I used to think this way too, or hand wave away all the inconvenients as lessons to be learned, but there is a very valid argument to make that the best thing we can do as a species right now, is to focus inward here before we move out there. Wall before you run type thing. The book mentioned earlier covers a lot of these topics in detail and if you are interested I’d highly recommend as it reshaped my view of the current options. godpseed

Yes it is! Right now no one can hurtle an asteroid at earth to end it instantly. When space mining takes off that’s a very real threat.

This is not risk free. When you give people access to space and still have terrorism and wars, things can end badly quickly.

There’s also a valid argument around where to best focus those resources now. We are nowhere near ready for space colonization on any scale, let alone sustainable ones.

A City on Mars by the Wienersmiths dives into some of these challenges if you are interested.