@Suzianne
At least the probability is so low we will get through the next few hundred years with nothing more than the boomers we have already seen.
The point of that is if we manage to keep our planetary civilization going at present level of scientific achievement's we will have solved that particular problem by at least having cities on Mars or Europa, whatever, the moon, even without protection at least humans would go on.
But I think along with these developments, we will also greatly advance our ability to alter the orbital trajectory of such comets and asteroids that for sure will hit Earth.
There is work going on right now in that respect, one where the interceptor craft doesn't even touch the target, but uses their mutual gravity, which would of course be miniscule to very slowly guide the target to miss Earth and go into an orbit that would never intersect Earth.
The biggest worry right now is not the big killers but the smaller ones which we have already seen in the past couple hundred years, just a few years ago one slid by in Russia with the power of atomic bombs which of course is a local event, not world wide but we can't at this time in our technological defenses stop those beasts.
But I am confident we will be able to keep the big ones from hitting Earth if it doesn't happen in the next few hundred years.
@sonhouse said
@Suzianne
At least the probability is so low we will get through the next few hundred years with nothing more than the boomers we have already seen.
The point of that is if we manage to keep our planetary civilization going at present level of scientific achievement's we will have solved that particular problem by at least having cities on Mars or Europa, whatever, the moo ...[text shortened]... be able to keep the big ones from hitting Earth if it doesn't happen in the next few hundred years.
The biggest worry right now is not the big killers but the smaller ones which we have already seen in the past couple hundred years, just a few years ago one slid by in Russia with the power of atomic bombs which of course is a local event, not world wide but we can't at this time in our technological defenses stop those beasts.
ONe of the biggest threats to civilization is population.
@venda saidParadoxically, countries with access to advances in medical science have much lower birth rates.
Agreed.
Too many humans is the biggest problem.
I don't have an answer to that.
Advances in medical science have found cures for things that would have decimated the human race in the past as it does periodically with other animals when they become too populous to sustain a balance
As Bill Gates tried to explain before the conspiracy theorists took hold, medical advances decrease the childhood mortality rate so people end up having fewer kids.