Overpopulation and the difficulties with space that surface as a result was well presented with the second group of presenters. Through their demonstration with the colored bowls and the background information enabled the scale of the problem was brought into focus.  What was particularly interesting was the variety of solutions that the group went through. As an environmentalist, it was disturbing listening about prospects that called for increased rates of mining, energy extraction, and technology. Not only did instances like living on the moon did not seem sustainable, but it refreshed my mind of the notion that man, through further technological advances, will be able to bail itself out later on. By counting on technology that has yet to exist, as a society we allow ourselves to escape the guilt of our consumerist tendencies and continue to operate in the same way. What I was impressed with this group’s presentation is that they didn’t lean as hard on these prospects as I normally seem to find, and recognized that other factors, like whether we’ll have the resources to make this future technology or even support ourselves. One example: While 70 or so percent of the world’s surface is covered in water, we can’t be positive that desalinization will become significantly less costly to perform, thus such conservation techniques as hydroponics should be examined. They also explored preventative measures to overpopulation as way of answering our space problem. These included like educating undereducated societies on the consequences of overpopulation, tax incentives for families who choose to limit the size of the family to a certain number. They also brought in the complexity that different world perspectives create in answering the problem (like some see growth as still a good thing for a country).