Some questions even stump Stephen Hawking. The famed British astrophysicist and best-selling author has turned to Yahoo Answers, a new feature in which anyone can pose a question for fellow Internet users to try to answer. By Friday afternoon, nearly 17,000 Yahoo Inc. users had responded. Hawkings question: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?"Some of the answers were short — "get rid of nuclear weapons" — and others vague — "Somehow we will." Many were doubtful: "I don't think it is possible unless we expand into space," one user wrote.A number of people suggested thinking differently, ending bickering or fostering cooperation.Officials at the University of Cambridge, where Hawking is a mathematics professor, confirmed that Hawking wrote the message but said he would have no further comment.Hawking's groundbreaking research on black holes and the origins of the universe has made him one of the best-known theoretical physicists of his generation.

Author of the global best seller A Brief History of Time, Hawking is known for proposing that space and time have no beginning and no end.Lately, he's been pondering about the fate of humans.In a June 13 speech in Hong Kong, Hawking said the survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy Earth.He said that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can continue without support from Earth.Hawking is one of 10 celebrity questioners Yahoo solicited as part of its "Ask The Planet" campaign.

View: Full Article | Source: USA Today

Hawking Says Humans Must Go Into Space
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Jun 13, 7:50 AM (ET)

By SYLVIA HUI

(AP) Renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking from the University of Cambridge, front, is accompanied by...
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HONG KONG (AP) - The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth, world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking said Tuesday.

The British astrophysicist told a news conference in Hong Kong that humans could have a permanent base on the moon in 20 years and a colony on Mars in the next 40 years.

"We won't find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system," added Hawking, who arrived to a rock star's welcome Monday. Tickets for his lecture planned for Wednesday were sold out.

He added that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can continue without support from Earth.

"It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species," Hawking said. "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of."
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People learned they had to create locks to go on their doors.
We have reached the point where control over movements of people are needed to survive as a species.
Each nation must become a fortress in an age where one person with the right tech can take out thousands of people by themselves.
Population control, resource control, and monitering the population closely is a the only way to survive.
Those nations that refuse to do it will likely perish.

Good point cyclon.

The general feeling i believe is that we are close to an explosion of progress and profound discovery, but also, we are close to an explosion of terror and destruction. Which ever comes first will have the upper hand and probably win.

This is so true, but society today won't change until the government steps in. It seems like everybody believes they're going to live the average life, like their parents did (Childhood, School, College, Job, Retirement) and don't expect much change in their lifetime.

I'll be sure to invest my money in some survival gear.

There’s no question that earth and the human race is on the verge of an extinction level event. Even if we get rid of nuclear weapons, make peace, and war is eliminated. You still have the threat of natural disasters (mega tsunamis) or cosmic aberration such as an asteroid that could very well wipe out the human race or solar storms. I for one agree with Hawking that the human race has to expand in outer space in order to survive.

http://www.armageddononline.org/

For some reason, I believe Mr. Hawking was not asking a question but he gave us an ansewer formulatet like a question.
So my answer/question to his question/answer is: How long can the human race sustain on this planet?...

I hope you will understand what Mr. Hawking is saying.

I agree with Hawking. One way biologist save a species is to make to separate populations. That way if one gets decimated by disease or disaster it doesn't effect the other population. He is also right that we need to hurry. Thing aren’t looking so good here on Earth. Basically as a species we are meant to eventually go in to space, I think that is our true purpose as beings.
Eventual we have to let go of Mother Earth's apron strings.

We wont survive this. With all this of the end of times for this current civilaztion it will happen just like about 14,000 (around there) years ago in noahs time. We wont be able to research that much and get that much knowledge like even the advance people (aliens) are with there super technology. So much crap these days in inventings war planes and so much stupid shi* that this world needs to be re-made.

I would like to comment on Mr. Skab's post via Hawking's idea...

True, if we are to explore and expand into space, there is a slight chance we, as a human race, can survive, though our survival does not rest on this exploration. While we think we can live if make it to space, who is to say that in space, we don't face dangers more complicating than earthquakes, asteroids, etc.

By expanding, we only open a new world of danger and adventure that even Mr. Hawking would fear to predict.

I agree with you 100 % Zackery00, but you got to admit the human race does depend on new challenges to survive (progression equals survival).

I'm inclined to agree BUT, how do we determine as a population in total, which humans are "worth saving"?
Duki

Exactly right. My question is, in 100 years, would we even be able to survive in space? How would you survive without any fresh supplies of resources like food and water? Air?
Nextly, would it even be worth it? Yeah sure, the view would be cool for awhile, but would you really want to live in some kind of spacestation? Think of the strict lifestyle you would have to live. It would be a nightmare.

I think it would be a lot easier just to put an end to the uneccesary chaos that the elite and our elected officials have created for us.

I think we need a good ol' genocide. well not technically genocide because we already have plenty of representation of populations of every other race on earth in this country.. we are like a zoo for humanity... a genetic bank.....so lets feel free to kill them all off. clean the planet of all these excess people, these people who do not know order or peace or freedom. lets just wipe them out. they are like cancer to all humanity. im sure there are quite a few in those countries that we are wiping out that are good people. but hey. can you really tell? i say nuke em all. let the land and planet start anew. get rid of all those crazy religions and their fanatics. the world will never find peace as long as there are religious bickering. there wont be any bickering if there is no one else to bicker with you...and those remaining muslims will be too scared to even make a peep because those muslims they do not respect peace and understanding.. they only respect fear and terror...and someone else who are more horrific than they are......so, as i always say. if you want to make an omelette, you have to break some eggs.. you have to kill off some good people along with most bad people in order to achieve the greater good.

Ah, but the big question that arises from all this is do we deserve to survive?

Think about it. Disasters are on the increase due to human activity. Even without disasters, if we just use up the planet's resources, we'd die out. If we expand out from earth but still use up all its resources, who's to say we won't keep using up other planets? As massive as it is, the universe has its limits. The more we expand, the more planets will get used up at an ever increasing rate. What then?

I say we should stay on the planet and, at the very least, attempt to patch things up so we can survive, not run away from problems our species has created.

Let me get this straight, Hawkings wants us to run away from the "problem" which I suppose he means ourselves. If we are supposedly cruel, war-mongering humans, how is living in a space station or other container going to change our "evil" nature? Now, I can see contained environments or cities here on Earth--to have more protection from the elements (natural disasters, nuclear holocaust, etc.), that is almost a certainty. Either way you look at it though, we are at the mercy of our environment, whether it is here or there. I am in favor of space exploration and space stations... I just don't see it as the be-all-end-all to human survival.

It is obvious that Hawking does not think that the governements of earth have either the brains or the balls to build the enclosed, highly regulated and monitered systems needed for survival here on earth, that space would demand be created to even begin to function.

As long as growth (of population, of economics, of technogy) is considered a good thing, then like the lemmings, we are doomed to sudden collapse. That is not an extinction event, just harsh medicine. Several European countries as well as Japan have stable or declining populations, so it can be done, deliberately.

The odds of an extinction event asteroid are roughly once every 100 million years. I do think we should locate them, and we are, and create some kind of space defense against them, and people are working on it. I don't lie awake at night worrying about them.

A more serious problem is the next Ice Age because it is inevitable, it is past due, and it will move everyone's agricultural lands around, possibly to a different country.

Space colonies outside the Earth's atmosphere would have to be deep underground on the Martian surface because of the deadly Cosmic Rays. I'm not saying it is impossible, but it might be better to keep our space eco-system rockets scattered around the Earth, and hope their will be enough warning to launch.

Of course, none of this will happen. Probably.

~~Cebrakon

That's what you keep telling yourself.

Maybe you are right Cebrakon none of this could happen but then again the people of New Orleans never thought hurricane Katrina was strong enough to damage the levees and flood the city. Instead of preparing for the worst like upgrading the levees, the people and govt instead did stupid prayers and rituals in hope no hurricane would collide with New Orleans, but then again its just harsh medicine for the people of New Orleans to swallow

I believe a few studies have shown declining intelligence and increased agresssion in mice and other animals forced to live in denser and denser populations.

If humans are affected by population density in the same way, I suppose this means the more people we have on earth the worse our problems become. Space exploration and colonization is the next logical step.