When I was working in IT (either operations or development) I always insisted that we discussed a worst case scenario if we screwed up implementation. We then would develop, test, and publish a back-out plan so that we didn't get fired if things turned to crap. It saved me and my team's ass more than once. I have Woody Allen to thank for my excessive paranoid that if you can think of a bad thing that can happen it probably will. Expressing it verbally just about guarantees it.So I had an epiphany as I was listening to the news about the Gulf oil spill. Just the revenues of Exxon, Mobil, and ConocoPhillips, in 2006 were around $800,000,000,000 (that's billion). If you throw in oil producers around the globe you are talking a total of around $2,000,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars in revenue in 2006 (USA produces about 40% of the oil although these 3 oil companies probably earn money from non-oil fossil fuels as well). Follow me so far?
Clearly, the result of burning fossil fuels is air pollution (and perhaps global warming), water pollution (oil spills, run off, etc.) which is slowly killing our planet.
Instead of beating our heads against the wall with the oil companies that rule the world (money talks---bullshit walks) why not develop a back-up plan for when the inevitable screw up occurs and the earth can no longer support life with any kind of reasonable lifestyle for most of the population?
What's the back-up plan you ask? Why Earth II (the sequel) of course. Maybe even a whole bunch of earth sequels! Even without pollution and other suicidal behavior we eventually will run out of space for all the damn condos and single family homes.
But here is the core idea that really merits a Nobel (without being the first black president). We make the oil companies fund the space program. They would have to invest 5% of total revenues towards a new private (not government run) corporation jointly owned by the oil companies. This company would have as its goal to establish colonies, first on the moon, and then on other planets and moons in our solar system which will give us head room for billions of more people. In return this company would gain mineral rights (which would also be given a 5% haircut on any revenues) as a way to insure a profit motive if successful. 
Think of all the relief the world would feel if we knew that there was a virgin world to escape to that was ripe for rape and pillaging? All of a sudden, "Drill baby, Drill!" would be music to uber ears
We could also solve the terrorist problem and illegal immigration issue at the same time and maybe even catch Bin Laden. Everyone that wanted to go to another Earth colony would be closely screened, in Arizona, and if they looked suspicious there was no way they were getting on the escape shuttle. So what do you think?
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