Planet Earth is on course for the start of mass extinction of life by the year 2100, primarily because of carbon pumped into the atmosphere causing a “threshold of catastrophic change.” I won’t be here to witness that one of course but I am most concerned about numerous other perils to our planet that well might mean the end of the world before the year 2100.
Consider the big matchup between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, raising more awareness than the big fight between Cassius Clay and Sony Liston in 1964 which was a most anticipated and watched sports event. Like Clay, Trump is a glib fast-talker who enjoys the limelight while Kim, like Liston, is intimidating and feels indestructible. No matter if Trump or Kim launched the first punch, the collateral damage to thousands and thousands of lives may be the knockout blow. No wonder I don’t sleep well at night!
Major hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and earthquakes in Mexico have something in common, victims of repeating patterns of destruction. These forces of nature will predictably become stronger and more frequent in the not-so-distant future. The timing of a well-deserved vacation to the Islands has become a lottery, no assurance of no disruptions.
The Living Planet Report states, “civilization will have to produce more food in the next 50 years than in all of human history to sustain the uncontrolled population.” Other studies claim that the melting of polar ice-caps will cause massive flooding. It will be a catch-22 either way, starve because of over-population or starve because the land is too wet to produce crops.
Apocalyptic beliefs about the end of the world have, historically, been the subject of religious speculation, now they are increasingly more common among some leading scientists. A prominent figure with an anxious outlook on humanity’s future is Stephen Hawking. Last year, he wrote the following in a Guardian article: “Now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, epidemic disease and acidification of the oceans. Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity. We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it.”
That leads me to a major setback I had last week when my friend asked, “How is our ‘doomsday bunker’ coming along.” Staggered, I managed to respond “But I thought you had been building it for both of us for the last two years!” There may not be time now to start one from scratch!
Don’t let this cool wet summer fool anyone. Global warming is not in decline. In fact, the hottest 17 years have all occurred since 2000, with a single exception, 1998. There is a rapidly closing window for meaningful action. The current rates of species extinctions may be occurring 10,000 times faster than the normal. The forecasts for major deviations on Earth are sooner rather than later.
There are so many trouble spots. Yellowstone National Park is a ticking time bomb. A massive super volcano could erupt at any moment, maybe days or years. Whatever the time, the USA is doomed, as the volcano would cause more pollution than in all of mankind’s history combined. What about Canada being so close? There is a growing pushback that Yellowknife should be destroyed to prevent it happening. I for one would support that move. But then, Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip may have had it right when he said, “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.”
What about the Earth’s natural resources? Depleting them is very close at hand and it would completely destroy the world. No possibility of a new life in space anyway because no metal to make spacecrafts. It would be a slow and painful end. Or would an asteroid or meteorite strike on Earth be more acceptable? And if that isn’t disturbing enough, consider a massive solar eruption frying our communication networks.
Poet T.S. Eliot was known to have said, “This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.” I think if he was around today, he would have to update that phrase!
