• Question: How do you think that the human race will end?

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      Asked by GeeDAwG-TSQD to John, Laura, Luke, Rob, Ruth on 15 Jun 2016. This question was also asked by ALOrona, Dr Sibley.
      • Photo: John Fossey

        John Fossey answered on 15 Jun 2016:


        we have to get off the planet before the sun dies, otherwise – grimly

      • Photo: Robert Williams

        Robert Williams answered on 15 Jun 2016:


        1) Eruption of the volcano under Yellowstone National Park
        2) Meteorite impact – we are overdue for an event similar to what kiboshed the dinosaurs
        3) Exterminated by space aliens building a bypass :>) [HHGTTG]

      • Photo: Laura Finney

        Laura Finney answered on 15 Jun 2016:


        I think personally we will be the destruction of the earth if we do not stop destroying it!

      • Photo: Ruth Patchett

        Ruth Patchett answered on 15 Jun 2016:


        This isn’t a very cheerful question. I am inclined to agree with Laura that we are likely to use up resources before we need to worry about being engulfed by the sun. It would be interesting to see how we managed living without all of this technology we have become so used to having.

      • Photo: Luke Williams

        Luke Williams answered on 16 Jun 2016:


        I am going to agree with Robert here. We are overdue for an explosion from Yellowstone. Then again, it’s unlikely to result in a species extinction. For sure, if you are American then probably you have an issue. The population would drop substantially, but we would endure.

        The only real options for a species extinction would be a pandemic of apocalyptic scale, resulting in systemic collapse and substantial loss of life. If some form of civilisation isn’t restored rapidly then we could be looking at complete extinction.

        The most obvious route is meteorite impact, a substantial impact would obliterate all life in an instant.

        Alien invasion is another possibility. Interaction with an alien civilisation is likely to result in warfare of some kind, and if they arrived here then they would probably be substantially more advanced than us. They could take our planet by force should they wish, and that doesn’t include the possibility of alien bacteria or illnesses which we would most likely be unprepared to withstand (see pandemic).

        John is ultimately right though, if nothing stops us in the meantime, we need to get off the planet and out of the solar system, otherwise we are constrained by the lifetime of our sun. Failing THAT then we will be good until the heat death of the universe I guess.

        I quite enjoy apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, so I don’t find this quite as depressing as some might!

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