Ocean exploration/colonization makes more sense than Space exploration/colonization

Alright, sir let's wrap up round two shall we? I I think we both agree now that space isn't just the practical place for the long term future of the human race, it's the only place. I repeat that at any moment, Earth could be destroyed by a cosmic collision. In terms of Earth's "carrying capacity" if you will, I think we are nowhere near to that population currently, and there are a number of ways of preventing overpopulation from ever being a problem without venturing into the ocean or space for that matter. If you are worried about overpopulation, then one would have to realize that eventually the water wouldn't be enough either and that humans would need to inhabit another celestial body or spaceship. When you say, "every problem we encounter with ocean exploration/colonization we experience with space, I disagree. Frankly, I think ocean exploration and colonization would be much easier and cheaper as well, but as I mentioned before, it is only a temporary solution to a problem we may never have. Exploring space, dollar for dollar, will yield better rewards and advances in technology that will make ocean exploration other than for the sake of exploration, irrelevant. The ocean we understand much better than space, within which we have many uncertainties about frequently occurring objects such as black holes and dark matter, and is less of a challenge to explore [cheaper to get in the oceans and easier to assist in any problems that may occur]. II Five billion years is a long time, the first life on Earth may have come on the scene 3.5 billion years ago (http://paleobiology.si.edu...). The universe is about 14-15 billion years old, se we know that life can make it at least 3.5 billion, and with life forms as advanced as humans and as capable of manipulating our surroundings, it is within reason to think that we could make it another 3.5 billion years or more. However, you're right, we may not last that long, but we increase our chances if we are able to split up the population and create another home elsewhere in the universe, which of course we'll never be able to do if we don't first explore space. Mars, by the way, is not necessarily even the best prospect for colonization within our own solar system; Jupiter's moon Europa for example has liquid on its surface and Saturn's Titan has volcanic activity (http://rt.com...). As far as 'spaceships drifting off, but then what,' that's exactly my question about the ocean, but then what? What do we do if something happens to the ocean? Say it becomes highly polluted, acidic, too hot? Whereas a spaceship 'drifting off' is always moving and could be self-sustaining. I agree a magnetic field is essential as is having enough water. However if we could drag some comets into the planet we wish to colonize, we could bring some water and be thrifty enough to live off of it. I think a colony within the solar system is only really good for a few things; first learning how to colonize and getting the bugs out, second as a sort of gas station for farther expeditions, and third God forbid something happens to Earth, the colony may remain intact. The ocean isn't much good when it's covered in a thick layer of ash as well, as a matter of fact the ocean can do more harm than good as in a meteor strike, tidal waves can cover the better part of continents, killing all land life. The ocean is still very much a part of Earth which is one of the problems. "It seems all odds are against the possibility of a future in space travel."--Really? Isn't that what people said to Vasco da Gama about sailing from Europe to India? About running an engine on steam? About driving a combustion engine car from coast to coast? About flying? About putting men on the moon? The odds being against a possibility has never stopped man before, I doubt it will in the future. That artificial light thought is interesting, but we would need a lot of it to produce anywhere near the amount of food that we currently grow. Even things as simple as satellites can do amazing things such as provide solar energy that will last the 5 billion years until our sun fizzles out. By the way NASA and NOAA aren't the only agencies exploring space and the ocean and I have already mentioned why NASA's must be bigger--space exploration takes more resources and is therefore more expensive, but it's worth it. You've provided very few benefits or potential benefits of oceanic exploration, but you've attacked merits of space exploration plenty. I assume that you have some reasons why exploring the ocean is such a great opportunity if it is as you claim.