What would be in your opinion the most vital scientific invention needed for the survival of the human race?

Unlimited, affordable, green energy source.

i dont think it comes down to just one. we are overcrowding the planet more and more and at an accelerating pace. seems to me that eventually were gonna outgrow it with our using up the food resources, and most every other natural resource. i dont know when? but eventually its GOTTA come to a head. be it 1000 years from now or only 100. i think something very bad will eventually happen unfortunatley.

My, aren't we just a ray of sunshine?

haha dont get me wrong im a very optomistic person! except on this particular topic its what i peronsonally believe. im a bit of a realist i suppose and mean no offense sensualsweet!

The plow.....without agriculture to free up our time we would still be nothing but hunter gatherers.

faster than light travel

without it we'll never leave the planet. and if we never leave the planet we're doomed

Time travel.......most people live in the pastor the future anyways....it would solve the population explosion..and save the planet from imminent destruction...cause the only people about would be those who live in the present moment.

I luuuurrrve double posts...

This is the single most important issue confronting humanity, to look on the bright side is folly, there isnt one. The population doubles every 40 years, the only reason we live so well is resources are not evenly distributed. Go tell tell the starving children in africa about your optimism. Mean while the expendature for wars waged for resouces(iraq) could have probably increased the living conditions of milloins of people dying of sickness and starvation. Instead our government decided oil rich iraq needed freedom. We already are using 40% of the net energy of the sun, in 40 years if we harness the suns energy completely we still wont have enough to support the expected population. The conclusions are obvious. More people, fading resources ponder this.

Current yields of crops + land are sufficient to feed 5 times the planets current population . . .

Two main problems achieving this goal.

1) Crop yields are directly tied to climate . . . which isnt getting better . . .

2) Stable governments everywhere in the world . . . which isnt happening and we don't see it getting better either.

Without #2 we can send food to countries that need it, but just like in Somalia, it will either rot on the docks waiting to get to the hungry, or warlords will steal it all and it will feed there armies and rot in there silo's.

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I think the second poster was right. If we can develop a stable renewable GREEN energy source that will free up a lot of planetary stress, may help #1, and will help #2 if its cheap enough.

dont get me wrong im all for the improvement and im sure there ARE ways that we could help things and make them better! its just that ..... sadly enough i dont see enough people banning together to make it happen basically i feel people are too complacent and wont move to do whats needed until its too late. i wish that wasnt the case truly i dont! but its simply the way people are.

you wanted my ray of sunshine? its this. i have faith that when things DO come to a head and get bad enough? that people will finally come out of that complacency and finally do whats needed to improve things.

toothbrush

Several such sources exist, all are natural and all have the potential of being unlimited. We also have the technology to harness it - but those with the money to do so, have difficulty finding ways to charge for it once harnessed! Imagine that?

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
Watch the movie on the right first (Zeitgeist-The Movie) Then watch (Zeitgeist-Addendum)

Please don't be offended by Zeitgeist, watch it with an open mind, to the end because there are important things you need to be clear about when you get to the end.

Then, when you're ready, go to
http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/

Click on "In English"

Check the web site out and give a listen to the verbal interviews with Jacque Fresco. This too takes a while.

an eternal love drug.

Soap! It made people cleaner, healthier, and exponentially improved the medical field.

Not to mention sanitation laws regarding our foods and the environment :)