It’s the Final Countdown
Will the world meet it’s maker December 21st, 2012? Is it the end of civilization as it is known? Rumors swirl through modern society, with new conspiracy theories unveiling each second. New York City is littered with the homeless baring signs declaring the end being nigh. Several different groups each have prophesied a day of doom upcoming in December. There are many possible outcomes but only one can happen and the other outcomes will be dust in the wind until the next scare or will vanish with the world. Out of several outcomes, it most likely is that the world will go on.
One theory that has emerged is one of scientific proportions. Many astronomers and astrologers have been preparing for an immensely strange apocalypse. Some hold a firm belief that there will be a phenomena in the galaxy where all of the planets align, leaving Earth to bear some of the consequences. The alignment of the planet is supposedly going to cause mass environmental destruction. Humans would have to rebuild their lives from the ground up, changing on how every thing is done. Farming will have to be completely redone along with just how people would have to go outside. With the alignment, all wireless communications would cease to exist for the brief alignment, causing all progress to be lost. NASA has different ideas. According to NASA, “Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence. (1)” Their scientists say that there is no possible planet alignment for several more decades, stating that those astronomers and astrologists are fraud or have succumbed to insanity. Many skeptics believe that this theory will not come true. Ma...
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...troversy surronds this date, with some betting their lives on it. The final countdown is not forthcoming this year. Many years from now, it could be a possibility, centuries away. The cause would probably be of humans own doing, with the environment deteriorating and those who inhabit the Earth not caring enough to pay attention. But to answer the beginning question of if the world will meet it’s maker, stand firm on no the end is not nigh. Rest easy good citizens, lives of many are safe for now.
Works Cited
"Mayan Theory." The 2012 Theories: All the 2012 Theories in one Place. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
"NASA - 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?." NASA - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
"Real 2012 Theory - Facts and Predictions.." 2012 Official Countdown: Must Read Info About December 21, 2012. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
Many works of literature describe the end of the world as the end to humanity from a natural disaster such as an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption. Some go as far as deadly viruses eliminating the human race. In the short stories, There Will Come Soft Rains, by Ray Bradbury, and Chippoke Na Gomi, by Misha Nogha, both authors predict the end of the world due to human conflicts and destruction. Bradbury and Nogha both focused on the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. In both stories, There Will Come Soft Rains and Chippoke Na Gomi, human-developed technology intending to make life better can have the opposite effect thereby creating the destruction of humanity.
The article by Jared Diamond called “The End of The World as We Know Them” explains to us we have the chance to change our future from previous civilianization like Mayans. One alternative that we can infer is a stronger focus on benefiting the earth and not our self. For example instead of using war to gain more resources from other countries and cause more damage to other civilization, we should all live in peace and live natural energy from the sun like solar panels. If we keep the ground that we live on, we can keep our lives that we dwell on.
I am neither a pessimist nor a doomsday activist, but I do justify the reality of a situation being presenting itself. How can we expect to remedy the problem if no one even knows what the problem is? We must choose if we care enough to alleviate the environmental impacts or continue on with our daily lives? That is the conundrum of the 21st
ever think how the future is going to be? Are we all going to suffer
According to the website to to2012.com some believe that the end of the world as we know it will occur on the 21st December 2012. This date coincides with the end of the Mayan Long count calendar and will supposedly mark a 'new beginning of joy and enlightenment for all of humanity. A new humanity 100 times more harmonious than we are currently. An instantaneous launch, if you will, to a higher vibratory state on 21st December 2012'. 3
Life is a struggle to defy the inevitable. Since the beginning of time man has contemplated his own death, labored over the meaning of life, and created religion to explain all that he can not understand. Death at some point will catch up with all of society and at some point the entire world as human beings have come to know it will come to an end. No one can hide from death or attempt to out run its ever-expanding claw; death is absolute. It is possibly the only certainty in all of human existence. Whether the sun explodes sucking itself into its own infinite gravity, or human beings finally manage to destroy this beautiful planet, life will end. All great societies have come to tragic anti-climatic ends. The Romans slowly poisoned themselves through their use of an amazingly complex lead piping system, and Athens feel eventually to an equally dismal fate. In our modern society the world has watched as many threats of global destruction have come and gone. The fact that currently the nuclear arsenal of the United States alone could easily destroy all of earth leaves many fearing that the end is near. The contemplation of ones eventual demise leads one to think that life is no longer worth the effort to live. In Cats Cradle the destruction of the world is realized by the invention of a substance capable of freezing all water on earth. Its inventor was a peaceful man, a man who invented for the sake of discovery, for the sake of the human race. It was only after his death, that the greed and stupidity of man allowed this substance to end all man has struggled to create. Throughout human existence man’s disregard for his home and his environment is evident in all aspects of cultural. This disregard for the frailties of nature will eventually lead to the death of all humanity.
The human race is obsessed with its own demise. We are mesmerized by tragic events, particularly natural disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes. There is not a country in the world that has not experienced some catastrophic natural disaster. In 2011 alone, there was Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, another earthquake in New Zealand, the twister outbreak in the US, and massive flooding in Australia, all which contributed to making 2011 “one of the costliest years for natural disasters” (Llanos, 2011). Natural disasters show no prejudice; they can affect anyone, in any country, at anytime. Therefore, it is not surprising that the end of the Winter Solstice marking the end of the 13th Maya Calendar, on December 21, 2012 has generated an international interest.
Earth will outlive us all and when the human species eventually dies out, Earth will still be here fixing itself from the damage we have caused, yet continuing with the natural disasters. I do admit, we are polluting the planet, but there will always be some sort of life on Earth even if humans are not. People should not be too worried about destroying the planet because it will heal itself. If people begin to pollute it too much, Earth will kill us off. Roderick Nash, along with many other people, underestimates the power of the Earth. It can take care of itself just like how it has been for over a billion years.
"global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American." global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. .
On May 4th 1985, the President of the United States spoke to the world, “We have failed you people of earth, they will take over the planet, but if there is no planet to rule they will not be able to rule.” As soon as he went off the air eight nuclear bombs were dropped from bombers on to different locations of earth blowing it up into millions of pieces ending all life as we know it.
...other utilities, hopefully for short periods and the worst case scenario, could be a few weeks. However, these incidents will not translate into doomsday proportions and will not mean the "end of the world" as we know it. There is less reason to panic over Y2K because unlike the many natural disasters that we experienced in the United States we were able to proactively address this crisis. I am certain that we will witness one of the best New Year's Eve celebration in this century as the Waterford crystal ball is expected to drop and glow " 2000" in brilliant lights and the city lights will stay on.
Chase, Diane Z. and Arlen F. Chase. Changes in Maya Religious Worldview. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2009. Print.
Thompson, john. The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization. 2 edition . Univ of Oklahoma, 1973. 335. Print.
The hottest recorded temperature was in 2005 which matched the temperature in 1998. Twice in the last decade we've had the hottest temperature on average ever recorded throughout history. Coincidence. I think not. The snows of the Kilimanjaro have basically vanished and in a couple decades Glacier National park is going to need a new name because by 2030 there will be no glaciers left in the whole park. The great Greenland icecaps are melting at an alarming pace, and sliding into the sea. Your right, who cares it's not like its happening near us. But by 2100 all our coastal states will look like Venice including ours. You won?t be alive but your children and grandchildren will. The sea level is expected to rise up to 23 inches in the next decade. There has been a 100 percent increase in intensity and duration of hurricanes and tropical storms since 1970 according to a 2005 MIT study. How much more evidence do we need before someone does something about this? For anyone who cares at all about the future, the gradual transformation of our earth is turning into a human-furnace that makes terrorism look like a game of monopoly. Think I'm kidding? By 2050, 15-37% of all plant and animal species could be extinct. Meaning it will be harder for plants to produce photosynthesis. No big right? Wrong. Without photosynthesis, oxygen can?t be made. Most of us in this room will be in our late 60?s by then with children and grandchildren. What does that mean for them? The air will be harder to breath and the temperature of earth will have increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit. By 2050 up to 38% of water will be unable to hold underwater species because of rising temperature.