The End - What Will It Be?

[Skeletor]

The end of humankind. Which do you think will be the most likely cause? I don't mean end as in extinction but rather a massive amount of deaths almost to the point of extinction. I have listed only 5 but list others you think are likely.

[EarthQuake]

1. Not enough nukes. Plus, someone has to win.
2. Most likely scenario.
3. Chemical warfare probably wouldn't wipe out everybody.
4. What? Survival is certainly a concern for at least someone.
5. Probably not plausible. See 3.

So, to elaborate on my decision. I think if humans haven't developed enough technologically to spread out into the solar system, then the chances of a meteor causing extinction of humans is pretty high. I wonder if we were in imminent threat today, if we could do something about such a collision, given enough time. Our technology is pretty advanced enough so that we'd see it coming. How much time and if it is indeed enough time to make preparations, is the question. Other events way into the future, like Sol dying, are probably not of any worry. If we last that long, there is no doubt we'll be far away from Earth.

[Skeletor]

Interesting. I would agree that meteors would be the highest. If we haven't developed warp technology to find habitable planets by the time we spot one with a high chance of probability that will hit, I suppose the least we could do is plant domed colonies on mars...or break it to pieces with a nuclear bomb like in Armageddon lol. We can send Bruce Willis & Crew to save us.

[Pure Hellspawn]

The death of the sun. Unless something happens before then.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

Depends on how well the elites run their global farm. If they finally start channelling energy and money away from controlling all of us to conquering space instead, then they might last a bit longer (although not forever as supplies from earth would still be needed to survive on another planet). In the end I think it'll either be nature that strikes back, or mankind that shoots itself in the foot (possibly by trying to control nature too hard).

[Creaphis]

Honestly, I think we're just going to peter out of existence. There won't necessarily be any final cataclysm that destroys us all; what's more likely is that necessary changes to our lifestyle to sustain the earth will always be made too late, and humanity will slowly die off in an unlivable environment. Some pockets of humanity may survive, but at a primordial level of technological development, and our current level of technological prowess probably won't ever be matched again after the downturn. Eventually, we'll die off, evolve into a beast with physical adaptations instead of mental, or be replaced by a new dominant intelligent species. This last possibility is least likely, as the chance of a species existing in the perfect sort of environment that favours smarter individuals over stronger ones is very small (only one species like humanity has ever evolved) and there's only about 700 million years before the surface of the earth is too hot for life. I read that somewhere. I'm not positive of its veracity but it could be true.

Kind of depressing, eh? To go out, not with a bang, but with a whimper? With nothing left to hear our stories, or at least admire our ruins? I tell myself that the existence of humanity is absolute; even after the universe suffers its heat death, or is drawn into some unfathomable confluence via dark flow, humanity will still have existed, and will always have existed. That actually helps, a bit.

What a bizarre time to live this is, during a fantastic period of knowledge and power. Let's all enjoy it.

[Technician]

I believe we will eventually kill our selves out by simple gluttony. We will devour all our natural resources, cause a plague of toxic pollution, and then followed by conflict. This doesn't mean a judgment type scenario. Just gradual self-extinction.

[GreyGhost]

EarthQuake said:

1. Not enough nukes. Plus, someone has to win.

Would you care to bet on that? Then of course there's the old Cold War "Mutually Assured Destruction" mindset to contend with - whoever survives the war, the nuclear winter that follows and the toxic environment can declare themselves the winner.

Pure Hellspawn said:

The death of the sun. Unless something happens before then.

The human animal will have evolved into something else long before the sun starts running out of fuel.

I'd place Earth-crossing asteroids at the top of my list, followed by a global pandemic (not chemical or biological warfare since someone's likely to have a vaccine/antidote for whatever they release) and nuclear war - which would probably be the final phase of a series of resource wars. Mass suicide might be an option for the religious lunatic fringe but not the rest of us and zombification assoumes that the powers-that-be are medicating us with something more powerful than a little flouride in the water.

Assuming we survive the short-to-medium term threats what will ultimately kill of humankind is evolution. If we're lucky our successors as alpha species will keep some of us around as pets.

[Technician]

As you say that I can't help think of the fate of the Neanderthal.

[exp(x)]

GreyGhost said:

Assuming we survive the short-to-medium term threats what will ultimately kill of humankind is evolution. If we're lucky our successors as alpha species will keep some of us around as pets.

Unfortunately the people who breed the most are stupid, so any evolutionary change is going to be pretty shitty.

[Joshy]

The world will end during the Rapture, and Homer Simpson will be the only survivor to make it in Heaven.

[magicsofa]

I voted for what I think will happen in the near future. I don't think humans will quite go extinct, although it's probable that we will evolve into "something else." We like to classify species; however this does not exist in the world. Evolution is gradual and lines are hard to draw between different stages. In any case, it's unlikely that homo sapiens sapiens will be fully eradicated unless by something not of our own doing.

[Bloodshedder]

You forgot the second coming of Jesus and/or the rapture.

[Enjay]

Technician said:

I believe we will eventually kill our selves out by simple gluttony. We will devour all our natural resources, cause a plague of toxic pollution, and then followed by conflict. This doesn't mean a judgment type scenario. Just gradual self-extinction.

I believe that with the speed with which the human population is increasing so dramatically (from 3.5 billion to 6.6 billion in around 50 years - compared to the slow gradual increase for the first few million years of human existence, and it is still accelerating massively in an unprecidented way) overpopulation will be causing those things sooner rather than "eventually". Pessimistic estimates suggest the middle of this century. To me, this is a far, far bigger threat to humanity than the headline grabbers like "global warming". However, no-one seems to be addressing the issue, publicly at least, because tackling the issue of "too many people on the planet" isn't a particularly palatable one given the kind of steps that need to be taken to address it.

[myk]

Enjay said:
However, no-one seems to be addressing the issue, publicly at least, because tackling the issue of "too many people on the planet" isn't a particularly palatable one given the kind of steps that need to be taken to address it.

China and Iran do it.

[Snarboo]

What would most likely happen in an overpopulation scenario is that the overcrowded and poorer countries would be wiped out first, either from disease, strife or famine. Richer countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia might suffer a bit, either as a result of chaos spilling over the borders or as a result of war.

However, I fully expect any country that can keep itself together, either through riches or power, would survive through the tipping point. And hey, if a continent destroying super-plague wipes out most of the population, that would leave plenty of room for the survivors to spread out. :p

My bets on the "end" are either nuclear holocaust or an asteroid, since both are very likely and both have a very high death count. Every other major disaster might be survivable, if only barely.

[GreyGhost]

Enjay said:

However, no-one seems to be addressing the issue, publicly at least, because tackling the issue of "too many people on the planet" isn't a particularly palatable one given the kind of steps that need to be taken to address it.

A population crash is a distinct possibility. I suppose one reason why it's not being addressed publicly is because no-one wants to quantify how many billions would have to die in order for the global population to be reduced to a sustainable level.

[myk]

The rate at which population grows seems to be decreasing. Each billion is a smaller proportion in comparison to the total, and the last billion seems to have occurred in 13 years, when the previous one had taken only 12.

Population grows with technological development. If there is a crisis which disrupts this development, the population ceases to grow, at least at the rate that caused the crisis. Nothing stops it from growing again to greater numbers if adequate technology develops later, which often happens after a crisis. The Bubonic Plague killed about 1/3 of Europe and then the Renaissance occurred, more or less.

It's only natural for humans to concentrate more on the technology and its effects rather than taking a negative attitude about their own reproduction. It's evident also that when cultural groups need to tone down growth to meet their economic stability they do it, and that when they don't other factors (war, disease, emigration) force a population decline, at least in the affected area.

[Sharessa]

I really think that nothing short of the Earth itself being destroyed will kill off humanity. Sure, society might collapse, but I'm sure pockets will survive. Even if they don't, our species is intelligent enough to restart it eventually.

exp(x) said:

Unfortunately the people who breed the most are stupid, so any evolutionary change is going to be pretty shitty.

Luckily, when society does collapse it will be the stupid people who rely on McDonalds and Wal-Mart to survive which will be the first to go. Those of us who can make food from scratch and survive in the wilderness will be the survivors. :D

[magicsofa]

Yeah I'm planning to start an eco-village in Pennsylvania for that very reason :D

[40oz]

Personally I don't think anyone will live to see what actually happens.

[Da Spadger]

If everything else fails, the W'rkncacnter won't.

[Gokuma]

magicsofa said:

Yeah I'm planning to start an eco-village in Pennsylvania for that very reason :D

I'm in Southeast PA and I'm definitely down for stuff like that.


A few things I'm disgusted by: It was good was when business was declining for McDicks but now they have soaring profits and plan to open 650 more shitholes.

People being Walmart serfs- working there, buying their food there, getting their prescriptions they supposedly need filled there, and buying all kinds of junky shit. Just walk in and take look and see if there's much of a difference between the customersconsumers and employees, so many hobbled people, either mentally or physically deficient or both.

[Nems]

Zombie apocalypse or don't bother because the other ways are boring.

[Csonicgo]

GreyGhost said:

A population crash is a distinct possibility. I suppose one reason why it's not being addressed publicly is because no-one wants to quantify how many billions would have to die in order for the global population to be reduced to a sustainable level.

that's funny, because a lot of evangelical nuts have claimed that abortion has reduced the population to an "extreme" level.

[Lüt]

GreyGhost said:

A population crash is a distinct possibility.

2060 A.D. - 1.2 million people

Bloodshedder said:

You forgot the second coming of Jesus and/or the rapture.

Oh right, how could I forget - second coming on midnight JST, May 21, 2011 :o

[TMD]

If a natural disaster were imminent, the most LOGICAL thing to do to prevent utter chaos would be to have as few people be aware of impending doom as possible. As such, I am always one to believe that humanity has less than one week left to live at any given point.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

Enjay said:

However, no-one seems to be addressing the issue, publicly at least, because tackling the issue of "too many people on the planet" isn't a particularly palatable one given the kind of steps that need to be taken to address it.

Make up your own minds on the stuff out there but I believe it's being tackled in secret. In fact there's part of me that thinks I will end like that...at least if my life carries on the way it is now.

(in business terms...if you ran a chain of retail outlets with varying performances across the world and the bank balance, forecasts etc. look grim, what would you do to solve it? Close down the ones that are making huge losses, and eventually all those that aren't bringing you any profits. Now apply that to countries and people...brutal I know but it makes sense to me)

[MasterOFDeath]

Natural disaster, such as a meteor or Yellowstone going off. A month or so ago geologists reported seeing unusual activity coming from Yellowstone, and it's a known caldera with the potential to wipe out almost all land life just from worldwide ash coverage. Our generation is fine though as it shouldn't go off until a thousand years or so from now. (A "short time" on earth's timescale) And by then I'm sure we will have a fair amount of us living permanently in space, ensuring our survival against natural disasters unless something else happens at the same time.

Nuclear war? Biological warfare? Eh, we can survive that. I don't see it being near as bad as all life being forced to breathe ash that cannot be filtered and rips your lungs apart from the inside. Or a massive ash cloud collapsing on everyone. And those that do survive being ones trapped in underground shelters buried under ash eventually starving to death. The ash would be so thick they would be permanently trapped and not even cannibalism could make them last. :D

Zombies could be taken care of before they became a worldwide threat, though IRL Left 4 Dead could prove pretty exiting. Or maybe we discover space travel from buried ruins on Mars, meet up with several alien species with a political center on a mysterious space station, then discover a race of sentient super-machines living in deep space that systematically wipe all life from our galaxy for their own amusement - but fail to stop them. Or some other science fiction story. ;P

[GreyGhost]

Lüt said:

2060 A.D. - 1.2 million people

OK - now that we have a number let's try to turn it into a United Nations resolution. :D