BigWill, when you travel at warp speed (hypothetically, of course), you're taking a non-liner shortcut between point A and B.

Imagine space as a sheet of copier paper. Point A is near one edge, and point B is near the opposite edge. Using conventional travel, the shortest distance between the two points is a straight line. Using warp travel, you can bend space, bringing point A and B closer together. To use star trek terms, the "warp factor" is the degree to which space is bent. The more you bend it, the close the destination becomes.

That being said, my jury is still out as to whether faster than light travel (which, technically speaking, is time travel) is possible. It cannot be attained conventionally (i.e. just firing you thrusters until you eventually reach light speed), but it may be possible using other means, such as black holes or worm holes. There are some exiting new discoveries that suggest black holes are not as destructive as previously believed.

Being a complete geek and former nerd, I can't say I want all money that's currently going toward space research to be diverted toward earthly endeavors, but I do think the majority of our expenditures as a nation should go toward terrestrial issues.