Looking over the revised dates for climate change impacts got me thinking about shocks to global supply chains. Getting to Mars is hard, but one thing we often ignore is how the teams running the effort are fed back here on Earth.
How much tonnage could SpaceX launch to Mars before supply chain disruptions caused by climate collapse (e.g. ocean CO2 reuptake halting due to acidification) prevent subsequent missions?
This isn't a trite question, it's quite serious. Why do we assume that we are important enough that we need to survive as a species beyond earth? If humans are so destructive of their own environment, as many say, shouldn't we let that destructive habit end here, rather than spreading it to other worlds?