[muir_redwoods]

Arthur Clarke observed the humans are over optimistic in the short-run and under optimistic in the long run. A farmer in 1840 might have wished for stronger horses or sharper plows but would not have dreamed of an air conditioned John Deere tractor with a CD player.

Likewise we imagine some better analog to our chemical rockets and space shuttles but the truth is, we probably simply can’t imagine the actual development that will make humans a galactic presence. I do believe we are destined to occupy much more than one planet or just one solar system. There’s simply too much real estate to let it go to waste.

[TexasFreeper2009]

I agree, new technology will certainly come along. But also I believe we will eventually find a “profitable” reason to move out into space and that will be the final catalyst