As the nightmare scenario where the Earth will become completely uninhabitable for humans is already on the horizon, more resources should be allocated to space exploration in order to find an alternative planet for mankind. However, in this essay I will challenge this school of thought.
One might argue that it is necessary to spend more money on research into making other planets inhabitable. This is predicated on the assumption that the process of global warming has passed the point where it could ever be reversed, spelling disaster for all lives on Earth. According to this theory, colonizing another planet such as Mars is the key to the survival of the human race. However, this line of reasoning is not sound as it does not factor the impracticality of such a venture into the equation. As a rocket that could send three astronauts into space costs around 200 million dollars, building enough spaceships to move a part of the human population to live on another planet is simply impossible.
Another reason to advocate against space exploration is that there is still hope to preserve the environment as we know it. Consider Bill Gates, who has funded many projects addressing the energy predicament, which is the root cause of global warming. Recently, he and his team have reported substantial progress in exploiting nuclear power, a clean but previously perceived unstable source of electricity. They have also introduced a device that could concentrate solar energy to melt various metals, potentially eliminating the need to burn coal to do so, and consequently reducing the amount of C02 emitted from this process. Thus, if more money were used to subsidize innovative ideas, we could still make the Earth habitable for generations to come, rendering the brought forth idea unnecessary.
In conclusion, it is a mistake to assume that more money should be directed to research into space colonization. This is because it is unrealistic to colonize other planets and many ideas that can change our habitat for the better are woefully underfunded.