END OF EARTH

INTERNATIONALISM MUST REPLACE NATIONALISM

2011-01-31T04:35:00.002-08:00

It has been an impelling motive and compulsive force that has led to movement for freedom from colonial rule and emergence of independent and soverign countries. No nation would evidently, like to be ruled by some foreign power and let its resources are misused to suit the interest of foreign elements and not to suit their own. Nationalism is in every sense a healthy growth and a natural one, especially in countries that are under a foreign yoke, but this does not mean that the intensity and vigour of nationalism, in its true meaning should nurse a feeling of hatred for the other nations and their people. Nationalism and internationalism should be compatible with each other. There is no inconsistency if a person loves his neighbors.

Internationalism undeniably implies a broader approach and universal outlook. There is no denying that the world today is essentially international. The development in modern science and technology has revolutionized the international relations with its wider scope for fast communication systems and economic ties.
We are heading towards the concept of a one-world nation considering the interdependence of social and economic development between the nations because they can cause immense hardship and wholesale disaster because of war preparedness based on weapons including the deadly nuclear bomb.

There seem to be contradictions galore among different people of the world mainly due to different political, social and religious ideologies but these gradually disappear when we closely examine our duties and responsibilities in the fast changing world. Old conflicts often endanger the spirit of creative work and co-operative endeavors, but the vital point is how far we allow our nationalist urges to overtake the broader outlook that modern civilization seeks to inculcate.

The concept of a “global village” is based on modern, amazingly fast means of communication especially the radio and television which carries news across the seas to other continents within a few seconds. In the new era of ”global village” nothing less than a fuller and friendlier understanding between man and man will make the task of building a new society a practical proposition.

Keeping in mind the present worldwide scenario, of war preparedness with ultra modern deadly weapons and growing strife’s between nations, only a new wave of internationalism can save the situation from taking an ugly turn. Hence, instead of concentrating on narrow nationalistic attitudes, the common man can very well take the help of the modern communication systems to interact with people of other nations and try to bridge the gulf created between man and man just tell their personal scores, otherwise there is nothing between a common man which would keep him away from each other.

Geographical barriers cannot stop a nuclear bomb

2011-01-31T04:35:00.000-08:00

Geographical barriers cannot stop a nuclear bomb. The traces of radiation from Chernobyl were noticed as far away as Sweden, Japan and United States. Historically Leucippus was the first scientist in 1500 BC who postulated the theory of atoms. In the 1930’s key discoveries were made about the fussioning of atoms by famous researchers Enricho Fermi, Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassman and Lise Meitner which laid the ground work for the development of nuclear weapons in the decades to come.

In 1940, the Us Manhattan Project built and tested the first atomic bomb. These new weapons were used on Hiroshima, then Nagasaki leading to the end of World War 2nd. These bombs weighed approximately 15 tons and they wreaked havoc and devasted every thing. Those who miraculously survived the first impact died an even more painful death. The babies born in Hiroshima after the month of bombing were deformed because of chromosomal aberrations. The survivors ended with diseases that were not diagnosable.
Since then, several nations have exploded nuclear devices in tests, in the atmosphere, under the earth, and under the sea. The present bombs weigh a megaton each and are 10,000 times more powerful than those dropped on Japan. The US, Russia, Britain, France, Israel, India, China and Pakistan presently poses nuclear bombs. After the end of cold war, it was thought that the possibility of nuclear war was over.

The world has now reached the point where we cannot be sure of the next war. Our entire planet could be destroyed in a matter of minutes. In a nuclear holocaust people would completely disappear and the things would never be the same again. Over the last 50 years, many arguments have been put forward to justify the policy of nuclear deterrence.

Let us remember the victims of the nuclear bombs and the harm of radiation by helping those who are suffering from the consequences of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the holocausts and work towards the denuclearization of the world…

SHORT INTRODUCTION ABOUT OUR EARTH

2010-04-16T07:32:00.001-07:00

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World, the Blue Planet, and Terra.

Home to millions of species, including humans, Earth is the only place in the universe where life is known to exist. The planet formed 4.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within a billion years. Since then, Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful radiation, permitting life on land. The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, allowed life to persist during this period. The world is expected to continue supporting life for another 1.5 billion years, after which the rising luminosity of the Sun will eliminate the biosphere.

In its 4.5 billion years, Earth has evolved from its hot, violent birth to the celebrated watery blue planet that stands out in pictures from space. But in a new book, two noted University of Washington astro biologists say the planet already has begun the long process of devolving into a burned-out cinder, eventually to be swallowed by the sun.

The 20th century saw a rapid increase in human population, and it of course is a very major problem all around the world. People all around are having many problems due to increasing population which results in the problems in the society like increase in competition, decreasing the places to live in, decrease in water supply. People all around are becoming enemies of each other and do not have any thing to do with their own ones also. This type of mentality is increasing in our society day by day. Also due to lack of more natural resources people all around are suffering from great problems and the situations are getting worst day by day due to these changes occurring in the nature which man is making for their selfish needs.

Increasing demand of data.

2010-03-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

As there are increasing demand of data and data storage in this competitive world it is becoming a necessity to have a 500gb hard drive. With so much data in electronic format, you need a reliable 500gb hard drive to store and back it all up. You can have a great price and a reliable products at one place only.
There is so much competition between top names like Freecom, Western Digital, Buffalo, Seagate and Samsung that you can now pick up one of their 500gb hard drives for well under £100.

SAYINGS OF EARTH’S END

2009-12-16T02:34:00.000-08:00

"The disappearance of our planet is still 7.5 billion years away, but people really should consider the fate of our world and have a realistic understanding of where we are going," said UW astrophysicist Donald Brownlee. "We live in a fabulous place at a fabulous time. It's a healthy thing for people to realize what a treasure this is in space and time, and fully appreciate and protect their environment as much as possible."

This can result in great destructions all over the globe. According to the scientists all over the world if the situation does not control our human race is going to an end in the near future. The main reasons of this end are due to natural changes which humans are making day by day in our life. These changes are directly or in directly due to increasing populations all over, the place to live in are decreasing day by day, water level of the earth is decreasing due to increasing demand of water day by day, the rivers all around are decreasing and the water in it are decreasing day by day, which results in the lack of drinking water and. Due to increase in population man are cutting down forests bcoz they want more and more place to live in which results in natural disturbance and results in decrease in rains and water levels.

Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth are existential risks that could threaten humankind as a whole, have adverse consequences for the course of human civilization, or even cause the end of planet Earth. The concept is expressed in various phrases such as "End of the World", "Doomsday", "Armageddon", and others.

Due to this decrease in natural resources man is the biggest enemy of man itself today. This is resulting in more and more wars between the neighboring countries.
The conclusion is that if this will not be controlled one day our human race will come to an end.

An article published in “Nature” announced the prediction of two French scientists that in the very distant future, the Earth and other planets will collide with each other. Scientists agree that for many thousands of years, the planets will remain true in their orbits, but eventually small eccentriciites could cause Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth to smash into each other.

END OF EARTH

2009-08-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

According to the scientists and astrologers all around the world, our life on earth is going to an end within few days.
The date is around some what close to November and December of 2012.

If this end happens (which is very much sure whether on this date or in coming future) it will be due to changes occurring inside the earth and on the earth where we live.

The 5 greatest enemies of the HUMANITY which will result in its end are-
SUN, VOLCANOES, MAGNETIC CONDITIONS, ASTEROIDS, NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES.

1-SUN

2009-08-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Increase in heat of the sun in the atmosphere of earth can lead to the end of human race. Due to increasing population, pollution all over is increasing and is resulting in the formation of ozone layer in our atmosphere which prevents the heat of the earth to go out of the atmosphere which is must to control the temperature on the earth. This is resulting in the increasing temperature of our planet Earth, this change in climatic conditions all around is the biggest enemy of human race which can only be controlled when the pollution decreases, but due to increase in demand of all the things in our life it looks impossible because new factories all around are increasing which increases pollution. More and more traffic is increasing day by day which is also the main source of increasing pollution.

As the sun gets hotter and grows in size, it will envelop Mercury and Venus. It is possible it will stop just short of Earth, the authors say, but the conditions still would make this a most-inhospitable planet. More likely, though, the sun will consume Earth as well, severing all the chemical bonds between molecules and sending its individual atoms out into space, perhaps eventually to form new planets. That would leave Mars as the nearest planet to the sun, and on Mars the fading sun's glow would be like that of Earth's moon.

That end of the EARTH is still some 7.5 billion years distant, but by then Earth will have faced a variety of "ends" along the way, the authors say. The last dinosaur perished long ago. Still to come are the last elephant, the last tree, the last flower, the last glacier, the last snowflake, the last ocean, the last life.

The ever-expanding sun, transformed into a red giant, will engulf the planet,animals, plants, humans or any other micro living beings will come to an end melting away any evidence it ever existed and sending molecules and atoms that once were Earth floating off into space.

"It's a healthy thing to think of the place of Earth among the other planets, and its place in the sun. The sun gave life and ultimately it will bring death."

2-SUPER VOLCANOES

2009-07-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Earth quakes and volcanoes is the second most important problem to the human race which are occurring due to this disturbances, and results in an end. Due to lack of the places man is now going deep inside earth for their needs, he is making more and more malls, multiplexes, markets, residential areas etc. which requires parking and people are making use of underground parking. Many places are built where underground use is much and is equal to as up on the earth. More and more people are digging the earth deeply due to their increasing demand of water. These results in hollowness of earth from inside and more natural changes like earth quakes, volcanoes, etc. are taking place.

America’s yellow stone park volcano (largest in the world) is believed to burst once in 6.5 lacks year.

2009-07-30T22:23:00.002-07:00

When the supervolcano at Yellowstone last erupted 640,000 years ago, the magma and ash ejected from the caldera covered most of the United States west of the Mississippi river and part of northeastern Mexico.[31] Another such eruption could threaten civilization. Such an eruption could also release large amounts of gases that could alter the balance of the planet's carbon dioxide and cause a runaway greenhouse effect, or enough pyroclastic debris and other material may be thrown into the atmosphere to partially block out the sun and cause a volcanic winter, as happened in 1816, the Year Without a Summer. Such an eruption may cause the immediate deaths of millions of people several hundred miles from the eruption, and perhaps billions of deaths[32] worldwide due to the failure of the monsoon[citation needed], as well as destruction of the "American breadbasket", causing starvation on a massive scale.

SO it is believed that this time is coming in 2012. And if this happens it can cause the severe loss of human race. Which was not been seen till now.

3-MAGNETIC CONDITIONS-

2009-07-30T22:23:00.001-07:00

Changes in magnetic condition of the earth is believed to be taking place day by day, this change is also due to increasing population and the changes they are making in the nature. It is believed that the Poles (positive and negative) of the earth changes once in 7.5 lacks year, and this time is coming in the near future.

4-ASTEROIDS and METEORITES-

2009-07-30T22:22:00.002-07:00

Many different types of Asteroids present near and far from the earth are in regular motions. Some are revolving round the earth continuously. Some small ones are colliding daily to our earth surface but are not making much damage to it. Some of the bigger ones are believed to collide the earth in the near future which can make much destruction. This is also caused by the changes made in nature day by day and also due to change in magnetic conditions which results in change in gravitation conditions also.
The end of the dinosaurs present few thousands of years back on this earth were also believed, due to the collisions of some asteroids then.
(Note that an asteroid just 15 km wide is said to have destroyed the dinosaurs)
So think of the human race, what affect can these asteroids, have on us and also on other living beings on these earth.

2009-07-30T22:22:00.001-07:00

In the timeframe of the geologically recent history of the Earth, say, 100 million years, several large meteorites have hit Earth. The Cretaceous-Tertiary asteroid, for example, is theorized to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. If such an object struck Earth it could have a serious impact on civilization. It is even possible that humanity would be completely destroyed; for this, the asteroid would need to be at least 1 km (0.6 miles) in diameter, but probably between 3–10 km (2–6 miles).[10] Asteroids with a 1 km diameter impact the Earth every 500,000 years[10] on average. Larger asteroids are less common. The last large (>10 km) impact happened 65 million years ago. So-called Near-Earth asteroids are regularly being observed.

5-NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES-

2009-07-30T22:21:00.002-07:00

Man is becoming enemy of man now a days and war all around is increasing. Hence humanity can be one of the greatest downfall fro humanity itself. No one wants to fail in any way IN THIS WORLD WIDE WAR. This is leading to more and more productions of weapons which can harm humanity. Nuclear bombs are one of the strongest ones and can cause much more destructions than any other. More and more countries are testing their nuclear products daily and can cause in a great destructions in the near future.

Nuclear activities going on all around the world are also disturbing the nature in the present time. The pollution from it can cause much problems and diseases in the human body or if very great can cause the downfall for whole civilization…
NO ONE KNOWS LETS SEE………

2009-07-30T22:21:00.001-07:00

The nuclear bomb dropped on the Nagasaki of Japan (few decades back) is the example of nuclear destruction the human has seen then. The new borns till now in those areas are having problems in their body parts now also, after few decades.

Some threats for humanity come from humanity itself. The scenario that has been explored most is a nuclear war or another weapon with similar possibilities. It is difficult to predict whether it would exterminate humanity, but very certainly could alter civilization, in particular if there was a nuclear winter.

OTHER SUGGESTED SCENERIOS BRINGING EARTH TO AN END

2009-07-30T22:20:00.004-07:00

A number of other scenarios have been suggested which can cause disaster on EARTH. Various risks exist for humanity, but not all are equal. Some that will almost certainly end humanity are certain to occur, but on a very long timescale. Others are likely to happen on a shorter timescale, but will probably not completely destroy civilization. Still others are extremely unlikely, and may even be impossible.

Some foreseen hazards (hence not members of the current category) which have been excluded from the list on grounds that they seem too unlikely to cause a global terminal disaster are: solar flares, supernovae, black hole explosions or mergers, gamma-ray bursts, galactic center outbursts, buildup of air pollution, gradual loss of human fertility, and various religious doomsday scenarios.

Cosmology and space

2009-07-30T22:20:00.003-07:00

On a very long time and distance scale, the ultimate fate of the universe is generally felt by scientists to be one that precludes the indefinite continuation of life. There are a broad spectrum of these predictive theories that fall in the realm of cosmology, but a long-established and widely-accepted notion is the Heat death of the universe. Most notions involve time periods much greater than the generally accepted age of the universe of around 13 billion years.

2009-07-30T22:20:00.001-07:00

At the latest, in about 5 billion years, stellar evolution predicts our sun will exhaust its core hydrogen and become a red giant. In doing so, it will become thousands of times more luminous. As a red giant, the Sun will lose roughly 30% of its mass, so, without tidal effects, the Earth will be in an orbit 1.7 AU (250,000,000 km) from the Sun when the star reaches it maximum radius. Therefore, the planet is thought to escape envelopment by the expanded Sun's sparse outer atmosphere, though most (if not all) existing life would have been destroyed by the Sun's proximity to Earth. However, a more recent simulation indicates that Earth's orbit will decay due to tidal effects and drag, causing it to enter the red giant Sun's atmosphere and be destroyed.The Earth will likely be dragged into the Sun when it becomes an enlarged red giant by no later than about 7.6 billion years; before actual collision with the sun, the oceans would evaporate, and Earth could be destroyed by tidal forces. Alternatively, if the Sun shrinks to a white dwarf before consuming Earth, the Earth would be too frigid to sustain life.

2009-07-30T22:19:00.005-07:00

Massive objects, e.g., a star, large planet or black hole, could be catastrophic if a close encounter occurred in the solar system. (Gravity from the wandering objects might disrupt orbits and/or fling bodies into other objects, thus resulting in meteorite impacts or climate change. Also, heat from the wandering objects might cause extinctions; tidal forces could cause erosion along our coastlines.) Another threat might come from gamma ray bursts. Both are very unlikely.

2009-07-30T22:19:00.003-07:00

Still others see extraterrestrial life as a possible threat to humankind; although alien life has never been found, scientists such as Carl Sagan have postulated that the existence of extraterrestrial life is very likely.
In April 2008, it was announced that two simulations of long-term planetary movement, one at Paris Observatory and the other at University of California, Santa Cruz indicate a 1% chance that Mercury's orbit could be made unstable by Jupiter's gravitational pull sometime during the lifespan of the sun. Were this to happen, the simulations suggest a collision with Earth could be one of four possible outcomes (the others being colliding with the Sun, colliding with Venus, or being ejected from the solar system altogether). If this were to happen, all life on Earth would be obliterated and the impact may displace enough matter into orbit to form another moon. Note that an asteroid just 15 km wide is said to have destroyed the dinosaurs; Mercury is some 5,000 km in diameter.

Global pandemic

2009-07-30T22:19:00.001-07:00

A less predictable scenario is a global pandemic. For example, if HIV were to mutate and become as transmissible as the common cold, the consequences would be disastrous.This particular scenario would also contradict the observable tendency for pathogens to become less fatal over time as a function of natural selection[citation needed]. A pathogen that quickly kills its hosts will not likely have enough time to spread to new ones, while one that kills its hosts more slowly or not at all will allow carriers more time to spread the infection, and thus likely outcompete a more lethal species or strain. A real-life example of this process can be found in the historical evolution of syphilis towards a less virulent form. Also, as a virus mutates and becomes easily transmittable it often gives up much of its virulence in the process. This is not to say that a highly destructive and highly transmissible disease is not possible. Ebola, for example, is highly contagious and up to 90% fatal; the only reason it has not caused a worldwide crisis is because outbreaks usually occur in rural Africa. Of course, a pandemic resulting in human extinction need not arise naturally; the possibility of one caused by a deliberately-engineered pathogen cannot be ruled out.

Megatsunami

2009-07-30T22:18:00.004-07:00

Another possibility is a megatsunami. A megatsunami could, for example, destroy the entire east coast of the United States of America. The coastal areas of the entire world could also be flooded in case of the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. While none of these scenarios are likely to destroy humanity completely, they could regionally threaten civilization. There has been one recent high-fatality tsunami, although it was not large enough to be considered a megatsunami.

Climate Change & Global Warming

2009-07-30T22:18:00.003-07:00

Climate change is any long-term significant change in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region (or, more relevantly to contemporary socio-political concerns, of the Earth as a whole) over an appropriately significant period of time. Climate change reflects abnormal variations to the expected climate within the Earth's atmosphere and subsequent effects on other parts of the Earth, such as in the ice caps over durations ranging from decades to millions of years. According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), climate disasters are on the rise. Around 70 percent of disasters are now climate related – up from around 50 percent from two decades ago. These disasters take a heavier human toll and come with a higher price tag. In the last decade, 2.4 billion people were affected by climate related disasters, compared to 1.7 billion in the previous decade and the cost of responding to disasters has risen tenfold between 1992 and 2008. Destructive sudden heavy rains, intense tropical storms, repeated flooding and droughts are likely to increase, as will the vulnerability of local communities in the absence of strong concerted action.

Ice age

2009-07-30T22:18:00.001-07:00

In the history of the Earth, many ice ages have occurred. More ice ages will almost certainly come at an interval of 40,000–100,000 years. This would have a serious impact on civilization, because vast areas of land (mainly in North America, Europe, and Asia) could become uninhabitable. It would still be possible to live in the tropical regions, but with possible loss of humidity/water. Currently, the world is existing in an interglacial period within a much older glacial event. The last glacial expansion ended about 10,000 years ago, and all civilizations, save a few hunter-gatherer populations, have come into existence during that time.

Ecological disaster

2009-07-30T22:17:00.004-07:00

An ecological disaster, such as world crop failure and collapse of ecosystem services, could be induced by the present trends of overpopulation, economic development, and non-sustainable agriculture. Most of these scenarios involve one or more of the following: Holocene extinction event, scarcity of water that could lead to approximately one half of the Earth's population being without safe drinking water, pollinator decline, overfishing, massive deforestation, desertification, climate change, or massive water pollution episodes. A very recent threat in this direction is colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon that might foreshadow the imminent extinction of the Western honeybee. As the bee plays a vital role in pollination, its extinction would severely disrupt the food chain.

World population and agricultural crisis

2009-07-30T22:17:00.003-07:00

The 20th century saw a rapid increase in human population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity made by the Green Revolution. Between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%. The Green Revolution in agriculture helped food production to keep pace with worldwide population growth or actually enabled population growth. The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon fueled irrigation. David Pimentel, professor of ecology and agriculture at Cornell University, and Mario Giampietro, senior researcher at the National Research Institute on Food and Nutrition (INRAN), place in their study Food, Land, Population and the U.S. Economy the maximum U.S. population for a sustainable economy at 200 million. To achieve a sustainable economy and avert disaster, the United States must reduce its population by at least one-third, and world population will have to be reduced by two-thirds, says the study.

2009-07-30T22:17:00.001-07:00

The authors of this study believe that the mentioned agricultural crisis will only begin to impact us after 2020, and will not become critical until 2050. Geologist Dale Allen Pfeiffer claims that coming decades could see spiraling food prices without relief and massive starvation on a global level such as never experienced before.

Another category of disasters are unforeseen consequences of technology.

2009-07-30T22:16:00.003-07:00

It has been suggested that learning computers that rapidly become super intelligent may take unforeseen actions or that robots would out-compete humanity. Because of its exceptional scheduling and organisational capability and the range of novel technologies it could develop, it is possible that the first Earth super intelligence to emerge could rapidly become very, very powerful. Quite possibly, it would be matchless and unrivalled: conceivably it would be able to bring about almost any possible outcome, and be able to foil virtually any attempt that threatened to prevent it achieving its desires. It could eliminate, wiping out if it chose, any other challenging rival intellects, alternatively it might manipulate or persuade them to change their behaviour towards its own interests, or it may merely obstruct their attempts at interference.

2009-07-30T22:16:00.001-07:00

Biotechnology could lead to the creation of a pandemic, Nanotechnology could lead to grey goo in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all living matter on Earth while building more of themselves - in both cases, either deliberately or by accident. It has also been suggested that physical scientists might accidentally create a device that could destroy the earth and the solar system. Another kind of accident is the Ice-9 Type Transition, in which our planet including everything on it becomes a strange matter planet in a chain reaction. Some do not view this as a credible scenario.

Some of the consequences of global warming.

2009-07-30T22:15:00.006-07:00

It has been suggested that runaway global warming might cause the climate on Earth to become like Venus, which would make it uninhabitable. In less extreme scenarios it could cause the end of civilization. According to a UN climate report, the Himalayan glaciers that are the sources of Asia's biggest rivers - Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Yellow - could disappear by 2035 as temperatures rise. Approximately 2.4 billion people live in the drainage basin of the Himalayan rivers. India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar could experience floods followed by droughts in coming decades. In India alone, the Ganges provides water for drinking and farming for more than 500 million people. The west coast of North America, which gets much of its water from glaciers in mountain ranges such as the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada, also would be affected. According to the California Department of Water Resources, if more water supplies are not found by 2020, California residents will face a water shortfall nearly as great as the amount consumed today. Directly linked to observed increases in the intensity and frequency of natural disasters, global warming and climate change are now considered key drivers behind rising global humanitarian and emergency relief needs. According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), climate disasters are on the rise. Around 70 percent of disasters are now climate related – up from around 50 percent from two decades ago. These disasters take a heavier human toll and come with a higher price tag. In the last decade, 2.4 billion people were affected by climate related disasters, compared to 1.7 billion in the previous decade and the cost of responding to disasters has risen tenfold between 1992 and 2008. Destructive sudden heavy rains, intense tropical storms, repeated flooding and droughts are likely to increase, as will the vulnerability of local communities in the absence of strong concerted action.

2009-07-30T22:15:00.005-07:00

Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.

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James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis, in his book The Revenge of Gaia (2006), has suggested that the elimination of rain forests, and the falling planetary biodiversity is removing the homeostatic negative feedback mechanisms that maintain climate stability by reducing the effects of greenhouse gas emissions (particularly carbon dioxide). With the heating of the oceans, the extension of the thermocline layer into Arctic and Antarctic waters is preventing the overturning and nutrient enrichment necessary for algal blooms of phytoplankton on which the ecosystems of these areas depend. With the loss of phytoplankton and tropical rain forests, two of the main carbon dioxide sinks for reducing global warming, he suggests a runaway positive feedback effect could cause tropical deserts to cover most of the world's tropical regions, and the disappearance of polar ice caps, posing a serious challenge to global civilization.

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Using scenario analysis, the Global Scenario Group (GSG), a coalition of international scientists convened by Paul Raskin, developed a series of possible futures for the world as it enters a Planetary Phase of Civilization. One scenario involves the complete breakdown of civilization as the effects of climate change become more pronounced, competition for scarce resources increases, and the rift between the poor and the wealthy widens. The GSG’s other scenarios, such as Policy Reform, Eco-Communalism, and Great Transition avoid this societal collapse and eventually result in environmental and social sustainability. They claim the outcome is dependent on human choice and the possible formation of a global citizens movement which could influence the trajectory of global development.

Many other scenarios that can probably end EARTH-

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Peak oil
Fossil Fuels attain a level of scarcity before an economically viable replacement is devised, leading firstly to economic strain, followed by the collapse of modern agriculture, then to mass-starvation.[

Antibiotic resistance
Natural selection would create super bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, devastating the world population and causing a global collapse of civilization.

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Gulf Stream shutdown
There is some speculation that global warming could, via a shutdown or slowdown of the thermohaline circulation, trigger localized cooling in the North Atlantic and lead to cooling in that region. This would affect in particular areas like Ireland, the Nordic countries, and Britain that are warmed by the North Atlantic drift.
Mutual assured destruction
A full scale nuclear war could kill billions, and the resulting nuclear winter would effectively crush any form of civilization.

Overpopulation
Some scenarios of simultaneous ecological (food & water production) and economical (see f.e. below) collapses with overpopulation are presumed to lead to a global civil war, where the remaining habitable areas are destroyed by competing humans (so called 'Mad Max'-scenario).

2009-07-30T22:13:00.006-07:00

Famine
As of late 2007, increased farming for use in biofuels, along with world oil prices at over $140 a barrel, has pushed up the price of grain used to feed poultry and dairy cows and other cattle, causing higher prices of wheat (up 58%), soybean (up 32%), and maize (up 11%) over the year. Food riots have recently taken place in many countries across the world. An epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by race Ug99 is currently spreading across Africa and into Asia and is causing major concern. Scientists say millions of people face starvation.

Experimental accident Investigations in nuclear and high energy physics, such as the Trinity test and more recently with the Large Hadron Collider, theoretical chain-reaction global disasters triggered by these unusual conditions were worried about by some but have not yet occurred

Historical futurist scenarios

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Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who was involved in alchemy and many other things in addition to science and mathematics, studied old texts and surmised that the end of the world would happen no earlier than 2060, although he was reluctant to put an exact date in it.

Many believe that the Maya civilization's Long Count calendar ends abruptly on December 21, 2012. This misconception is due to the Maya practice of using only five places in Long Count Calendar inscriptions. On some monuments the Maya calculated dates far into the past and future but there is no end of the world date. There will be a Piktun ending (a cycle of 13 144,000 day Bak'tuns) on December 21, 2012. A Piktun marks the end of a 1,872,000 day or approximately 5125 year period and is a significant event in the Maya calendar. However, there is no historical or scientific evidence that the Mayas believed it would be a doomsday.

The End of Everything

2009-07-30T22:12:00.003-07:00

The Dark Ages, not a single star shines anywhere in the Universe.It can be said that humans have a bit of a short term view of things. We're concerned about the end of summer, the next school year, and maybe even retirement. But these are just a blink of an eye in cosmic terms. Let's really think big, stare forward in time, and think about what the future holds for the Universe. Look forward millions, trillions, and even 10100 years into the future. Let's consider the end of everything.

End of Humanity – 10,000 years

2009-07-30T22:12:00.001-07:00

End of Humanity – 10,000 years
Modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Since then, we've gone on to inhabit every single corner of the globe. But this is just temporary. The vast majority of every species that has ever lived on Earth is now extinct. To think that humans can avoid the fate of every other creature is arrogant. Like all life on Earth, our time is limited. How long will we last?

There are many natural and man made disasters that could wipe us out. From an asteroid strike to worldwide pandemic; global warming to a nearby supernova detonation – there are many ways we could go. Perhaps we'll wrap it up in a mass extinction event, such as the one that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, or "the Great Dying", 251 million years ago that killed 70% of land species and 96% of all marine species.

Perhaps another species (intelligent cockroaches, rats) will evolve, and out compete with us in our niche. Or maybe we'll engineer our robotic replacements.

But a species can last tens or even hundreds of millions of years. So how can we predict when our number will be up?

There's no way to know, but there's a calculation that can help. It's called the Doomsday Argument, developed in 1983 by astrophysicist Brandon Carter. According to Carter, if you assume that half of the humans who will ever live have already been born, you get approximately 60 billion people. If you assume that another 60 billion are yet to be born, our high population levels only give us another 9,000 years or so. Or more precisely, there's a 95% chance that humanity will have ended by the year 11,000.

There are other calculations, but they give similar amounts, ranging from a few thousand to a few million years.

That's a long time, but not long enough to appreciate the future the Universe has in store for itself.

End of Life – 500 million years – 5 billion years

2009-07-30T22:11:00.003-07:00

End of Life – 500 million years – 5 billion years
We thank the Sun for giving us energy. Without it, there'd be no life on Earth. It's ironic, then, that the Sun will eventually kill all life on Earth.

That's because the Sun is slowly heating up.

One of the most fascinating books about this topic is The Life and Death of Planet Earth by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee. In their book, they chronicle how Sun's energy output is slowly increasing. In as soon as 500 million years, temperatures on Earth will rise to the point that most of the world will be a desert. The largest creatures won't be able to survive anywhere but the relatively cooler poles.

Over the course of the next few billion years, evolution will seem to go reverse. The largest organisms and least heat tolerant animals will die out, leaving hardy insects and bacteria. Finally, it'll be so hot on the surface of the Earth that the oceans will boil away. There'll be no place to hide from the terrible temperatures. Only the organisms that live deep underground will survive, as they have already for billions of years.
Red giant Betelgeuse.

End of the Earth – 7.5 billion years

2009-07-30T22:11:00.001-07:00

End of the Earth – 7.5 billion years
As mentioned above, we exist because of the Sun's good graces. But as our star nears the end of its lifetime, it'll take our planet out as it goes; one way or another.

In approximately 5 billion years from now, the Sun will begin the final stage of its life, consuming the last of its hydrogen fuel supply. At that point, gravity will force the Sun to collapse, and only a small amount of hydrogen will remain in a shell wrapped around the star's core. It will then expand into a red giant star, consuming each of the inner planets: first Mercury, then Venus, and finally encompassing even the orbit of Earth.

There is a controversy about whether or not a red giant Sun will actually burn up the Earth. In some scenarios, the change in the Sun's density as it expands causes the Earth to spiral out away from the Sun, keeping out of reach. In another scenario, the Sun's outer envelope will enclose the Earth. The additional friction will slow the Earth down, causing it to spiral down into the Sun.

Whatever the outcome, the Earth will be scorched to a cinder, and effectively destroyed, 5 billion years from now.

End of the Sun – 7.5 billion – 1 trillion years

2009-07-30T22:10:00.002-07:00

End of the Sun – 7.5 billion – 1 trillion years
When the Sun becomes a red giant, that's only the beginning of the end. With the end of its hydrogen, the Sun will have switched to fusing helium, then carbon, and finally oxygen. At that point, our Sun will lack the gravity to continue the fusion process. It will shut down, and shed its outside layers to form a planetary nebula, such as the ring nebula we can see in the night sky. It'll then settle down to live out the rest of its days as a white dwarf.

It will still retain most of its mass, but have a size no larger than the Earth's diameter. Once yellow-hot with the heat of fusion, the Sun will slowly cool down over time. Eventually, its temperature will match the background temperature of the Universe and it will become a cold black dwarf – an inert chunk of matter floating in the darkness of space.

Even the oldest white dwarfs still radiate at several thousand degrees Kelvin, so the Universe hasn't been around long enough for black dwarfs to exist.. yet. But give the Sun another 1 trillion years or so, and it should finally become a cold black dwarf.
Artist impression of a disk of material around a white dwarf star. Image credit: Gemini Observatory

End of the Solar System

2009-07-30T22:10:00.001-07:00

End of the Solar System
Even though the Sun will have burned out billions of years from now, the planets that weren't consumed will remain. Perhaps even Earth will join that group. Certainly Jupiter, Saturn, the rest of the outer planets and the Kuiper belt objects will remain orbiting for eons.

A recently discovery, published in the journal Science, reported that astronomers had discovered a disk of rapidly rotating metallic material orbiting a white dwarf. Researchers built a simulation where they put hypothetical planets in orbit around a dying star, and found that the star's death wreaked havoc on the stability of a star system. Changes in the mass of a star causes planets to collide, and rearrange their orbits. Some spiral into their star, while others are ejected into interstellar space.

Once all these new gravitational interactions are worked out, all that might remain of our solar system is the white dwarf remnant of our Sun and the rapidly rotating disk of planetary wreckage surrounding it. Everything else will be lost to interstellar space.
Hubble Deep Field survey shows many many galaxies.

End of Cosmology – 3 Trillion Years from Now

2009-07-30T22:09:00.002-07:00

End of Cosmology – 3 Trillion Years from Now
The Universe acts as a natural time machine. Since light moves at the speed of, well, light, we can look at distant objects and see them how they looked in the past. Look to the very ends of the visible Universe, and you see light that was emitted billions of years ago, shortly after the Big Bang.

It's handy, but there's a problem. That mysterious dark energy force, which is accelerating the expansion of the Universe is making the most distant galaxies move faster and faster away from us. Eventually, they will cross an event horizon and appear to be moving away from us faster than the speed of light. At this point, any light emitted by the galaxy will cease to reach us. Any galaxy that crosses this horizon will fade away from view, until its last photon reaches us. All galaxies will disappear from view forever.

According to a new research paper by Lawrence M. Krauss and Robert J. Scherrer, future astronomers living 3 trillion years from now will only see our own galaxy when they look into the night sky.

This accelerating expansion has another consequence as well. The cosmic microwave background radiation, which astronomers used to discover evidence of the Big Bang will have faded away too. Not only that, but the abundance of chemicals, which precisely match the amounts theorized for the Big Bang will be hidden by subsequent generations of stars.

And so, 3 trillion years from now, there won't be any trace of the Big Bang. No clues for future cosmologists to recognize that the Universe we live in started from a single point, and has been expanding ever since. The Universe will seem static and unchanging.
The core of the Milky Way seen in Infrared.

End of the Milky Way

2009-07-30T22:09:00.001-07:00

End of the Milky Way
Galaxies collide. All you have to do is look out into space with a telescope and see the fate that awaits our galaxy. In all directions we can see the interactions between the gravity of various galaxies. At first the encounters are violent; galaxies tear at each other, stripping off material, and generating huge swaths of star formation. The dormant supermassive black holes at their centres spring to live and become active galactic nuclei, gobbling up the newly delivered material.

Our future merger partner is barreling towards us right now: Andromeda. In approximately 2 billion years from now, our two galaxies will collide, and then pull apart. Then they'll collide again and again until they settle down into a new, larger galaxy: Milkomedia. The twin supermassive black holes will orbit one another, and eventually merge together into an even more massive black hole.

Our position in the galaxy will change; we'll probably be pushed out to the outer reaches of the galaxy's halo – at least 100,000 light years from the centre. Since the Sun will still have billions of years left, some future form of life on Earth might be around to watch these events unfold.

The merger process will be complete approximately 7 billion years from now.

That's not the end of the galaxy, though. It will still be an island in space, with stars orbiting a central core. Over a long period of time, though, estimated to be between 1019 1020 years. The galaxy will erode, with all the stars escaping into intergalactic space.
Artist impression of a white dwarf, surrounded by shed material.

End of Stars – 100 trillion years from now

2009-07-30T22:08:00.004-07:00

End of Stars – 100 trillion years from now
We can look out into the Milky Way and see stars forming all around us. There is still enough remaining gas and dust in the Milky Way to create whole new generations of stars. But when we look at other galaxies, we can see older, elliptical galaxies which have already used up their free gas and dust. Instead of the bright, hot stars we see in star forming regions, these aging red galaxies are cooling down.

One day there won't be newly forming stars at all. And then one day, the last star will use up the last of its hydrogen fuel, become a red giant and then fade away to a white dwarf. Even the dimmest stars, the cool red dwarfs will use up their fuel – although, it might taken another 10 trillion years or so. They too will turn into black dwarfs.

And so, in about 100 trillion years from now, every star in the Universe, large and small, will be a black dwarf. An inert chunk of matter with the mass of a star, but at the background temperature of the Universe.
Artist illustration of a black hole.

The End of Regular Matter – 1030 years

2009-07-30T22:08:00.003-07:00

The End of Regular Matter – 1030 years
So now we have a Universe with no stars, only cold black dwarfs. There will also be neutron stars and black holes left over from the time where there were stars in the Universe. The Universe will be completely dark.

A future observer might notice the occasional flash, when some object interacts with a black hole. Its matter will spread out into an accretion disk around the black hole. And for a brief period, it will flare up, emitting radiation. But then it too will be added to the mass of the black hole. And everything will go dark again.

Chunks of matter and binary black dwarfs will merge together creating new black holes, and these black holes will be consumed by even larger black holes. It might be that in the far future, all matter will exist in a few, truly massive black holes.

But even if matter escapes this fate, it's doomed eventually. Some theories of physics predict that protons are unstable over long periods of time. They just can't last. Any matter that wasn't consumed by a black hole will start to decay. The protons will turn into radiation, leaving a fine mist of electrons, positrons, neutrinos and radiation to spread out into space.

End of Black Holes – 10100 Years

2009-07-30T22:08:00.001-07:00

End of Black Holes – 10100 Years
Black holes were thought to be one-way streets. Matter goes in, but it doesn't come out. But famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking turned that concept on its head with his theory that black holes can evaporate. It's not much, and it's not fast, but black holes release a tiny amount of radiation back into space.

As it releases this radiation, the black hole actually loses mass, finally evaporating away entirely. The amount of radiation increases as the black hole loses mass. It's actually possible that it could generate a final burst of X-rays and gamma rays as it disappears completely. Future observers (who survived their protons decaying) might see the occasional flash in an otherwise dark universe.

And then in about 10100 years, the last black hole will be gone. All that remains is the radiation emitted.
The Dark Ages, not a single star shines anywhere in the Universe.

The End of Everything – 10100 years and beyond

2009-07-30T22:06:00.004-07:00

The End of Everything – 10100 years and beyond
When the last black hole evaporates, all that will remain in the Universe are photons of radiation, and elementary particles that escaped capture by black holes. The temperature of the entire Universe will reach a final temperature just above absolute zero.Dark energy may play some future role, continuing the expansion of the Universe, accelerating each of these elementary particles and photons away from each other until they're effectively cut off from one another. No future gravity will bring them together again.

Perhaps there will be another Big Bang someday. Perhaps the Universe is cyclical and the whole process will start up again.

Perhaps it won't, and this bleak future of a cold, dead Universe is all that awaits us. It's not happy, but it's awe inspiring to consider the long future ahead, and helps us appreciate the vibrant age we live in today.

Will Earth Survive When the Sun Becomes a Red Giant?

2009-07-30T22:06:00.003-07:00

Billions of years in the future, when our Sun bloats up into a red giant, it will expand to consume the Earth's orbit. But wait, you say, the Earth travels the Earth's orbit… what's going to happen to our beloved planet? Will it be gobbled up like poor Mercury and Venus?

Astronomers have been puzzling this question for decades. When the sun becomes a red giant, the simple calculation would put its equator out past Mars. All of the inner planets would be consumed.

2009-07-30T22:06:00.001-07:00

However, as the Sun reaches this late stage in its stellar evolution, it loses a tremendous amount of mass through powerful stellar winds. As it grows, it loses mass, causing the planets to spiral outwards. So the question is, will the expanding Sun overtake the planets spiraling outwards, or will Earth (and maybe even Venus) escape its grasp.

K.-P Schroder and Robert Cannon Smith are two researchers trying to get to the bottom of this question. They've run the calculations with the most current models of stellar evolution, and published a research paper entitled, Distant Future of the Sun and Earth Revisted. It has been accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

2009-07-30T22:05:00.002-07:00

According to Schroder and Smith, when the Sun becomes a red giant star 7.59 billion years, it will start to lose mass quickly. By the time it reaches its largest radius, 256 times its current size, it will be down to only 67% of its current mass.

When the Sun does begin to bloat up, it will go quickly, sweeping through the inner Solar System in just 5 million years. It will then enter its relatively brief (130 million year) helium-burning phase. It will expand past the orbit of Mercury, and then Venus. By the time it approaches the Earth, it will be losing 4.9 x 1020 tonnes of mass every year (8% the mass of the Earth).

2009-07-30T22:05:00.001-07:00

But the habitable zone will be gone much sooner. Astronomers estimate that will expand past the Earth's orbit in just a billion years. The heating Sun will evaporate the Earth's oceans away, and then solar radiation will blast away the hydrogen from the water. The Earth will never have oceans again. It will eventually become molten again.

One interesting side benefit for the Solar System. Even though the Earth, at a mere 1.5 astronomical units, will no longer be within the Sun's habitable zone, much of the Solar System will be. The new habitable zone will stretch from 49.4 AU to 71.4 AU, well into the Kuiper Belt. The formerly icy worlds will melt, and liquid water will be present beyond the orbit of Pluto. Perhaps Eris will be the new homeworld.

Back to the question… will the Earth survive?

2009-07-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

According to Schroder and Smith, the answer is no. Even though the Earth could expand to an orbit 50% larger than today's orbit, it won't get the chance. The expanding Sun will engulf the Earth just before it reaches the tip of the red giant phase. And the Sun would still have another 0.25 AU and 500,000 years to grow.

Once inside the Sun's atmosphere, the Earth will collide with particles of gas. Its orbit will decay, and it will spiral inward.

2009-07-30T22:03:00.002-07:00

If the Earth were just a little further from the Sun, at 1.15 AU, it would be able to survive the expansion phase. Although it's science fiction, the authors suggest that future technologies could be used to speed up the Earth's spiraling outward from the Sun.

Thinking about this far future of the Earth gives an insight into human psychology. People are genuinely worried about a future billions of years away. Even though the Earth will be scorched much sooner, its oceans boiled away, and turned into a molten ball of rock, it's this early destruction by the Sun that feels so sad.