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Poll - what’s most likely to cause the human species to go extinct?

How do we end?

  • Nuclear annihilation

    Votes: 8 10.4%
  • Superbug (virus) man made or not

    Votes: 15 19.5%
  • Artificial General intelligence deciding we aren’t needed anymore

    Votes: 10 13.0%
  • Asteroid

    Votes: 7 9.1%
  • Earth’s core deciding it wants to be above ground

    Votes: 4 5.2%
  • Some happening in the universe we’re unaware can or will happen

    Votes: 6 7.8%
  • Climate change

    Votes: 4 5.2%
  • Your god deciding we’ve outstayed our welcome

    Votes: 23 29.9%

  • Total voters
    77
“You egomaniacal idiot,” Malcolm said, in fury. “Do you have any idea what you are talking about? You think you can destroy the planet? My, what intoxicating power you must have.” Malcolm sank back on the bed. “You can’t destroy this planet. You can’t even come close.” “Most people believe,” Hammond said stiffly, “that the planet is in jeopardy.” “Well, it’s not,” Malcolm said. “All the experts agree that our planet is in trouble.” Malcolm sighed. “Let me tell you about our planet,” he said. “Our planet is four and a half billion years old. There has been life on this planet for nearly that long. Three point eight billion years. The first bacteria. And, later, the first multicellular animals, then the first complex creatures, in the sea, on the land. Then the great sweeping ages of animals—the amphibians, the dinosaurs, the mammals, each lasting millions upon millions of years. Great dynasties of creatures arising, flourishing, dying away. All this happening against a background of continuous and violent upheaval, mountain ranges thrust up and eroded away, cometary impacts, volcanic eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving … Endless, constant and violent change … Even today, the greatest geographical feature on the planet comes from two great continents colliding, buckling to make the Himalayan mountain range over millions of years. The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us.” Hammond frowned. “Just because it lasted a long time,” he said, “doesn’t mean it is permanent. If there was a radiation accident …” “Suppose there was,” Malcolm said. “Let’s say we had a bad one, and all the plants and animals died, and the earth was clicking hot for a hundred thousand years. Life would survive somewhere—under the soil, or perhaps frozen in Arctic ice. And after all those years, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would again spread over the planet. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. And of course it would be very different from what it is now. But the earth would survive our folly. Life would survive our folly. Only we,” Malcolm said, “think it wouldn’t.” Hammond said, “Well, if the ozone layer gets thinner—” “There will be more ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface. So what?” “Well. It’ll cause skin cancer.” Malcolm shook his head. “Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It’s powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation.” “And many others will die out,” Hammond said. Malcolm sighed. “You think this is the first time such a thing has happened? Don’t you know about oxygen?” “I know it’s necessary for life.” “It is now,” Malcolm said. “But oxygen is actually a metabolic poison. It’s a corrosive gas, like fluorine, which is used to etch glass. And when oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells—say, around three billion years ago—it created a crisis for all other life on our planet. Those plant cells were polluting the environment with a deadly poison. They were exhaling a lethal gas, and building up its concentration. A planet like Venus has less than one percent oxygen. On earth, the concentration of oxygen was going up rapidly—five, ten, eventually twenty-one percent! Earth had an atmosphere of pure poison! Incompatible with life!” Hammond looked irritated. “So what is your point? That modern pollutants will be incorporated, too?” “No,” Malcolm said. “My point is that life on earth can take care of itself. In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago, we didn’t have cars and airplanes and computers and vaccines.… It was a whole different world. But to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can’t imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven’t got the humility to try. We have been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we are gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.”
 
“You egomaniacal idiot,” Malcolm said, in fury. “Do you have any idea what you are talking about? You think you can destroy the planet? My, what intoxicating power you must have.” Malcolm sank back on the bed. “You can’t destroy this planet. You can’t even come close.” “Most people believe,” Hammond said stiffly, “that the planet is in jeopardy.” “Well, it’s not,” Malcolm said. “All the experts agree that our planet is in trouble.” Malcolm sighed. “Let me tell you about our planet,” he said. “Our planet is four and a half billion years old. There has been life on this planet for nearly that long. Three point eight billion years. The first bacteria. And, later, the first multicellular animals, then the first complex creatures, in the sea, on the land. Then the great sweeping ages of animals—the amphibians, the dinosaurs, the mammals, each lasting millions upon millions of years. Great dynasties of creatures arising, flourishing, dying away. All this happening against a background of continuous and violent upheaval, mountain ranges thrust up and eroded away, cometary impacts, volcanic eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving … Endless, constant and violent change … Even today, the greatest geographical feature on the planet comes from two great continents colliding, buckling to make the Himalayan mountain range over millions of years. The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us.” Hammond frowned. “Just because it lasted a long time,” he said, “doesn’t mean it is permanent. If there was a radiation accident …” “Suppose there was,” Malcolm said. “Let’s say we had a bad one, and all the plants and animals died, and the earth was clicking hot for a hundred thousand years. Life would survive somewhere—under the soil, or perhaps frozen in Arctic ice. And after all those years, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would again spread over the planet. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. And of course it would be very different from what it is now. But the earth would survive our folly. Life would survive our folly. Only we,” Malcolm said, “think it wouldn’t.” Hammond said, “Well, if the ozone layer gets thinner—” “There will be more ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface. So what?” “Well. It’ll cause skin cancer.” Malcolm shook his head. “Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It’s powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation.” “And many others will die out,” Hammond said. Malcolm sighed. “You think this is the first time such a thing has happened? Don’t you know about oxygen?” “I know it’s necessary for life.” “It is now,” Malcolm said. “But oxygen is actually a metabolic poison. It’s a corrosive gas, like fluorine, which is used to etch glass. And when oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells—say, around three billion years ago—it created a crisis for all other life on our planet. Those plant cells were polluting the environment with a deadly poison. They were exhaling a lethal gas, and building up its concentration. A planet like Venus has less than one percent oxygen. On earth, the concentration of oxygen was going up rapidly—five, ten, eventually twenty-one percent! Earth had an atmosphere of pure poison! Incompatible with life!” Hammond looked irritated. “So what is your point? That modern pollutants will be incorporated, too?” “No,” Malcolm said. “My point is that life on earth can take care of itself. In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago, we didn’t have cars and airplanes and computers and vaccines.… It was a whole different world. But to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can’t imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven’t got the humility to try. We have been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we are gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.”

Not only will the earth not miss us, it will probably say good riddance.
 
Ripple effects of ongoing destruction of natural resources and habitats of keystone species
 
For the believer scripture prophecy is being played out just as God foretold us in Daniel, Ezekiel, Matthew and of course Revelation. The world will cease when He determines and all eyes should be on Israel the epicenter of the culmination of His plan. It is not too late make a decision eternity is a long time.
 
For the believer scripture prophecy is being played out just as God foretold us in Daniel, Ezekiel, Matthew and of course Revelation. The world will cease when He determines and all eyes should be on Israel the epicenter of the culmination of His plan. It is not too late make a decision eternity is a long time.
Truth!
 
“You egomaniacal idiot,” Malcolm said, in fury. “Do you have any idea what you are talking about? You think you can destroy the planet? My, what intoxicating power you must have.” Malcolm sank back on the bed. “You can’t destroy this planet. You can’t even come close.” “Most people believe,” Hammond said stiffly, “that the planet is in jeopardy.” “Well, it’s not,” Malcolm said. “All the experts agree that our planet is in trouble.” Malcolm sighed. “Let me tell you about our planet,” he said. “Our planet is four and a half billion years old. There has been life on this planet for nearly that long. Three point eight billion years. The first bacteria. And, later, the first multicellular animals, then the first complex creatures, in the sea, on the land. Then the great sweeping ages of animals—the amphibians, the dinosaurs, the mammals, each lasting millions upon millions of years. Great dynasties of creatures arising, flourishing, dying away. All this happening against a background of continuous and violent upheaval, mountain ranges thrust up and eroded away, cometary impacts, volcanic eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving … Endless, constant and violent change … Even today, the greatest geographical feature on the planet comes from two great continents colliding, buckling to make the Himalayan mountain range over millions of years. The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us.” Hammond frowned. “Just because it lasted a long time,” he said, “doesn’t mean it is permanent. If there was a radiation accident …” “Suppose there was,” Malcolm said. “Let’s say we had a bad one, and all the plants and animals died, and the earth was clicking hot for a hundred thousand years. Life would survive somewhere—under the soil, or perhaps frozen in Arctic ice. And after all those years, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would again spread over the planet. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. And of course it would be very different from what it is now. But the earth would survive our folly. Life would survive our folly. Only we,” Malcolm said, “think it wouldn’t.” Hammond said, “Well, if the ozone layer gets thinner—” “There will be more ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface. So what?” “Well. It’ll cause skin cancer.” Malcolm shook his head. “Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It’s powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation.” “And many others will die out,” Hammond said. Malcolm sighed. “You think this is the first time such a thing has happened? Don’t you know about oxygen?” “I know it’s necessary for life.” “It is now,” Malcolm said. “But oxygen is actually a metabolic poison. It’s a corrosive gas, like fluorine, which is used to etch glass. And when oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells—say, around three billion years ago—it created a crisis for all other life on our planet. Those plant cells were polluting the environment with a deadly poison. They were exhaling a lethal gas, and building up its concentration. A planet like Venus has less than one percent oxygen. On earth, the concentration of oxygen was going up rapidly—five, ten, eventually twenty-one percent! Earth had an atmosphere of pure poison! Incompatible with life!” Hammond looked irritated. “So what is your point? That modern pollutants will be incorporated, too?” “No,” Malcolm said. “My point is that life on earth can take care of itself. In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago, we didn’t have cars and airplanes and computers and vaccines.… It was a whole different world. But to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can’t imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven’t got the humility to try. We have been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we are gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.”

the same hubris mentioned in this entertaining story is responsible for ignoring the step changes in technology that make it literally possible for humans to destroy the planet. Not make it “uninhabitable” or too hot or too radioactive. We can now, or in very short order, will be able to make the planet lots of little bits of planet floating through space.

will this happen? Almost certainly not, in today’s context. But the curve of technological advancement sharpens daily. So much so most of us can’t comprehend it. Just like we can’t comprehend the enormity of the earth. We aren’t designed to. And then, to be able to put that in context of just how small the earth is from the proper perspective. It’s all mind blowing.

but one thing is true. We most certainly have, or will have the capability to make earth not be earth anymore.
 
We tend to live in a bubble here in the U.S. here is a broader perspective.
 
I have to agree with you there. But do you think the Earth can recover from whatever it is that we will do? That given time (even millions of year) some form of society (human or otherwise) will remerged and renew the cycle. Or the earth become a dead planet?

Because I honestly do not see us becoming advance enough to conduct plausible space odyssey before its too late.
The earth may recover and humans may still be present but I agree with your assessment of our space capability.
 
“You egomaniacal idiot,” Malcolm said, in fury. “Do you have any idea what you are talking about? You think you can destroy the planet? My, what intoxicating power you must have.” Malcolm sank back on the bed. “You can’t destroy this planet. You can’t even come close.” “Most people believe,” Hammond said stiffly, “that the planet is in jeopardy.” “Well, it’s not,” Malcolm said. “All the experts agree that our planet is in trouble.” Malcolm sighed. “Let me tell you about our planet,” he said. “Our planet is four and a half billion years old. There has been life on this planet for nearly that long. Three point eight billion years. The first bacteria. And, later, the first multicellular animals, then the first complex creatures, in the sea, on the land. Then the great sweeping ages of animals—the amphibians, the dinosaurs, the mammals, each lasting millions upon millions of years. Great dynasties of creatures arising, flourishing, dying away. All this happening against a background of continuous and violent upheaval, mountain ranges thrust up and eroded away, cometary impacts, volcanic eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving … Endless, constant and violent change … Even today, the greatest geographical feature on the planet comes from two great continents colliding, buckling to make the Himalayan mountain range over millions of years. The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us.” Hammond frowned. “Just because it lasted a long time,” he said, “doesn’t mean it is permanent. If there was a radiation accident …” “Suppose there was,” Malcolm said. “Let’s say we had a bad one, and all the plants and animals died, and the earth was clicking hot for a hundred thousand years. Life would survive somewhere—under the soil, or perhaps frozen in Arctic ice. And after all those years, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would again spread over the planet. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. And of course it would be very different from what it is now. But the earth would survive our folly. Life would survive our folly. Only we,” Malcolm said, “think it wouldn’t.” Hammond said, “Well, if the ozone layer gets thinner—” “There will be more ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface. So what?” “Well. It’ll cause skin cancer.” Malcolm shook his head. “Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It’s powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation.” “And many others will die out,” Hammond said. Malcolm sighed. “You think this is the first time such a thing has happened? Don’t you know about oxygen?” “I know it’s necessary for life.” “It is now,” Malcolm said. “But oxygen is actually a metabolic poison. It’s a corrosive gas, like fluorine, which is used to etch glass. And when oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells—say, around three billion years ago—it created a crisis for all other life on our planet. Those plant cells were polluting the environment with a deadly poison. They were exhaling a lethal gas, and building up its concentration. A planet like Venus has less than one percent oxygen. On earth, the concentration of oxygen was going up rapidly—five, ten, eventually twenty-one percent! Earth had an atmosphere of pure poison! Incompatible with life!” Hammond looked irritated. “So what is your point? That modern pollutants will be incorporated, too?” “No,” Malcolm said. “My point is that life on earth can take care of itself. In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago, we didn’t have cars and airplanes and computers and vaccines.… It was a whole different world. But to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can’t imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven’t got the humility to try. We have been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we are gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.”
TLDR, and to quote George Carlin...

"The planet is gonna be just fine folks. The people? The people are (not allowed on saddlehunter)!!"

I don't know that I agree with @kyler1945 and his claim we can or will be able to one day make the planet into meteorites. Isn't the current most accepted theory about how we have a big moon and big core relative to the planets size that our "twin planet" Theia collided with the earth? Literally the universe hit a planet with another freaking planet and if anything the result of that (tides, earth knocked off it's axis allowing seasons and weather, and a hot core with a thin crust) allowed the formation of life, quite possibly after nearly or perhaps totally eliminating it at first.

Can we replicate that? Is there even enough uranium and plutonium here to make that possible? THE EARTH GOT HIT SO HARD IT KNOCKED IT OFF AXIS AND THE MOON CHIPPED OFF.

I think in the future we might could feasibly nuke ourselves off the map. But 1 species thats just been here less than a million years ending the planet? I think the burden of proof falls on ole Kyler there.



What would it take to end man vs end life vs end the planet is 3 very different questions.
 
TLDR, and to quote George Carlin...

"The planet is gonna be just fine folks. The people? The people are (not allowed on saddlehunter)!!"

I don't know that I agree with @kyler1945 and his claim we can or will be able to one day make the planet into meteorites. Isn't the current most accepted theory about how we have a big moon and big core relative to the planets size that our "twin planet" Theia collided with the earth? Literally the universe hit a planet with another freaking planet and if anything the result of that (tides, earth knocked off it's axis allowing seasons and weather, and a hot core with a thin crust) allowed the formation of life, quite possibly after nearly or perhaps totally eliminating it at first.

Can we replicate that? Is there even enough uranium and plutonium here to make that possible? THE EARTH GOT HIT SO HARD IT KNOCKED IT OFF AXIS AND THE MOON CHIPPED OFF.

I think in the future we might could feasibly nuke ourselves off the map. But 1 species thats just been here less than a million years ending the planet? I think the burden of proof falls on ole Kyler there.



What would it take to end man vs end life vs end the planet is 3 very different questions.


Here’s the premise of how we’ll end ourselves. Then just think - we only had the ability to end humanity on our own continent(at nature’s mercy, but we could if we wanted to) since plague and human civilization existed at the same time. And the ability to do it across continents for as long as we’ve had ocean crossing boats and plague. Hundreds of years, thousands if you’re being generous. Fast forward and we can now wipe every animal off the planet with the push of a button. Will we? Missing the point.

The curve of technology is really steep the last 100 years. For those who think we’re far away from world ending technology, you’re not paying close enough attention to the incentive structures humans have created, and you haven’t laid that over that technological curve. You also should have a bit more of a conspiracy theory bent - we choose to ignore much of the advancement happening around us, and much of it is hidden.

The point is not that we definitely will do it, or that it will be pure evil(whatever that is). It’s that we keep pulling balls out of the urn. And some of them already pulled haven’t had their story written yet. And there’s too many of us to structure the lottery in a way that protects us. The incentives drive technology and power.
 
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We arent anywhere even close to a Death Star type weapon. Certainly we could possibly sterilize the surface of the planet if for some reason the entire world all of sudden started building nukes by the millions and handed them all to the ayatollah.

Human behavior, not some Tom Clancy/Brad Thor nightmare is the likely possible end unless Yellowstone or the 2nd coming happens first.
 
We are already the cause of so many species' extinctions just by accident. We're setting up our own right now. We destroy without thought. We're the species that is depleting our world of natural resources. We will get to a point of no return.
 
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