Yeah, I remember when he wrote that right afterwards, and it really made an impression on me. It is a pretty profound take, and it contrasts with the take of the current billionaire crowd that pisses me off: "OUR FUTURE IS IN THE STARS! WE GOTTA SACRIFICE EVERYTHING AND GET TO MARS!" No, you fucking fucks, our future is here, on earth - the planet that made us, that is and always will be our only home. Chasing ass that's 120 million miles away instead of sticking with the family that is and always will be your family is shallow, stupid, short-sighted, and doomed to fail. What matters is right here. It always will be. Imagine if these fucksticks spent 1/10th the effort and focus they spend on space on improving life here on earth, on investing in long-term improvements for actual humans on actual earth (not to dominate them, or own them, but to actually make things BETTER, starting with simple shit like health, food, the environment).
We're burning through what we have -- this planet, and each other -- in a quest for something that is never, ever going to be the solution.