...Hopefully it never will, but I thought I would write something hopeful for everyone to read before they went to sleep. So let's talk about
the end of the world & Humanity.
In the grand scheme of things, our existence is a statistical abnormality. When you add up all of the obstacles that our species has overcome just to exist, the odds are staggering. Existing on a planet with just the right orbit, and just the right ecological conditions, while avoiding numerous calamities of nature & of our own making. A philosopher could interpret it 2 ways. We're a "special & lucky" species or we're a "scientific fluke" that accidentally happened. This leads into the bigger question of whether we're alone in the universe.
This also leads into the question of the diary. I was reading this article the other night, and never knew there was so many ways that all of civilization could collapse.
Here's some of the possible doomsday scenarios...
Click
this & look
here to get a more in depth explanation on some of these...
Natural Death
- Asteroid/Comet Impact - a 2 mile wide one could destroy most life on the planet.
- Universal Pandemic - genetic disease, virus, or antibiotic resistant bacteria destroying the Human race.
- Gamma-Ray Burst - If 2 collapsing stars (1,000 light years away) merged with one another, it would produce a massive amount of gamma radiation that (in theory) might "cook off" the atmosphere & the ozone layer.
- Solar Flares - If the SUN ever experienced an increase in solar activity or a produced a mass ejection flare, it could begin to heat the planet & destroy the ozone layer. The opposite is also true. If the sun decreased its light by 1%, it might cause an ice age.
- Magnetic Field Collapse - It hasn't happened in 780,000 years, but Earth's magnetic poles flips over time. The field begins dwindling to nothing & then north & south pole flips. However when the field goes down, the planet is open to damage from cosmic radiation & damage to the ozone layer. Also, it would doom species that's navigation is based on magnetics.
- Rogue Black Hole - There are theorized to be 10 million black holes in our galaxy. If one of them passed through our solar system, it might throw off the orbit's of the planets. That would cause cataclysmic climate change or, worst case scenario, cause the Earth to be ejected into deep space.
- Supervolcano - a powerful type of volcano capable of spewing enough ash & soot into Earth's atmosphere to cause Nuclear Winter. It would also create acid rain & release noxious gases into the atmosphere as well. This hasn't happened for 74,000 years.
- Infertility - There are some controversial studies that say that the male sperm cell counts are going down. The causes could be environmental or have chemical origins.
- Destruction Of The Milky Way Galaxy - It's estimated that in 3 billion years that the Milky Way Galaxy will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy.
Human-Made Disasters
- War - Nuclear or biological warfare could cause massive damage to the planet's biosphere.
- Polution - Global Warming caused by pollution from fossil fuels might not only destroy us by taking away the ozone layer & heating the planet. The rise in temperature may also provide a better incubator for bacteria & viruses that threaten us. Also, man made toxins created from industry might have damaged the genome by increasing cancer risks.
- Biotech - The development of genetically engineered crops has the possibility of feeding the poor & starving in the third world. However, there are some risks. Genetically engineered crops might help insectiside resistance. The crops may also "leak" genetic changes out into the biosphere, & create uncontrollable weeds & pests. Also, some claim that the genetic engineering might activate a dormant virus in the plant's genome or create a new one, that Humanity might not have an immunity to. This says nothing of gene therapy for Human disease. While it might be helpful in fighting defects in the Human Genome, it also leads into designer viruses that could be used by the military or an accident that damages the Human race beyond repair.
- Scientific Accident - Remember the Supercollider they were talking about building in the 80's? Well it was designed to research the origin of the universe, however there we're possible side-effects. Some believe its possible that it could create a sub-atomic black hole or other spacial disruption that could destroy the planet.
- Grey Goo - There has been research into creating microscopically small machines that would be able to replicate themselves. These robots would be able to repair human cells, & seek out & destroy cancer cells. However, if the machines malfunctioned & replicated out of control, they could destroy the biosphere rapidly, by consuming all the matter on the planet.
Other
- Mass Insanity - Mental health is declining on the planet. 500 million suffer from mental disorders. By 2020, depression may be the 2nd leading cause of death. As the life span increases, the numbers may get worse.
- Machines Take Over - The development of Artificial Intelligence may make us all slaves, if the machines find no reason for our existence. Others see a future in which Humanity may add technology to ourselves, to evolve Humanity into something else. A merging of machine & biology. Making us like the BORG from "Star Trek" or the CYBERMEN of "Doctor Who".
- Aliens Take Over - Aliens show up one day WAR OF THE WORLDS style & blow us all to hell.
- Computer Simulation - Maybe all of life isn't real? Maybe we're all computer programs inside of something's (God?) computer? That would make all of this somebody's SIMS game. One day that something might shut the damn computer off or reboot it. If that happened, we all go bye bye...