Is It Time to Redefine the Mission and Vision for Mankind - Again

So what are the really big issues facing humanity and the world today. I'm talking the really really big issues. If we held a brainstorming session what would we come up with? How about the following:

Over Population Climate Change Energy Needs Food Shortages Scarcity of Water Mass Migrations or Displacements Human Rights Issues Womens Rights Distribution of Wealth

Terrorism Regional Conflicts Global Conflicts Religious Conflicts Educating People Access to Information Resources Health & Healthcare Need for Jobs Need to begin Colonizing our Solar System

These are some of the many big issues, but I'm sure this list is far from complete. What else should be added to the list?

Once you look at the list, you start to see patterns. Many of the issues are interrelated and a number of them can also be grouped together.

But the question I keep asking is - What are we going to do to address these issues or solve these global problems?

For those who haven't heard me say this before, I keep coming back to the fact that I believe we are in the process of transitioning from a Type 0 Civilization to a Type 1 Civilization. Read Redefining Our Purpose as Civilization Keeps Evolving

A Type 0 civilization extracts its energy, information, raw-materials from crude organic-based sources (i.e. food/wood/fossil fuel/books/oral tradition); pressures via natural disaster, natural selection, and societal collapse creates extreme risk of extinction; it's capable of orbital spaceflight; societies that fail to improve social, environmental and medical understanding concurrently with other advancements, frequently accelerated their own extinction. A Type I civilization extracts its energy, information, and raw-materials from fusion power, hydrogen, and other "high-density" renewable-resources; is capable of interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary communication, megascale engineering, and interplanetary colonization, medical and technological singularity, planetary engineering, world government and trade, and stellar system-scale influence; but are still vulnerable to possible extinction * See http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale

As we make this transition, we need to revisit and redefine the purpose of Humanity - What is our Mission? What is the Vision we have for our future? I'm talking the need to think at least 100-200 years out!

Again, lets do some brainstorming. Here's the type of questions that immediately come to my mind when I think about the future:

• Is our mission to procreate, colonize, and inhabit other planets in our Solar System and nearby Galaxies? Or do we simply stay focused on life on Earth?
• Do we continue to compete for 'individual' wealth and power? Or do we learn to become a society that collaborates and shares wealth and power?
• Do we proceed with human augmentation technology and solutions that allow people to achieve 'Singularity'? Do we focus on solutions that will allow people to live forever in some new form?
• Do we declare an end to the 'Age of Fossil Fuels' immediately and aggressively pursue unlimited, low cost alternative energy sources?
• Do we want to ensure everyone has access to free education and information resources that will enable them to be more productive and achieve their full potential?
• Do we set a cap on the total population on Earth? Do we want to cap the number of children people can have?

What type of questions spring to your mind?

Can society reach some consensus on where we think Humanity should go? How it should change? What specific 'big' changes must we agree to tackle and collectively make?

We have to actively think about, discuss, and reach consensus on the future of Humanity and Earth - now!!! We've been avoiding or dancing around the issues for quite some time. It's time to 'fish or cut bait'!!

It's time!!