Well, I’m not sure where the discussion is at. But it doesn’t take much of a scientist to figure out that there are finite resources on the planet we inhabit and, thanks to our anatomy and physical attraction, a potentially infinite number of resource consuming humans on the way.
The options, to me, seem to be either:
A) Find more resources
B) Dramatically conserve the resources we have
A) This would demand space exploration and space exploitation. We know the former; colonies on the moon, Mars, space stations, territorial conquests of planets we haven’t even come across yet…. The latter is something that holds more promise in my view; at least short term. We’re talking mega-jumbo works to make more of our land livable. Wikipedia has a page of what they call mega projects:
List of megaprojects - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and to say that they are disheartening is an understatement. True, they are large projects and some are for the greater good…but most are simple business ventures. What I’m envisioning is (and I’ve mentioned this before), a shipping canal from San Diego to Brownsville, TX to replace the Panama Canal. Not only would this act as the needed wall between the two nations, it would also involve bringing water out to New Mexico, Arizona and the Mojave in California.
B) Conservation is not a viable option in the face of rising populations. Nor is it politically appetizing.
That is to say that when “people are no longer needed”…my question is “needed for what?” If you can see life as a philosopher or an artist or a chef or entertainer, I think you have a good jump on the rest of us who think of work as a transaction that makes the rest of life livable. Who is to say that if you don’t produce X, you’re value is less than those who do?