View Full Version : Can the human race survive the next 100 years?
Ravenlord
21-09-2008, 13:00
Discuss.
Chuckles
21-09-2008, 13:04
Yes.
I certainly will be as I'm far too stubborn to be dealing with things like death, nuclear hollocaust or mass natural disaster :p
Discuss.
Elaborate a bit. What do you think ?
Yes, easily.
1,000 years, again, yes. 10,000 years. Maybe. Probably.
cleanbluesky
21-09-2008, 13:24
I think I know where you're going with this, homosexuality concerns me too.
I think I know where you're going with this, homosexuality concerns me too.
I thought he was coming from an economic & resource perspective
SidewinderINC
21-09-2008, 13:32
I think I know where you're going with this, homosexuality concerns me too.
;D;D
Vintage CBS :D
the worlds resources will last us long over 100 years, different world leaders' greed for "owning" them will probably destroy us before then.
No, we will all die in the year 2054 when a race of alien giant native americans return to earth, with their pet dinosaurs, and destroy the planet.
Ravenlord
21-09-2008, 13:55
;D
Let's consider then the obstacles that we are facing in the 21st century as a race, obstacles that will likely grow and become ever more insurmountable as we go on into the next century...
Take for example terrorism. It would take only one act, one device with a high enough casualty list, to spark a war on the middle east so great in scale that nuclear weapons would almost certainly be used.
Nature is fighting back for our past mistakes. Crops are failing. Bees are disappearing. The world is getting warmer.
Oil is running out; it is the world's most precious resource and a major world war over energy can no longer be resigned to the realms of fiction.
Relations between nuclear-capable nations are deteriorating. The most obvious example is the west and Russia. Are we heading for another cold war?
The Balkans are coming apart at the seams. Turmoil in the region is what led to the First World War. We've already seen with the Georgian crisis that old quarrels still persist, and sides will inevitably be taken between countries that could blast each other into the stoneage.
Whether this means the human race will cease to exist within 100 years is perhaps an exaggeration, but it seems increasingly likely that the next few decades is going to be very tough going for us as a race.
ZOMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11111oneone111!!!!
I think it's going to be dandy here on Earth for the next 100 years.
And if not? I'll move in with the man on the moon and survive on cheese. :)
ZOMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11111oneone111!!!!
To put a different spin on things..
At the same time that it appears there is more hostility in the world on a multinational scale, there is also much more collaboration between individuals and groups around the world. A united vision for space exploration, multi national research teams etc.
In this respect, rather than looking at apparently more doom and gloom, I think there is actually an expanding continuum ranging from humanity's intolerance of each other to its ability to work united and break down barriers..
ZOMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11111oneone111!!!!
Knipples
21-09-2008, 14:27
ZOMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11111oneone111!!!!
No more sugar for Faysh today! :p
ZOMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11111oneone111!!!!
It's one of the few certainties in this world.
No more sugar for Faysh today! :p
:(
ZOMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!11111oneone111!!!!
Of course it can, we are amazing inventors and the current risks people whinge about.
Global warming, over population, lack of food, technological disasters (LHC causing a black hole that type of thing), in reality do not exist and certainly do not exist to the extent they will cause us anything more than niggling problems.
I hope so. I plan to live a very very long time and become a total pain in the buttocks for my children.
Metalface Mark
21-09-2008, 16:03
;D
Let's consider then the obstacles that we are facing in the 21st century as a race, obstacles that will likely grow and become ever more insurmountable as we go on into the next century...
Take for example terrorism. It would take only one act, one device with a high enough casualty list, to spark a war on the middle east so great in scale that nuclear weapons would almost certainly be used.
Nature is fighting back for our past mistakes. Crops are failing. Bees are disappearing. The world is getting warmer.
Oil is running out; it is the world's most precious resource and a major world war over energy can no longer be resigned to the realms of fiction.
Relations between nuclear-capable nations are deteriorating. The most obvious example is the west and Russia. Are we heading for another cold war?
The Balkans are coming apart at the seams. Turmoil in the region is what led to the First World War. We've already seen with the Georgian crisis that old quarrels still persist, and sides will inevitably be taken between countries that could blast each other into the stoneage.
Whether this means the human race will cease to exist within 100 years is perhaps an exaggeration, but it seems increasingly likely that the next few decades is going to be very tough going for us as a race.
Oils not running out, in all of history from when we started using oil, we have used about 1/3 the total amount. Theres plently of renewable energy to replace it as well.
The human race has a very good way of adapting to change, and in times of need, things can be found and done. Take sending man to the moon by 1969, a challenge was issued, new technologies were developed, and they got their within the guideline set out.
TBH I don't think any of the former superpowers would ever use a nuke, they understand the concept of mutually assured destruction.
The only nuclear threat comes form some 2-bob country that has a nuclear arsenal that can be couted on the fingers of both hands. Not much of a threat to the whole of mankind.
Ravenlord
21-09-2008, 17:01
TBH I don't think any of the former superpowers would ever use a nuke, they understand the concept of mutually assured destruction.
The only nuclear threat comes form some 2-bob country that has a nuclear arsenal that can be couted on the fingers of both hands. Not much of a threat to the whole of mankind.
The problem with MAD is it only works if the instigators care about living or dying, particuarly if their brand of religion decrees that sacrifice on the battlefield is a surefire way of getting into paradise. Another point to consider is that if the aggressor's think they can disable the target's nuclear capabilities in a first strike attack, there's little to hold them back.
In a hundred years we could well have established human colonies on the moon. In fact some believe that if the Roman Empire hadn't fallen and mankind procrastinated for centuries in the Dark and Middle Ages, we would already be on Mars and beyond by now. We as human beings have an incredible ability to adapt far beyond what we think we are capable of, but again, it only takes one event, one trigger, to catalyse something disasterous. We've seen it too many times before to ignore it. As we enter a tougher economic climate and people become more and more selfish, and homegrown terrorism continues to snake it's way through our communities it will be interesting to see just how much we can endure before we start turning on each other.
Just think, in 50 years time medical advancements could see people living for so long that death rates plummet and overpopulation becomes the biggest threat to world security. Nature has a way of dealing with these things, and the spread of a highly contagious disease, i.e. human HN51 for example, in a culling of say 1/3 of the world's population, would certainly even things out and ease the strain on an already overly cultivated planet.
In fact some believe that if the Roman Empire hadn't fallen and mankind procrastinated for centuries in the Dark and Middle Ages, we would already be on Mars and beyond by now.
The only place i've seen that is posted on OcUK by one of the crackpot alien conspiracy theorists last week :p
Ravenlord
21-09-2008, 17:17
The only place i've seen that is posted on OcUK by one of the crackpot alien conspiracy theorists last week :p
It was on a documentary, might well have been 'In the shadow of the moon'. It is an interesting thought considering how technologically advanced the Romans were for their time, they swept across Europe like a plague, and how very little of note occured between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Renaissance, Age of Exploration and the Industrial Revolution that followed due to the actions of an antagonistic Christian church that oppressed scientific advancement for centuries.
Matblack
21-09-2008, 17:28
I think I know where you're going with this, homosexuality concerns me too.
Don't be concerned, we are very open minded here, just be yourself:hugs:
MB
cleanbluesky
21-09-2008, 17:32
Don't be concerned, we are very open minded here, just be yourself:hugs:
MB
Who, dear, me, dear, gay, dear, no, dear...
The only place i've seen that is posted on OcUK by one of the crackpot alien conspiracy theorists last week :p
As in Aliens don't exist :huh: ;)
In regards to the OP, I was thinking about the question indirectly this morning. In as much as the political model of democracy and the economic model of capitalism brought about a lot of personal wealth, does it serve the best interests of mankind ?
I often wonder how much more advanced we would be as a species if we weren't wasting resources as we do. There is such a disparity between the haves and have nots and it only appears to be getting wider. Would we be talking about colonizing Mars if as a planet we had a unified space programme ? I suspect we would be further on than we are.
Anyway i'm with the Mayans. They predicted all of the current worldy up heaval. Don't worry it's all due to end this November. I'm not sure if thats a good or a bad thing though
This thread delivers. Romans, Mayans, The Gays and the end of humanity!
We're all going to die in December 2012. That is if the LHC doesn't suck us all into a black hole first. It's already malfunctioned twice - we're all doomed.
Anyway, to take this seriously, you're asking the wrong question. The human race will survive. The question you should have asked is whether the human race will survive in a way we can recognise today. That is certainly debateable.
Pumpkinstew
21-09-2008, 21:42
Yeah, the human race will survive 100 years. Homo Sapiens is very unlikely to become extinct in such a short time period.
I think the question you meant to ask is 'Can human society as we know it continue for the next 100 years?' in which case the answer is no as it is constantly evolving and will be more different in 2108 than 2008 is from 1908.
Or possibly you meant to ask 'Can the human race continue to grow at it's current exponential rate and consume resources for the next 100 years without some kind of disastrous upheaval?'
very little of note occured between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Renaissance, Age of Exploration and the Industrial Revolution
You serious? :huh:
EDIT: Mark, I clearly think like you but don't type as fast.
Pumpkinstew
21-09-2008, 21:53
Anyway i'm with the Mayans. They predicted all of the current worldy up heaval. Don't worry it's all due to end this November. I'm not sure if thats a good or a bad thing though
I've put it in my Outlook diary.
November1st-30th - Armageddon - Show time as Busy - reminder 15minutes before
In this respect, rather than looking at apparently more doom and gloom, I think there is actually an expanding continuum ranging from humanity's intolerance of each other to its ability to work united and break down barriers..
I agree with this man. It is so quick and easy to notice a negative, yet the positives are often overlooked, easily dismissed or taken for granted.
I believe in a positive outlook anyway as I don't like moping! ;D
Blighter
21-09-2008, 22:35
We'll be OK Ravenlord.. our type know how to survive :D
Take for example terrorism. It would take only one act, one device with a high enough casualty list, to spark a war on the middle east so great in scale that nuclear weapons would almost certainly be used.
Terrorism, despite a global threat is still a long way away from causing our extinction. So far, the greatest terrorist attacks have only claimed thousands of lives. Horrible to say it, but, that's small fry. They aren't making a dent, not a long term one in the great scheme of things, never have, never will. Hopefully, as mankind progresses, religion will one day die out anyway and we'll grow out of killing ourselves over contradictions in dusty old books.
Nature is fighting back for our past mistakes. Crops are failing. Bees are disappearing. The world is getting warmer.
All problems that can be solved if/when required. Crops failing? Well, at the moment, despite obvious moral objections, the world's food crisis doesn't threaten the majority or western world. Rest assured when/if it does, solutions would be made. Vertical farming is one idea already posed.
Oil is running out; it is the world's most precious resource and a major world war over energy can no longer be resigned to the realms of fiction.
Running out is an ambiguous term because not many people understand how much we've used and how much they're is. We'll never run out of oil, and by that I mean we'll have moved onto developed alternatives before we use up every drop, simply when oil becomes more expensive than the alternatives. What are the alternatives you ask? Well it's early days yet, our oil based economy has plenty of life in it yet, including an inevitable development of a viable renewable alternative. Nuclear, hydrogen, cold fusion. Something totally unheard of yet? Who knows? Currently there's no real interest, because oil is just too cheap and too plentiful for people to care.
Relations between nuclear-capable nations are deteriorating. The most obvious example is the west and Russia. Are we heading for another cold war?
Possibly and possibly not. Cold wars do not equal nuclear war either. Russia and the US/UK/UN are all too aware of the lose-lose scenario of full scale global thermo-nuclear war, and that is what would be required to wipe humanity off the planet. Even rogue states such as Iran launching a nuke, huge global news and say goodbye to Iran, but say goodbye to the entire world? No chance.
The Balkans are coming apart at the seams. Turmoil in the region is what led to the First World War. We've already seen with the Georgian crisis that old quarrels still persist, and sides will inevitably be taken between countries that could blast each other into the stoneage.
Those world wars didn't end the world though? They led to huge debts and loss of life, but again in the grand scheme of things, drop in the ocean. Plus, they also in fact help paved the way, such as atomic research and development. A third world war would obviously involve bigger weapons, perhaps nukes, but again, you really need a massive holocaust to see the end of the world. I don't think any state on the planet has the ability, financially, politically, tactically, and morally to even concieve that.
Metalface Mark
22-09-2008, 08:31
It was on a documentary, might well have been 'In the shadow of the moon'. It is an interesting thought considering how technologically advanced the Romans were for their time, they swept across Europe like a plague, and how very little of note occured between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Renaissance, Age of Exploration and the Industrial Revolution that followed due to the actions of an antagonistic Christian church that oppressed scientific advancement for centuries.
It wasnt on that documentary.
Ravenlord
22-09-2008, 15:35
Yeah, the human race will survive 100 years. Homo Sapiens is very unlikely to become extinct in such a short time period.
I think the question you meant to ask is 'Can human society as we know it continue for the next 100 years?' in which case the answer is no as it is constantly evolving and will be more different in 2108 than 2008 is from 1908.
Or possibly you meant to ask 'Can the human race continue to grow at it's current exponential rate and consume resources for the next 100 years without some kind of disastrous upheaval?'
Perhaps, but it's not quite as succinct, or dramatic... ;)
You serious? :huh:
They don't call it the dark ages for nothing. Most historians consider the Middle Ages as having been a step back on the evolutionary path.
Pumpkinstew
22-09-2008, 18:07
They don't call it the dark ages for nothing. Most historians consider the Middle Ages as having been a step back on the evolutionary path.
In Europe maybe it was the dark ages but in the Middle East, China and South America there were blossoming civillisations creating works of literature, architecture and philosophy.
Also your post said 'very little of note occurred'. Britain was subject to three major invasions in that time period - each of which left an indelible mark on the English language and cultural heritage of the British people.
Surely this is 'noteworthy'.
Ravenlord
22-09-2008, 18:20
In Europe maybe it was the dark ages but in the Middle East, China and South America there were blossoming civillisations creating works of literature, architecture and philosophy.
Also your post said 'very little of note occurred'. Britain was subject to three major invasions in that time period - each of which left an indelible mark on the English language and cultural heritage of the British people.
Surely this is 'noteworthy'.
I was referring to technological advancement.
A hundred years is nothing, so the human race will certainly survive. Whether our prospects will be brighter then than they are now, is the real question. Personally, I should imagine the entire planet's outlook will be somewhat bleak by then and the second half of the 21st century will likely be a time of great geopolitical upheaval and I'm glad I won't be around to see it it TBH.
Human evolution may be, in fact, an oxymoron.
Human evolution may be, in fact, an oxymoron.
Aye, just look at Jade Goody.
Heh, just look at Nobama. He's a complete step backwards in every way.
chumpychops
24-09-2008, 15:45
Heh, just look at Nobama. He's a complete step backwards in every way.
Explain?
"Disarm the world to prevent war"??? Yeah, tell that to Bin Laden. Or that freak from North Korea.
Some of Obama's proposed "presidential actions" border on outright stupidity. If that idiot gets elected, I'm packing my family for Canada. This place isn't going to be safe if you lived in one of those abandoned missile silos.
chumpychops
24-09-2008, 16:11
"Disarm the world to prevent war"??? Yeah, tell that to Bin Laden. Or that freak from North Korea.
Some of Obama's proposed "presidential actions" border on outright stupidity. If that idiot gets elected, I'm packing my family for Canada. This place isn't going to be safe if you lived in one of those abandoned missile silos.
Well you've convinced me....the chip man and the VPILF are gonna get my vote.
"Disarm the world to prevent war"??? Yeah, tell that to Bin Laden. Or that freak from North Korea.
Or the United States, the world's most heavily armed military superpower.
chumpychops
24-09-2008, 16:23
B-b-b-but thats different, silly!
The US = Good, therefore its ok for them to possess WMDs, threaten others and invade whatever sovereign nations they wish.
Iraq, Iran, Aghanistan N Korea = BAD, ergo if they so much as fart in the wrong direction they get invaded.
DONT YOU GET IT?
"Disarm the world to prevent war"??? Yeah, tell that to Bin Laden. Or that freak from North Korea.
Some of Obama's proposed "presidential actions" border on outright stupidity. If that idiot gets elected, I'm packing my family for Canada. This place isn't going to be safe if you lived in one of those abandoned missile silos.
Time to shoot both sides and start again. Creationist on one side and Greenpeace-leaning muppet on the other. That's a lose-lose scenario from where I'm sitting on the other side of a big pond. Hope no-one takes offence.
Just saw this and thought I should add my two pence. Yes the human race can survive for that length of time. I dunno if anyone mentioned this, but we [worldwide] have another stock of crude oil to last that amount of time. We are getting smarter and living longer so preserving our race for another 100 year is not that difficult I think.
Having mentioned all of those above, it feels it is a double-edged sword. It is only man who do not subscribe to the rule of nature - as population expand, there is usually several regulatory factors: diminish in food availability, strain on resources, war etc. There will come a time we will eventually reach the peak of all and something drastic will need to be done or we face a very big uncertainty.....even death of all mankind as we know it either through the use of powerful weapons to destroy our selves or we will eventually finish all the resources available for us to survive.
"Disarm the world to prevent war"??? Yeah, tell that to Bin Laden. Or that freak from North Korea. Some of Obama's proposed "presidential actions" border on outright stupidity. If that idiot gets elected, I'm packing my family for Canada. This place isn't going to be safe if you lived in one of those abandoned missile silos.
It would have been a better idea not to arm everyone in the first place but when the West is busily arming anyone who has any cash we can't really complain too much can we? And of course the UK is actually one of the worst offenders. Some of the stuff I've read about arms dealing, with respect to the UK, is very disturbing and Labour's record is shocking. Perhaps that's a subject for another discussion though.
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