A 14 June article in the Chicago Tribune [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0606140160jun14,1,7819436.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed]describes both the recent proposal of world-reknowned physicist Stephen Hawking "for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species" and the responses of two fellow physicists, Alan Guth and Joshua Winn.

In the course of scarcely a few tens of thousands of years, humanity has made an open, running sore, a cesspool and sewer of this planet. Overspreading it like an invasive fungal infection on the fragile skin of its surface, humanity has trashed its environment, consumed its non-renewable resources and extinguished more other lifeforms in a shorter period of time than in any other in geologic history.

Ironically, we humans generally require proof of competence to be entitled to engage in activities of potentially serious or damaging consequence – to drive a car, be an engineer or doctor, practice law, or lead a country - yet so far, in the management of the viability of this planet, for ourselves or other lifeforms, humanity has miserably failed every competence test put to it!

If there were indeed in this universe intelligent design, or even superior extraterrestrial life, surely it would intervene to PREVENT the spread of the contagion humanity represents beyond the confines of this planet at least until our species has conclusively demonstrated itself willing, competent and able sustainably to husband the life and resources of THIS planet.

Absent conclusive evidence of such superior agencies, unless and until we humans accept our responsibility for, and successfully mitigate, the mess we have made of this planet, it is utter folly even to consider investing what little remains of our vanishing resources to try to escape the nest we have so thoroughly fouled. If this planet’s environment is already so far gone that there is nothing we can do to stem the collapse, either of our species or the entire biosphere, then allowing the infection we represent to spread to other sites in the solar system would be a disaster of galactic, perhaps universal, proportions.

Humanity has responsibilities far beyond the mere survival of our species: to clean up, mitigate and correct the mess we have made of this planet before venturing elsewhere; and not to export our biologically and environmentally destructive ways to other platforms, whether in this solar system or beyond.

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Biography and additional articles by Axis Columnist John N. Cooper