Stephen Hawking: time on earth is running out

Things are looking somewhat bleak for humanity.  At least in terms of survival.  According to the world’s foremost theoretical scientist and astronomer Stephen Hawking, we’re doomed unless we can ditch Mother Earth in the next 1,000 or so years and find another planet to colonize.  As would be expected, pollution, climate change and nukes are the main culprits.

Speaking earlier this week at the Oxford University Union, Hawking said that our best chance for survival as a species is to abandon Earth and establish colonies on other planets.  “Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next 1,000 or 10,000 years,” he cautioned in his speech, according to the Christian Science Monitor.  “By that time, we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.”

With NASA busily searching for “goldilocks,” or exoplanets that might be up to the task of sustaining human life, space exploration seems to be on the right track.

Despite the ominous message underlying his words, the distinguished theoretical physicist ended on an upbeat note, offering hope, advice and wisdom: “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet, he said.  “Try to make sense of what you see, wonder about what makes the universe exist.  Be curious. However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

Source: CNN