Essayist: If Earth’s population continues to grow geometrically, then in a few centuries there will be ten people for every square meter (approximately one person per square foot) of Earth’s surface. Some people have claimed that this will probably not be a problem, since humans will have learned by then how to colonize other planets. This would, however, be a temporary solution at best: if the population continues to double every 30 years, and if in the year
2500 half of Earth’s population emigrated to Mars, then by the year 2530 Earth would be just as crowded as it had been before the emigration.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn in the essayist’s argument?