Stephen Hawking and I agree on something! It only stands to reason that such great intellects would think alike. Right?

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."

I have been saying this for years. And yes often I have received looks of pity from those who think I am suffering some adolescent flight of fancy.

In my opinion it is the destiny of humans to explore and colonize space. It is in our DNA to contantly expand our living environment and to seek answers to the questions that have plagued us since we first began to wonder about our origin and the origin of everything around us.

My only hope is that we are able to learn from our past mistakes, and do not feel the need to conquer these other planets and galaxies, but rather approach them like an inquisitive child.

If we are alone then we have a biological imperative to ensure our survival and if we are not alone......well then we will see if we have learned anyhing from our history.