Summary of James' TED Talk
The Earth is facing a severe problem of resource depletion as we have consumed 43% of the available land mass and by 2050, there will be 9 billion people on our planet, which will push us well past the 50% mark. This will lead to the collapse of our civilization as Earth will no longer be suitable for human life. However, space provides us with an opportunity to expand our ecosystem and make use of nearly infinite quantities of resources such as energy, fuels, minerals, metals, water, and more.
We have the technological capability to send autonomous robotic explorers into space to find and access these resources and put them to use. Our goal is to create a future where the resources we need come not just from Earth, but also from space. This starts with water, which is essential for sustenance, hygiene, and growing food. Water in space can also be converted into rocket propellant by passing it through an electrical field, which will allow us to set up fuel depots in the solar system.
Space also provides us with metals and minerals that can be used to build massive, kilometer-scale solar farms that will capture the energy of the sun and beam it back to Earth. With water, fuel, construction materials, and power, we have all the utilities we need to build cities in space. Orbital megastructures will be used for manufacturing, where we can move our industrial manufacturing into space and harvest all of our raw materials from deep space, and import them to an orbital manufacturing ring around the planet, returning only the finished products to the surface.
This will not only solve our resource crisis but also reduce the hazardous waste produced during manufacturing, which is poisoning our air, water, and food. By moving manufacturing into space, we can preserve the only breathable atmosphere that we know of anywhere and create a sustainable future for generations to come.
