[dropcap size=small]T[/dropcap]he world may not have ended in year 2012 as predicted by the Mayan Calendar but this doesn’t mean that it won’t end at all. In my previous article, “5 Naturally occuring events that can end the world!” I talked about the naturally occurring events that caused or may cause mass extinction events on our planet earth but today not only nature but humans are also posing a great threat to this planet. [highlight color=#ff0000 ]Nuclear advancement, introduction to AI (Artificial Intelligence) may seem a giant leap towards the advancement of human civilisation but on the other side of the coin, this advancement may bring the day of apocalypse closer[/highlight].
Here are 5 Cataclysmic events induced by humans that may cause mass extinction events –
[button color=”grey” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]1. Nuclear War[/button]
Today around 9 countries in this world posses nuclear weapons in which only 5 have signed NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty). The other 4 countries including India, Pakistan and North Korea can do whatever they want with these nukes. There are far greater threats from increasing nuclear terrorism. Nuclear weapons are one of the most dangerous things developed by man. [highlight color=#ff0000 ]A Nuclear war in these days means mass extinctions; if more than a hundred nuclear bombs are fired, it will bring Nuclear Winter which will immensely reduce the planet’s temperature, killing millions and it will become almost impossible for humans to survive.[/highlight]
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[button color=”grey” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]2. AI Takeover[/button]
Movies like The Matrix and Avengers: Age of Ultron may seem like science fiction and people think it has no relation with the reality, but with ongoing advancement in computing power, scientists believe that the day is not far enough when the computers will exceed human level capacities in memory and calculation speed. The real danger will occur when self aware machines will realize that they share a planet with humans and they might view us as a harmful specie that creates wars, destroys environment and creates computer viruses.
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[button color=”grey” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]3. Global Warming[/button]
Climate change is a natural phenomenon and there have been incidents in the past where changes in climate have affected the life form on earth. But immense increase in industrialisation and vehicles on road, we humans are affecting our environment adversely. The pollution level in our environment has greatly increased in past few decades. This has caused a global rise in temperature melting the ice caps and glaciers in the Arctic. [highlight color=#ff0000 ]If this trend continues, a day will come where all the land will get submerged under water and there will be no place for us to live except in case we find a way to live under water.[/highlight]
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[button color=”grey” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]4. Experimental Mishap[/button]
Ever since humans have learned science, they have always wanted to prove their theories with experiments. Larger and more sophisticated experimental setups are built to prove different theories, one such is the LHC. [highlight color=#ff0000 ]People have always feared that if any kind of mishap occurs in LHC, it might create a singularity and will suck up everything and it won’t stop, not even after the earth is gone.[/highlight] Scientists have assured that it won’t happen as this machine is simply not powerful enough, but it is human nature to build bigger and better so nobody knows when we might actually cross the line.
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[button color=”grey” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]5. Alien Invasion[/button]
This fact cannot be disapproved that we are not alone in this universe. There is a great possibility that an alien civilisation far more advanced than us exists. [highlight color=#ff0000 ]Though we haven’t had any contact with aliens yet but in the future if this happens, it could be a threat as we have a lot of resources on earth which alien culture might want to take advantage of.[/highlight] Since we are constantly sending signals to outer space, it will not be difficult for an advanced civilisation to find us. Let’s just hope they are on our side.
