h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There are two ways the human race could go;-

1. Down.

2. Up; we open our minds, extend our civilisation into space; become more intelligent, live longer etc.

But, in order to become more intelligent, we have to exterminate those who are not intelligent, or at least alter their genes, thus forever rendering the human race limited to high intelligence. But if everybody would smart, who'd want to sweep the roads.
Plus, if we all lived forever we'd never have the natural resources to sustain ourselves.

That's a valid point, but it has several solutions. Firstly, if everyone is smart, someone will undoubtedly invent something to do menial tasks. Also, it isn't always bad to do the small things, sometimes gardening or vaccuming can make one feel better. Secondly, as people gain an extended lifespan, the birth rate will slow down considerably. Even now, the modern person is waiting longer and longer to have fewer children. It is safe to say that those who have not been genetically enhanced with die off naturally; an immortal can afford to have a lot of patience with such matters.
Realistically, if offered an incredible lifespan, many would not choose it and many more would not be able to deal with it as one has to have a certain mindset to live for extended periods of time.
-I hope this makes sense, The Sciolist

You didn't even try to brush over the natural resources one.

The answer, as everybody on this friggin planet except the politicians and media, is to extend into space. There are unlimited resources, loads of space, and who knows what else?

It would be a great shame if we become extinct before we establish a permanent extra-terrestrial colony.

One more thing. I believe it is physically possible to convert hydrogen into any other element, with the right quantum physics. Once we can do that, we have the universe at our fingertips. So somebody tell Tony Blair to put more money into the friggin science budget!

sorry. I meant "as everybody... knows"

Did you want me to brush over the resources?

Okay, to continue what I was saying, if everyone were smart, they'd all know to recycle and to do things that benefitted the environment. Smart people could think up ways to conserve natural resources, to fully manage existing resources, to make natural resources more plentiful, and then implement the programs that would do the same. And, by no means, am I discounting space as a valid frontier to explore, only that maybe we should take care of problems at home before we spread them to the universe. As soon as we reach into space, the politicians will follow and strive to control it, just as they now control our countries.

Always Available for More Babbling, -TheSciolist

The most important things to do in life are:
a> to have as much fun as possible and
b> to make sure that those who follow you have as much fun as possible.

In order to achieve the latter, we need to put more money into space exploration and development, because we are killing our planet. We can reduce the rate at which she dies, but she will still die eventually. The ultimate question is: "at the current rate of resource consumption and space science development, will we be ready when the day comes?"

"Realistically, if offered an incredible lifespan, many would not choose it and many more would not be able to deal with it as one has to have a certain mindset to live for extended periods of time."

Dealing with immortality is simple. One simply makes a hobby of insulting every living thing in the Universe