Elon Musk, the billionaire founder and CEO of the private spaceflight company SpaceX, wants to help establish a Mars colony of up to 80,000 people by ferrying explorers to the Red Planet for perhaps $500,000 a trip.
(...) we've put all our eggs in one basket. If we were on many worlds and were to mess up down here, there's a way for the human species to continue. I don't for a moment propose that the Earth is a disposable planet, and we have to put enormous efforts into making sure we don't muss up down here. But there is a chance.
Opportunity costs. We'd prefer it was spent on a Mars colony than on most things, but if we're spending money on x-risk reduction, it might not be the most cost-effective way to help.
Can you name an alternative way of spending money that is clearly more cost effective in reducing x risk? (I ask this in a sincere attempt to know what your views and those of other LW users are.)