to remove the humans? This is the golden opportunity for humans to get a chance to make a sustainable, successful and fruitful society together in the modern age. 

Categories: Opinions

Tags: moon, opinions