I was reading a daily newspaper out of Vancouver B.C. a few weeks ago. My favourite part is the Backchat in the opinion section. Every day readers can respond to a question that is posted in the previous days paper. The editors asked to the effect that scientists think there are a few plausible ways that could kill life on Earth, which I’ll give my take on some of them below. It seems this topic brings out the cynical “I’ve heard it all before” attitude. I don’t let the cynicism get to me a lot anymore as I miss out on the humour that is involved.
One way that was suggested was an asteroid striking Planet Earth. I find this one quite feasible. With all that is moving about in space, I’m surprised that nothing big has struck the surface of the planet in thousands of years which has defied some incredible odds.
The second one was intelligent machines killing us off, a scary thought in light of what of Stephen Hawking said recently. Bearing in mind that I can’t see machines being any smarter than their creators, where would these robots get a life force that keeps humans alive and kicking? Imagine the horror involved if an army of armed emotionless robots bearing down on unarmed civilians?
A plague could be it but I would question if it would be a natural occurring one that those in charge would capitalize on to get the population into fear mode big time. Or would it be a man made disease created in a control centre?
Nuclear war is a distinct possibility. Is there a psychopath out there who would think nothing of pressing a button that would destroy all life and the planet itself? What would be accomplished then? When life after humans happens how would Mother Nature deal with the nuclear facilities still in operation?
Climate change might not be a factor as much as some think. No matter what opinion one has of the human race, we can be pretty hearty at times proving the theory of adaptability has some merit to it.
The best one in humorous terms is God hitting the off switch. The one liners that could be used here is a stand up comics dream. I can see God saying; “Enough of this folks, show time is over.”
Of course people will come come up with other ideas on how things will end. I don’t put much stock on biblical/religious agendas or an alien angle as a lot of it is pretty far out material which could be mostly speculation or wishful thinking. As far as I’m concerned these two groups are great at making things up as they go along or working backwards from a fabricated answer they’ve created to fit the question they have phrased so carefully.
The answer to this question of life ending on the planet is probably right under our noses, happening as we live despite the majority ignoring it. It could happen prior to the sun turning into a supernova or fossil fuels running out and there isn’t enough of anything else to replace it. There is a lot of the fear factor used by those really in charge to stifle most humans from asking tough questions to find out what exactly what the truth is.
How much of the above is going to happen is anyones guess. I believe the planet we’re on won’t end in the physical sense but the human race will at some point. I have concluded that whatever is running the Universe doesn’t have a preference for mankind over another species, Mother Nature will reclaim the planet and other species will replace us.