In the future, people may have to live on other planets. Some think that it is therefore important to spend money researching other planets such as Mars. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is true, that if present trends continue, it will become increasingly difficult to sustain human life on Earth. While I agree that it is vital to tackle

this

problem. I believe that expenditure on research for new planets to colonise should be given a low priority, and resources must be used to find other, more practical solutions. There are two major reasons why life on Earth is becoming more and more unsustainable. One obvious problem is the uncontrolled consumption of natural resources, which are being depleted

as a result

.

For instance

, the extraction of fossil fuels,

such

as coal, gas and oil to satisfy growing energy demands has serious environmental impacts, and these resources will eventually run out. Another concern is the rising level of pollution worldwide, of the land, the oceans and the air that we breathe. In India,

for example

, thousands of tons of industrial rubbish have been released illegally into rivers, killing aquatic life and contaminating drinking water.

However

, I would argue that the search for a new planet on which humans could survive is a waste of valuable resources.

Firstly

, a vast amount of funding would be required to finance

such

space exploration, with no guarantee of success.

This

money is needed now to improve health services globally and to provide better education for all.

Secondly

, financial resources should be used to develop advanced technologies that would be more environmentally- friendly and provide

renew able

Correct your spelling

renewable

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energy. In the field of transport, to take a simple example, vehicles can now be converted to run on hydrogen or even waste cooking oil – as McDonald’s have done with their trucks. In conclusion, I consider that the search for new planets on which to settle is a waste of time and resources, and efforts should be concentrated on living more sustainably here on Earth.