But, since we're on the topic of how to control for effects over extremely long timelines, what do you think about the fact that earth life will die off in a relatively short period of time unless it can intelligently organize in order to colonize other solar systems? This solar system has a relatively near expiration date as far as the habitability for all life as we know it is concerned. Earth life has probably been around for more time than it has left before the sun kills everything here.

This period of time is so dynamic with regards to extremely long-term outcomes because we're so close technologically to being able to save earth life from this expiration date, but it's a damaging and dangerous time too. We're on the edge of destruction and salvation simultaneously, and the outcome depends on how successful we are at working together as a group to wield technology in favor of our interests (including long term ones).

The point of the above being that earth life is middle aged or elderly at 4 billion years old, considering the life cycle of this solar system. The only chance earth has to make an impact on a more distant future than a few billion more years years is for a species like humans to make space colonization possible. Could another intelligent species have performed this whole process better? Maybe, but a lot of the ills of our society and impact on ecology are integral to how a society must develop technologies like this, it just depends what kind of instincts you have to fight against as a group while doing it.

I feel like saving earth life from a relatively near-term death sentence is better than barring technological advancement because it created an ecological disaster. Lots of natural things cause ecological disasters, but instead of getting nothing out of it, we could be saving the only life we know of in the universe. Since we've already found ourselves in this position, I think the responsible thing to do is to do our best to control and stabilize climate and ecology while we take advantage of a potentially fleeting opportunity to help life get off this planet. It spent 4 billion years cooking up different creatures and destroying them, and now it's produced one that might be strong enough to leave the nest and make something of itself before this incubation chamber dries up. I feel compelled to take advantage of the opportunity.

There's a popular analysis called the Fermi Paradox, which postulates that the likelihood of technologically advanced alien life existing within a given proximity to earth seems higher based on a scientific analysis than we observe in space. We don't see robust evidence of technologically advanced alien life anywhere, and it begs the question "Why do we find ourselves so alone in our observable section of the universe?" The possible answers are:

•Maybe life is really difficult to get the right conditions for in the first place.

•Maybe technologically intelligent life is really difficult for life to evolve into.

•Maybe technologically intelligent life overwhelmingly tends to destroy itself with its own technology before it can use it to save itself and exist for a long time.

•Or maybe there are plenty of other aliens, and we either live in a simulated universe just for us, made by an alien, or the aliens overwhelmingly use technology that doesn't produce recognizable electromagnetic signatures for whatever reason.

The mainstream interpretation is that the evidence feels a little stacked against life being difficult to start in the first place, just because of the vast scope of the observable universe. The same goes for the idea that technologically intelligent life would be too difficult to evolve because of the competitive edge afforded by it, and based on the variety of intelligence we see across the animal kingdom. The third idea feels particularly compelling because this advanced technology does indeed feel dangerous to wield. The fourth possibility doesn't have robust evidence supporting it, but it's a possibility and should be included for the sake of rigor.

Futurists (Futurologists?) talk about what may be the "great filter" which has kept the universe so devoid of technologically advanced alien life, and worry that we may be close to encountering it. Considering how profoundly alone we find ourselves in the universe, I don't feel comfortable being so quick to throw away the one chance we know of to preserve life for the future.