Lately, renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been more preoccupied with warning humanity what the future of Earth could be if it continues on its present trajectory than he has with scientific breakthroughs.  In a letter that was published by The Guardian, Hawking warned that growing inequality in the world is what has prompted developments such as the election of Trump and Brexit. He calls for working together as a global community in order to support the poorest among us, rather than insulating ourselves in nationalism. Citing isolationism as the barrier to addressing issues like climate change on a global scale, Hawking writes: “We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it.”
In his letter, Hawking says he is hopeful humans will be able to devise a way to travel to Mars or other inhabitable planets in time. Though the 71-year-old astrophysicist acknowledges that widespread automation in factories is inevitable, he also says that it will lead to higher inequality in income, and that those who used to hold such jobs would need to adapt to further mechanization in the workplace. In a recent Oxford University lecture, Hawking had said that in view of mounting environmental challenges and the depletion of natural resources, humanity has at most 1,000 years left on Earth.  NASA is currently searching for planets beyond our solar system that could host human life, and business magnate Elon Musk is optimistic that SpaceX will be able to send man to Mars within the next decade.

Source: AOL