I shall use one specific example, but the point of the example will be to illustrate, instead of advancing one positive position. Any person who has worked in an industrial or commercial setting should instinctively be familiar with the risk of delay. Quantifying the risks of delay has been the aim of numerous theoretical mathematicians, and these risks have been worked out in considerable detail. In fact, in industry, the entire field of preventative maintenance is based upon this work. These arguments are wrong for two reasons.
Time sweeps forward, carrying humankind along with it.
People often believe that there is an equilibrium point, because many changes in the equilibrium occur on time scales longer than human lifetimes. But the truth is that change is inevitable. Second, because there is no true status quo, it is impossible to not take any action. Taking no positive action at all is an action in and of itself, and making no decision is a decision. By simply possessing the knowledge that we could terraform Mars, we absolutely force a decision to be made.