Civilizations of the Stars

The Background



When scientists search the skies for signs of alien life, they don't look for 'Little Green Men' or UFOs. What they are looking for is evidence of Type I, Type II, and Type III civilizations according to the Kardashev Scale (ie: level of technological advancement).

So basically it's like this:

1. Type I is a planetary civilization. They fully utilize the energy resources from their home planet (eg: Buck Rogers).
2. Type II is at stellar level. After depleting their planetary resources, they will get energy directly from their mother star (eg: Star Trek and Federation of Planets).
3. Type III is galactic. Once they used up the energy of their sun, they will harness their energy from billions of stars within their home galaxy (eg: Empire of Star Wars).

Where do we currently stand?

What are we on this Scale? We are Type 0. We don't even rate on the scale. Humans don't have the technology to harness energy from stars and galaxies. We get our energy from dead animals and plants; fossil fuels. But we can estimate when we will achieve Type I status. Probably in about a hundred years.

I personally feel privilege to be alive in the most important era in the history of the human race. To witness the transition from Type 0 to Type I.

Each time when you read the news, you'll see the evidence of this Transition:
European Union is a beginning of a Type I economy. United Nations is a beginning of a Type I administration system. The Internet is a beginning of a Type I communication system. The Type I language will probably be English, since it's used in every country. There will also be a Type I culture. Hollywood movies, rap music, jeans, etc which you can find anywhere around the world.

We are the Hope

It is said that going from Type 0 to Type I is the most difficult transition of all time. It's not even clear if we will survive the Transition. It's a delicate balance. On one side, we have forces of multiculturalism, globalization and unity. On the other hand, we have WMDs, religious strife, racism, global warming, and terrorism.

It's not even clear if we will survive the Transition. It's a planetary level of sink or swim. The fate of humankind's future rest on our collection decision. This is no joke. This truly a dangerous race against Time.