Building For Earth's Future Amidst Climate Crisis

When we think of the environment in the future, we think of a Pixar “Wall-E” type of scenario in which the world lies in total ruin and devastation as humanity exists in orbit outside the planet, waiting for special robots to discover a sign of life on Earth.

We know that the United States, India, and China are the greatest polluters on Earth, and the amount of fossil fuel pollution pouring into our atmosphere is not diminishing as fast as we’d like. We also don’t see India or China making much progress in the “going green” department. The 1.5° Celsius goal is to be applauded, but what if we cross that red line and the world does indeed heat up beyond what we would like to allow for, and the polar ice caps begin to melt, flooding our low-lying cities and forcing millions to move inland?

Instead of being forced to become a multi-planetary species as billionaire Elon Musk has suggested in the past, which is fine, maybe there is an alternative right here on Earth.

Much ado has been made about how humans can live on the Moon or on Mars. There are numerous plans available on the internet demonstrating how robots can build underground cities, protecting human travelers from radiation, boiling days, and freezing nights. But what if we apply those same methods right here on Earth, which will still be far more habitable than those planets – even if it is heavily polluted and devastated by global warming?

Instead of planning massive cities above ground, we should be preparing new cities below ground and perhaps even designed in a way similar to Saudi Arabia’s planned vertical city, Neom.

If Earth becomes hot, we can build underground with the soil protecting our homes. If Earth becomes flooded, we can build our cities at higher elevations. In other words, if we assume we can establish a civilization in punishing environments such as the Moon or Mars, why won’t we be able to just stay here on Earth, which is guaranteed to remain a less-punishing environment no matter what the effects of global warming?

Robots will still be able to perform special tasks, and special greenhouses can ensure the growth of crops. It is likely that by the time such drastic measures become necessary, our way of living will have changed anyway. Internet connectivity and other forms of communication will be well-advanced, and it is likely most people will not need to commute to work as everything will be highly mobile, and remote work will be the norm.

With the withdrawal of humans on Earth and the reduction of pollution, we will see a drastically changed planet.

According to Open Access Government, “Over the last 50 years, the world has lost an estimated 69% of all mammal, fish, bird, reptile, and amphibian populations, in large part because 75% of land that is not covered by ice has been developed or converted into agricultural land to feed people.”

It is likely that we will see a rebound in these animal populations if humans withdraw from these areas and move underground at higher elevations. Cities like New York City, Miami, and Chicago will likely be overtaken by the sea, and forests and wildlife will move in as nature takes its course.

And global warming will be devastating. Farm animals will die, honeybees will perish, and wildfires will roam freely, wiping out entire forests across all continents. Earth will become one huge tropical climate.

But again, will this be the end? Or a new beginning? If humanity can exist on the Moon and Mars, surely it can exist on Earth. We could become a multi-planetary species, but instead of abandoning Earth entirely, we can simply keep it as one of the three options, and people will then have the ability to choose where they want to live. By applying the same ideas we have for living outside Earth, we can begin to envision life on Earth even if we fail to achieve victory over climate change and global warming.

Mankind may just need to “weather the storm” and spend a few generations underground as our planet cleanses itself. That day is not far off.