Peace on Earth, Peace off Earth, Peace with Earth

Why War? Why not Space?

War and violence are vestiges of our less evolved human past and it is counter-productive to humanity's survival to carry these traits into the future. In an era in which governments and their war industries yearly spend trillions on the tools of destruction and chaos, much less money is dedicated to the cause of peace and prosperity. Since the beginning of 21st century the number of armed conflicts around the world have increased and continue unabated as most of these conflicts never seem to have an end. Likewise, worldwide military budgets have increased continuously and in the year 2015, approximately $1.7 trillion was reportably spent on military expenditures by the governments of the world. That is approximately US $250 spent for every citizen of our planet and represents 2.3 percent of the global gross domestic product. Analysts suggest that 10 percent of the money that the world spends on its militaries every year would be enough to end global poverty and hunger in just 15 years.

But even more alarming than the above is the fact that recent geopolitical developments indicate that the nuclear armed powers are on a collision course once again. Indeed, on January 22, 2015, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists updated their Doomsday Clock to 3 minutes to midnight. Numerous observers and analysts believe that World War III - the war on our future - has already begun and no one knows if and how it will end.

The average citizen of Earth is appalled that their political leaders are willing to risk the future of our civilization and the very survival of humanity in order to implement geopolitical agendas designed to have hegemony over resources, nations and peoples while sacrificing the freedom and security of their own citizens. 

Yes, as a viable alternative to this escalating situation, space is one arena of human activity where peaceful international cooperation has flourished. The European Space Agency is a remarkable example on Earth. The International Space Station is an extraordinary example in space. It has become increasingly evident that the expansion of civilization beyond the atmosphere of its home planet offers humanity a significant opportunity to finally escape the plague of perpetual war. By focusing humanity's energies and creativity on the challenges of opening and developing the space frontier instead of dedicating these to the destruction of nations and people's lives, there can be true hope for a future of peace and prosperity for all.

Those in the space community have known for years that space development and the inexhaustible resources of the solar system offers humanity it’s most optimistic path to peaceful and prosperous future – a concept we call The Space Option.

The biggest obstacle, however, is the persistent threat of global war in all of its forms.

In his book The Overview Effect, Frank White states:

“War and space exploration are alternative uses of the assertive, exploratory energies that are so characteristic of human beings. They may also be mutually exclusive because if one occurs on a massive scale, the other probably will not.”