If alien civilizations exist, we may not hear each other

Two Scientists (I couldn’t get their specialities) have taken Drake’s Equation further and have concluded that between four to 211 other SETI-capable civilizations may be present in the Milky Way. They did come to 36 as the most likely number. Sounds pretty bitchin’ but our galaxy is huge. We’d be lucky if the closest aliens are within 1000 light years which makes a long delay in getting responses; the average distance based upon 36 is really 17,000 light years apart. The other bummer element is what we know about civilizations on Earth; these average under a millennium in duration. They’d also be contacting us at a bad time too. Until we get rid of Orange Foolius, the Earth is best quarantined. One upside? Hawking’s worries about us getting the attention of invaders has been reduced.