If you had to predict how the human race will end, what would your guess be?
Environmental causes, nuclear war or genetic disease?
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Environmental causes that lead to wars and violence, not so much nuclear war but border wars as people move to higher ground and higher latitudes.
The crop failures in Syria were a critical factor in the rise in anti-Al-Assad sentiment and the development of ISIS.
Fire caused by nuclear war.
I think that before too long nuclear war will be as passé as a wall crank telephone. We will still have ways of destroying the population, but it will be much more insidious.
And, if all else fails, the sun will go nova on us someday.
Cosmic event. A comet, sun blows up, something like that.
The sun WILL blow up in 3 or 4 billion years or so.
Disease.
It’s easy to envision global warming causing crop failures, causing starvation, causing rampant sickness and disease, causing widespread death.
Either that, or the zombie apocalypse.
Comet strike or pandemic.
Or Twitter goes out of business.
People fighting over resources like lack of water, failing crops. Overpopulation.
I think an asteroid.
I think most diseases there will be some survivors. Some group of people who are isolated enough, immune, or who survive the illness.
I think scarcity of food and water would not affect the entire population in a way that everyone dies. Some will die, the population shrinks, and then there is sufficient food again. Plus, we are getting and better at growing crops indoors, hydroponic, desalinating water, cleaning water, we are adjusting to our needs even now.
There is the scary thought of nuclear war ending everything. Really that would be amazingly disgusting and stupid. Still, it would have to be quite a few nukes back and forth to kill the entire planet.
@jca I think we’re on the verge of wiping out food and water scarcity in other parts of the world. GMOs are a very good start to that.
Education about birth control is spreading too.
I didn’t say it didn’t’ exist. I said that I think we’re close to a solution.
@Dutchess_III: 1 in 9 having a water issue seems not like a remedy is close by.
The Universe will become so opaque and cold that the atoms that compose our bodies will lose their bond and even come apart themselves.
Strange @jca how you would put overpopulation in your post and yet still encourage people to still have children.
Because I some what agree it will be fighting over the lack of resources, the wealthy will have them and the poor will fight to get them.
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Omg! I am TOTALLY winding yarn right now to make some moccasin booties!
We’re going to spread out into the entire cosmos. We will die when we evolve into other creatures that no longer resemble us.
@SecondHandStoke cold and opaque don’t have anything to do with the atoms of our bodies staying together.
^^NOOOOooooooooo!!!!! anything but that^^ The horrors!!!!
Just for the record: I meant meteor rather than comet.
War, pestilence, famine. The usual things that have wiped out most civilizations.
Personally, I’m hoping for a renegade black hole. haha
The rise of infectious diseases and infections brought on by the over use of antibiotics. The life expectancy of men (in particular) was only 45 years of age 150 years ago. Life expectancy will drop so much that men and women will be far too young to bear children and Humanity will rapidly cease to exist.
A massive shift of the continents will cause massive earth quake and billions to die. After that, many people will perish to famine and disease and extreme weather changes and unsanitary water and food and radiation poisoning from all the power plants that blew and radiation that was releases from massive volcano eruptions and the earth being covered by dark clouds for years.
I woke up this morning, turned on the news to find reporting about the attacks in Belgium. Terrorism is feeling like the end of the world right now. It really is getting unbelievable! The death toll is being reported at 28 right now. I don’t know how many others were hurt? There is video of hundreds of people trying to get away from the scene. Just awful.
It’s becoming commonplace.
As awful as terrorist killings are, you have realize that the number of such killings is a tiny fraction of total killings. If they continue, maybe they will lose their shock value and hence their effectiveness.
@LostInParadise Losing shock value isn’t enough. I’m not very shocked by things like this. I grew up knowing in a very real way people kill massive amounts of people for no good reason out of hate and often coupled with brainwashing. I realize the people killed by “terrorism” over the years is a relatively small number, but it’s still a rather large number. Europe is very accustomed to terrorism over the last 40 years, but I’m sure they still are reeling a little right now.
I don’t think the terrorist cells can end the world, but I think a lot more destruction can occur. Not only by the terrorists, but in retaliation. I think a lot of people feel like just blow “them” up after an attack like this.
@LostInParadise, It was estimated that billions (around 3% of the population in 1940’s) died in WWII, and we are still around and growing. The figure does include those who suffered from disease and famine. So as bad as terrorist are, they aren’t racking up those kinds of numbers yet.
Here’s a list of what mother nature can do : http://list25.com/25-worst-natural-disasters-recorded/
@kritiper you only have to be about 12 or 13 to start making babies.
@Dutchess_III Really?? It wouldn’t help if the life expectancy fell below that. Even if 12 and 13 year olds could support and feed themselves sans elders, sooner or later everyone would succumb to infection since no one would be immune.
Why would no one be immune? There were people immune to the bubonic plague. In fact, a gene mutation was investigated that they believe gave immunity to the plague. I think you had to be homozygous (from both parents). There also is thought that people with the same mutation are protected from HIV. I saw something about it on PBS.
I have a friend who caught HIV back in the 80’s. His boyfriend died and practically his whole circle of friends. He has never been sick a day from HIV, although he is positive. He is still alive, he is in his late 70’s now. His father lived to be 99. Never sick with anything major. I have to wonder. It has to be genes and his immune system.
HIV is one of those diseases that could seriously damage a population, because it is passed from mother to child. If children are born with a deadly disease they never make it to reproductive age. The thing that saves us is that HIV is more difficult to pass heterosexually (but not that difficult really) and now we have medication to protect a fetus.
@JLeslie Because of the rapidly evolving/adapting antibiotic resistant germs and viruses (“superbugs”) that cause the infections. If at first a person was immune, some superbug would evolve to the point that it would kill that person. No one is exempt. And the superbugs are evolving rapidly.
@kritiper Some people likely are exempt. That’s my point. I might be exempt from one, while you might be exempt from a different one.
My mom never reacted to the small pox vaccine. She was told she probably was already immune. I think they tried to give it to her twice. I don’t know if that’s for sure why she had no reaction, but that is what she was told.
@JLeslie I don’t think you fully understand the threat. Superbugs are evolving very rapidly, becoming more and more deadly all the time. Some people might be immune today and live, but not tomorrow. Think about it: a little pimple, a small splinter, a ingrown hair, a minor scratch. People died of minor scratches 150 years ago. Not all, but some. Imagine if the death rate from a pimple was over 95%. That’s how dangerous superbugs are becoming!
@kritiper I think maybe you don’t understand. Not everyone is going to have that necrotizing bacteria on their skin when they get a paper cut.
Airborne diseases are probably the scariest.
Remember, we are talking about the total destruction of the human race.
If you’re concerned about MRSA and necrotizing bacterias getting in through a break in our skin, only people who get cut and are exposed to that bacteria will die.
A disease that travels in a vector like mosquitoes is usually more of a risk in the tropics.
Diseases like TB, which has mutated and there are very resistant forms of TB now, are only contagious at certain stages, and we can contain reasonably contain (quarantine) it.
Diseases from unhealthy conditions usually are contained to the people who live in that locale.
I’m not saying what you said is impossible, I’m only saying a total wipe out of the human race through a disease is probably improbable. It might get the majority of us, but I don’t think it’s likely to get all of us.
@JLeslie Good answer. I can’t agree or disagree with that.
@kritiper from your comment here, I assumed you were suggesting the life expectancy would drop back to 45, which is, actually, plenty old enough to have kids, and even grandkids. Are you suggesting it will drop to about 7 years of age? Clarify, please.
@Dutchess_III Before the advent of antibiotics (about 100 years ago) the normal life expectancy for men was 45. It has grown to about 74 now. Since MRSA and other superbugs have come along (with more popping up about every month) life expectancy would fall back further than 45 (my guess/estimate). If the expectancy fell back as far as it increased, that makes about 15 years of age. Or less. Consider that these future superbugs weren’t the same or the same strength they were 150 yeas ago. And they are still evolving, getting stronger, even more prevalent, becoming deadlier and deadlier with each passing day.
@kritiper Consider that bacterial infection basically was a superbug before we discovered antibiotics, and yet the human race was sustaining itself. Plus, remember that the average age reflects that there was a lot of infant mortality, and death before age 5 in general. The average takes that into account, so there were also people living well into their 60’s and 70’s. Moreover, death before age 5 was partly accounted for with diseases like Polio, Mumps, Measles, Rubella, tetanus, and most of the childhood diseases we vaccinate for are extremely stable. Then there are childhood accidents, which we have better protections for. Then add that a lot of people used to die in their 40’s from heart disease, and now we can treat that with a lot of success. Although, often it involves surgery, which means we have to have effective antibiotics, or people will die from infection from the surgical procedure.
Don’t get me wrong, I worry about infection. I think infection is the underlying cause of many many disease processes, many rheumatic diseases, and more than one cancer.
@JLeslie Yeah,but…“The times they are a-changin’.”
By comparison, the bacterial infections that were, were only simple bugs back when, not the SUPERbugs they are now. Penicillin changed all that. But antibiotics are rapidly becoming useless yet the bugs get stronger. It’s like they’re on SUPER steroids!
The pharmaceutical industry (the ones who still work to develop antibiotics) are working FEVERISHLY (pun intended) to develop new antibiotics before they also become useless.
What was, was. This is now and the VERY near future I’m thinking about.
Here’s something else that’s been kicking around in the back of my head: There might be a time lag between the superbugs we had 15 – 20 years ago and today’s antibiotics. Meaning they will continue to adapt to current antibiotics for 15–20 more years, so we haven’t seen the worst of them yet.
Yikes!
I don’t think the CDC wants people to know just how dire the situation is. When I tried to tell them how I may have acquired my MRSA infection, they basically blew me off without hearing what I had to say. But I can understand why they wouldn’t want anyone to know: MASS PADEMONIUM!!! And nothing to be done about it. The perfect antibiotic kills you as well as the bug, so there’s fine line to be dealt with.
Double yikes!!
But I hear what you’re sayin’. I just think people don’t realize or want to realize the true danger and the CDC (IMO) doesn’t want you to know. I am totally convinced that the danger is real and imminent, and it scares the living crap out of me!
There was a time many tears ago, when hospitals were places you went to to die. Sadly, I’ve got a hunch it will be that way again.
@kritiper You are equating superbug with more virulent. Just because we don’t have an antibiotic to kill a bacteria that has become drug resistant, doesn’t mean it’s more deadly, or makes you more sick, than the version of that bacteria we used to be able to kill. It only means our antibiotics don’t work anymore. It can mean both, it can mean it causes more severe disease and is antibiotic resistant, but not necessarily.
@JLeslie I meant more deadly because it would be harder or impossible to treat and odds of dying would skyrocket. A corpse can’t be more dead and a dying sick person needn’t get sicker to be sick enough to die.
@kritiper Before antibiotics would be the same as not having an antibiotic that works. Like I said, the human race was still here back before antibiotics.
Don’t get me wrong, antibiotics are a miracle. I’m not saying, don’t worry, we can get along without them. More people will get very sick, or need amputations, or die, just like they did 100+ years ago. And, a very virulent bacteria or virus could rise and kill massive amounts of people. That’s all possible. Right now there isn’t very much we can do for a virus like that except quarantine people if it is contagious by air and try to control it. Look at measles outbreaks; the spread fast, and most of the population is vaccinated. It’s so incredibly contagious it finds the few people with little or no immunity to it when it pops up. Luckily, it’s not deadly like small pox and some of the others, but some people do die from it.
Ah, well, they are all just opinions anyway, aren’t they? In time, what will be will be revealed.
Disease, hunger, lack of consumable water.
Well, the fewer the people the more resources that will be available to those who are left, and less opportunity for disease to spread. I think eventually the population would get to a point where it’s is much more easily sustained.
GOOD TO SEE YOU @Berserker!!!
@Dutchess_III You would be correct. The maximum amount of people in the world, as defined by a group of experts, would be 500 million or less. At current levels, that means that 13 of 14 people would have to die.
And that wouldn’t be so bad for planet Earth since man is the ultimate superbug.
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