Hey Wise,

Yes, I am on your side of the Dr. Kaku discussion.

When I read his novels, my mind perceives much (not all) of his ideas and concepts as science fiction; and actually very good science fiction.

In my view, the theory of moving toward a more advanced "Type 1" civilization is mired in problems related to the human condition, politics, religion and all the other countless ways humans have been divided as a species.

The worst enemy of humankind is humankind.

Hence, I place very strong odds that the humans on Earth will continue to kill animals for sport, pollute the planet, consume and exhaust the natural resource and make this planet a horrible place to live for future generations.

I think well intended and "optimistic" people like Dr. Kaku and others, with their shiny object discussions of escaping a doomed Earth to colonize Mars, while that might seem romantically appealing to some, I would prefer that humans focus on taking care of this planet Earth.

For me, I live on the seacoast (you know that, I guess) and I see people coming to visit everyday. They bring their mountains of garbage with them, and leave a lot of it in the sand and boardwalks to be swept into the sea, every day. They consume their alcohol and cook their food and drink and make themselves merry and have fun; and each one pollutes the planet without hesitation.

Even the beach dogs are more careful with their waste than the vast majority of humans enjoying the sea.

Having seen this every day for years, combined with all the greed, hero worship, human conflict, anger, hate, resentment, and intolerance we see globally in 2019, it's hard for me to believe that humans are going to "wake up" and stop destroying this beautiful, precious world we live on.

I realize that being an optimist like Dr. Kaku is a lot more popular than being a realist. Hence, people can live and be happy (and perhaps at peace with themselves) in "hope land" and "shiny object land" while our Earth is being consumed and destroyed by its most "intelligent" occupants.

Earth, I fear, is doomed to remain a "Type 0 Civilization", and will continue to consume all of Earth's natural resources and pollute the planet in ways we cannot yet image. This is especially true in light of the "cyber revolution" where the new battle space is the human mind; and this is a battle humans are destined to lose, because we are mostly powerless to stop the inevitable. The tech companies and indeed governments are convinced that "AI" will solve humankind's myriad problems. The cat is out of the bag, I am afraid.