This seems incredible to me, Mike. The predictions are based on assumed values for Drake Eqn. I don't know whether those assumed values were pessimistic or optimistic.
[quote=Mike Kremer]
If you use the "Drake Equation" to calculate the
number of intelligent communicating civilizations in our Galaxy, you will become very pessimistic.
I am not an advocate of using the Drake Equ: As there are too many unknowns, plus it trys to guesstimate the number of communicating civilizations there are.
We ourselves ARE a communicating civilization. But it seems we have no-one to talk to! That is pessimistic in the extreme!
Yet if you used the "Drake equation" to calculate the number of
Planets that could SUPPORT life, you get extreme optimism.
(and thats without any additional data from Kepler as yet).
We have, 500+ Billion planets in our Galaxy alone, thats 100 Billion Stars in our Galaxy (Milky Way).
Soon Kepler will tell us how many of those 500 billion planets are warm enough to sustain life.
(that would mean ALL the warm planets could sustain life)
Then if you assume all the warm Planets have been around as long as our Sun. A few of them should now be getting into transmitting Radio/TV/lighting, over THEIR last 150 years???
A few are +10,000 years, even more advanced than ourselves??
Looking at things that way, do you feel optimism? i.e. Lots of life around in our Universe.
Shame we will never be able to communicate with it!!!
http://www.fennzart.com/planetarysystems/drake_equation.html 
