Zeus,
Darn good point. I've seen studies by think tanks and the Government that postulate the next war will be fought over water rights. Not the ocean, but fresh water. People don't realize how close we are to reaching the point where there isn't enough fresh water for all of our farming, industrial, and consumption requirements. As our population continues to explode we edge closer to the danger zone.
No matter what the next war is fought over it is going to be a life changing war. I think after that war we will be in a state where we can not send anyone to Mars let alone drive across a state. I hope that we can get people to Mars before the next war but I am not sure we will be able to make that happen the way the roosters are strutting about.
I know 535 people we can send to Mars right now and that may solve a lot of issues in the United states right now. We can find 535 other trained monkeys to take their place maybe these new ones will do a much better job *smile*.