Spaceman, Spaceman, Spaceman, Them Boys Up To Somethang

     Overpopulation: a situation that arises when the size of a population exceeds its habitat’s carrying capacity. This occurs when a population and the resources available to it fall out of equilibrium; the population has grown too large relative to the resources it taps into, typically either food, water, energy, or land. In this situation, the two paths to resolving overpopulation are either through reducing the size of the population or through increasing the population’s resources. However in the context of the earth, both options are infeasible. Many population projections conclude that the earth’s population will only continue to increase into the next century (Gerland, et al. 234), and many resources we consume are nonrenewable and have a limited lifespan before they will be depleted, such as conventional oil which is predicted to reach its peak production by 2030 and then gradually decline (Sorrell, et al. 5293). As the population is expected to grow, and resources expected to dwindle, a solution that can solve both aspects of overpopulation must be conceived. It is with that thought that I shift the context from that of earth, to that of space. The exploration, exploitation, and colonization of space and its myriad of resources could mitigate and possibly even overcome the issue of overpopulation.

     This would not be the first time the world reached out into unknown lands. Throughout the 1700s, European empires extended their reach across the Americas and created successful colonies that helped make their mother nations prosperous while at the same time relocating portions of their population to these new colonies. This would also happen again when these same empires partitioned and colonized Africa during the latter half of the 1800s. In these colonies, raw resources such as sugar, cotton, and rubber would be extracted and then sent back to the mother nation to be processed into products and useable goods that they would then consume or sell for profit. Also, there were large migrations of settlers in these new colonies, primarily in North America, that would later grow into their own nations. Using these two periods of colonization as a reference, the notion of venturing into space and beginning colonies becomes more [adj] as a solution to overpopulation, especially considering the amount of resources already known to be on other planets and astronomical [celestial?] objects.

[Resources]

[Models for colonization]

[Counterargument]

[Conclusion]

Works Cited

Billingham, John, and William Gilbreath. Space Resources and Space Settlements. Washington, NASA Scientific and Technical Information Branch, 1979. Web. 9 May 2016.

Gerland, Patrick, et al. “World population stabilization unlikely this century.” Science 346.6206 (2014): 234-237. Web. 30 April 2016.

Heim, Barbara Ellen. “Exploring the Last Frontiers for Mineral Resources: A Comparison of International Law Regarding the Deep Seabed, Outer Space, and Antarctica.” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 23.4 (1990-1991): 819-850. Web. 9 May 2016.

Mautner, Michael. “Planetary Resources and Astroecology. Planetary Microcosm Models of Asteroid and Meteorite Interiors: Electrolyte Solutions and Microbial Growth— Implications for Space Populations and Panspermia.” Astrobiology 2.1 (2002): 1-19. Web. 10 May 2016.

O’Neill, Gerard. “Space Colonies and Energy Supply to the Earth.” Science 190.4218 (1975): 943-947. Web. 18 May 2016.

O’Neill, Gerard. “The Colonization of Space.” Physics Today 27.9 (1974): 32-40. Web. 9 May 2016.

Seife, Charles. “Moon’s ‘Abundant Resources’ Largely an Unknown Quantity.” Science 203.5664 (2004): 1603. Web. 9 May 2016.

Sorrell, Steve, et al. “Global oil depletion: A review of the evidence.” Energy Policy 38.9 (2010): 5290-5295. Web. 16 May 2016.