The end of humankind

[Rusty_Shackleford]

This seems like a very interesting book to read. I must seek out a copy.

‘The Decline And Fall Of The Human Empire’ By Henry Gee — Book Review

An entertaining and thought-provoking overview of the rise and fall of the human population – as our species declines towards extinction.

www.forbes.com

 

[MaloK]

It's a gloom and doom Monday on FF...

First Gwand announces the end of the universe then you the end of humanity.

At 89 seconds to midnight. So why not add more...

The Great Pollinator Collapse.
The Rise of Sentient Algorithms.
The Permafrost Methane Bomb.
The Microplastic Plague.
The Soil Depletion Catastrophe.
The Great Thirst.
The Toxic Tide.
The Rise of Superbugs.

If you dare to search for these...

 

[GaryE]

When we go extinct, life will carry on, and the planet will get over the damage we've done and head in new life directions. Always look on the bright side of life!

There have been a lot of religions over history that yearned for the destruction of this beautiful world. As someone who loves reading history, I've always been fascinated by that - it's a strange idea to encounter in so many systems. Objectively, we are fouling our nest very quickly, and we can drive ourselves mad worrying about it. I don't think we have to passively accept it, but we do have to accept that.

As Douglas Adams wrote, "So long and thanks for all the fish."

 

[Back in the fold]

I’ve got a methane bomb for you .

 

[Colin_T]

When we go extinct, life will carry on, and the planet will get over the damage we've done and head in new life directions. Always look on the bright side of life!

When we wipe ourselves out we will probably wipe out everything on the planet, at least everything that requires oxygen. We are going to die from carbon dioxide (CO2) poisoning and heat, and everything requiring oxygen is doomed. About the only things that might survive are the organisms living at the bottom of the ocean by deep sea vents. If the oceans don't boil away and the pH doesn't drop too low, they might survive. But if the planet gets hot enough, the oceans will evaporate and then they die too. After that the only things that might survive will be bacteria that currently live around volcanos. They might survive due to their need for heat.

Australia is already showing signs of too much heat with native plants and animals dying from it during summer. In the southern half of Western Australia where most of the people live in this state, we get less rain and the temperatures are 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal. We are also getting stronger winds blowing in from the desert as well as more cyclones and they are moving further south. On the other side of the country they are getting more cyclones and major storms causing more flooding. The temperatures are also going up over there but not as much as in WA.

When the polar ice caps melt there will be nothing left to cool the ocean and the ocean currents stop or change and the water will develop major thermoclines. Places that naturally have warm water around them will get hot water and nothing will survive in it. Tropical coral reefs will move into cooler water, while the cool water organisms will disappear. The warmer ocean will create more storms and cyclonic effects causing more flooding. Australia will be divided by the ocean and the east coast will be an island separated from the west coast by an inland sea. The western part of Australia won't be habitable for the most part and large areas, particularly those where most of the people currently live, will be flooded.

At the other end of the globes are places like Alaska, Canada and northern Europe. These are going to get warmer and might be the only place left to live after the ice caps melt. But they won't get as much water and the world's population (assuming it doesn't die from CO2 poisoning) will be crammed into those areas. I personally don't think 8 billion people will survive in those areas.

 

[GaryE]

Colin's describing change, much of it brought by the greed and short sightedness of one species currently infesting the place. We forget that we live in the Age of Bacteria, and that they're the dominant life form on our planet (and probably on other planets). They'll shake us off and keep going, and new processes will start on the planet. If the dinosaurs were self aware, I'm sure they would have thought it was all downhill from them. You don't get much better than the thing that thinks it's the best.

Colin's version of the apocalypse might happen geographically, but if it does, our world ends and the world of the species that can adapt carries on. Relax. It's just doom!

History shows that whenever there is massive economic dislocation, and the collapse of predictable powers and empires, there's a corresponding interest in the end of the world. That's where the doomsday cults, prophecies and predictions of dates for the big shutdown appear. We're in one of those periods now, so hang on to your hats. We are destroying our environment, and the many processes we cause that we see are worth trying to change. They're real, but I'm not resigned to it all. Still, I predict we are going see some more Y2K panics, Mayan calendar, Nostradamus, Revelations, doomsday predictions and such over the next few years. Outbreaks of wild dancing could happen. They've happened before, Europe and the Americas independently...

I'm hoping for the dancing mania again. I'm a people watcher.

 

[Magnum Man]

I'm a bit of a "prepper" but not so much as to devote my life to it... I also believe in a higher power, so I have some place to go...

being an old guy ( I turn turn 65 today, in fact ), and I've seen many well meaning "preppers" stashes go into the garbage, after they die, and their children always thought that was "dad's" obsession... ironically contributing to the global trash problem... I don't have children, but I don't think the end will likely come in my lifetime... if I'm here long enough, I may witness an uncomfortable period, before I pass... it'll likely be our children, or grand children, that will suffer most from our mistakes...

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

It is the age of octopi, soon we will be living in their glass boxes.

 

[gwand]

I'm a bit of a "prepper" but not so much as to devote my life to it... I also believe in a higher power, so I have some place to go...

being an old guy ( I turn turn 65 today, in fact ), and I've seen many well meaning "preppers" stashes go into the garbage, after they die, and their children always thought that was "dad's" obsession... ironically contributing to the global trash problem... I don't have children, but I don't think the end will likely come in my lifetime... if I'm here long enough, I may witness an uncomfortable period, before I pass... it'll likely be our children, or grand children, that will suffer most from our mistakes...

Happy birthday and many more.

 

[GaryE]

Happy birthday! Best fishes!

 

[MaloK]

@Magnum Man, that's a lot of candles

Happy Birthday !!!

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

That many candles is surely contributing to global warming.

 

[Back in the fold]

I completely agree with @Colin_T and his assessment of the current state of things and the likely future events . The ocean current thing is very real . Once the polar ice caps are gone and the ocean salinity levels drop it’s all over . The oceans will be a stagnant pond . The Bible describes the oceans becoming like the blood of a dead man some time in the future . How’s that for spooky ? But worse than that is what will come before . I am absolutely sure in my mind that crazy politicians are going to use their nuclear bombs in a big way very soon . That will take care of the overpopulation problem . Nobody believes the politicians are capable of it but they are .

 

[Innesfan]

Relax. It's just doom!

I feel much better.

 

[gwand]

Don’t worry. Doom will not happen anytime soon. There is too much suffering that has to happen first.