Hawking Says, "Go SPACE, Young Man!"

It has been a long dream of sci fi fans like me to get humanity off of the Earth and settling some nearby moons/planets. But aside from JFK and GWB, there has been precious little support here on this planet for the idea. But now, Steven Hawking has come out on the side of aggressive space colonization.

The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth, world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking said Tuesday.
The British astrophysicist told a news conference in Hong Kong that humans could have a permanent base on the moon in 20 years and a colony on Mars in the next 40 years.

I am hoping someone is listening. If Jesus does not tarry (to refer back to the LEFT BEHIND story) then it would all be for naught. But if we have another 1000 years before any major changes to our cosmos, then we need to start thinking about what other planets have to offer us.