Will the world be destroyed by humans?

[KimuraWannabe116]

As the title says, what do you think the possibility is that us humans will end up destroying our own planet?


I personally believe, that if things continue going the way they are today, I think that it will only end up being catastrophic in the end, with devastating consequences, and I think this for a few reasons.

If you pay close attention to current events going on in the world, it is clear that there is undoubtedly terrible, and violent things transpiring, especially towards the european and islam countries. I mean, I hear things like protest turning into almost like a war zone in Egypt, the fact that people are so pissed off at the government system there, that they develop such protest that ends up in people being killed is just beyond me. I noticed that people don't recognize just how powerful countries like Germany, and Egypt really are. The things going on in Russia certainly doesn't help, you have a leader there like Vladimir Putin, who really doesn't give a flying f*** what anyone says. He pretty much likes to keep things going on in Russia confidential, and limited to the knowledge of countries like America. But the fact of the matter is, people know that Russia is a powerful country, and that they have a very strong military, but do we truly know how powerful they have become, lets say, in the last decade. here is something I can tell you that is fact, America used to have 5,000 nuclear weapons, since Obama has stepped into office, that number has dropped to 1,500, Russia also reportedly has 1,500, but could possibly have more. Now this is where things get dangerous, we know very little about what deals Russia makes with other countries, lets say, they make a deal with a islamic country, in terms of nuclear weapons, imagine if a nuclear weapon was in the hands of Afghanistan or Iraq. Even worse of a outcome, the countries form a strong alliance, then what? BOOM, attack out of nowhere, then America gets pissed, and declares war. If it gets bad enough where america has to ask for its alliances to help out, it could end up being WW3. But if WW3 were to happen, it would be a nuclear war. Now, you remember the mentioning of Egypt and Germany, well, lets just say it will be in WW3, in which people truly know of the power these countries have. I am willing to bet, that since we had never dealt with a type of war this big, and with this much pressure on everyone's part, I'm willing to bet that things would eventually turn into complete mayhem since, the type of stress that all the countries involved in would just overpower there decision making, which would result in catastrophic results, especially with nuclear weapons involved. The people residing in the countries that were involved in WW3, would most likely either run extremely violent protest, i.e. Iraq, Russia, Egypt etc. or when the war had gotten further into time, with the result of possibly millions of deaths every week, that people would altogether lose hope, or just go mad. This would obviously end up not help the situation at all. Lets say that if as nuclear weapons is set at the wrong place, (near other nuclear weapons), could you imagine the type of destruction that would take place? If it were around a few hundred, it could end up destroying the planet altogether. I think that this could possibly happen if things don't calm down over Europe and the Islam countries.


P.S. I didn't go into full specific detail in how this would all lead up in the first place, since I have limited time. So please no hostile remarks about my own personal opinion.

[Cygnus]

We have always waged war against each other for the stupidest reasons, so unless there is a major change yes, we are probably going to destroy the world eventually.

[Synyster Shadows]

I agree. the world will eventually be destroyed by humans. Whether it's that the population is destroyed or the environment destroyed, is unclear. But yes, unless some serious huge changes are made, humanity will destroy itself

[Cpt_Cutter]

Russia is a powerful country, and that they have a very strong military, but do we truly know how powerful they have become, lets say, in the last decade.

The Russian army is one of the most corrupt armed forces in the western world, and has been waning in power and strength since they got Kicked out of Afghanistan. Don't get me wrong, they have a powerful army, but if it came to blows they would lose. Their air-force has no strategic bombers, their navy is mostly older than anyone on this forum.

Now this is where things get dangerous, we know very little about what deals Russia makes with other countries, lets say, they make a deal with a islamic country, in terms of nuclear weapons, imagine if a nuclear weapon was in the hands of Afghanistan or Iraq.

Afghanistan's government is friendly to anyone who put them there after the Taliban were removed, I.e. The west. Iraq is almost America Jr. with the influence the US has there. I assume you're talking about the Taliban or Al-Qaeda , and is that's the case, then they couldn't do anything with a nuke even if by some act of god they got one.

BOOM, attack out of nowhere, then America gets pissed, and declares war. If it gets bad enough where america has to ask for its alliances to help out, it could end up being WW3. But if WW3 were to happen, it would be a nuclear war. Now, you remember the mentioning of Egypt and Germany, well, lets just say it will be in WW3, in which people truly know of the power these countries have.

Egypt couldn't invade a coffee shop at the moment, and Germany is one of the strongest allied nations in Europe. In my opinion, nuclear was is very unlikely, due to the fact they people know that when you hit the button, it stays pushed. Who exactly is the us going to declare was on that they haven't already?

Lets say that if as nuclear weapons is set at the wrong place, (near other nuclear weapons), could you imagine the type of destruction that would take place? If it were around a few hundred, it could end up destroying the planet altogether.

Ignoring the rest of it, this isn't possible. Nuclear weapons have to be armed before they can be used, and an explosion wouldn't set them off in any case. Plus, there are physically not enough nuclear weapons on earth to destroy the world. There are just not enough weapons, some very large areas would just remain intact.

Don't take this the wrong way, this is nothing personal or anything, this is just my view. I personally think if we're going to end the world, it will be some kind of man made disaster, such as a global warming issue or a Von-Neumann type virus. The chances of a global war in my opinion are very unlikely. Not impossible mind you, just unlikely.

[Vlerchan]

here is something I can tell you that is fact, America used to have 5,000 nuclear weapons, since Obama has stepped into office, that number has dropped to 1,500.
Where does the need to have more than one nuclear device pointed at Moscow/Pyongyang/Other come from in the first place? 1500 nuclear devices is enough to end life on Earth as we know it already.

Also: what Cpt. Cutter said.

[Harry Smith]

Your argument appears to be very pro US. I'd like to point out a number of things.

The US and other NATO countries have provided Israel with nuclear weapons-this is a nation who have been waging wars of aggression since the 1950's.

The US in fact has had several leaders who as you say ' doesn't give a flying f*** what anyone says.'' Bush pretty much ignored the UN for the whole of his two terms.

If anything I'd argue that the US is going to be the country who lead the world to the brink considering nearly every single foreign problem for them (iran,iraq,etc) was caused by their own backwards thinking.

[AlexOnToast]

I would say the chances are very high. Harry Smith made good points.

[KimuraWannabe116]

Your argument appears to be very pro US. I'd like to point out a number of things.

The US and other NATO countries have provided Israel with nuclear weapons-this is a nation who have been waging wars of aggression since the 1950's.

The US in fact has had several leaders who as you say ' doesn't give a flying f*** what anyone says.'' Bush pretty much ignored the UN for the whole of his two terms.

If anything I'd argue that the US is going to be the country who lead the world to the brink considering nearly every single foreign problem for them (iran,iraq,etc) was caused by their own backwards thinking.




Im actually not pro-U.S. In this debate, if you read it closely I'm actually saying that the U.S. would most likely screw up if they were under attack, resulting in devastating consequences in terms of human-life population. If anything, the U.S. will probably have another f'd up leader if it were to happen. It will most likely be the U.S. who would do the most damage to this world if we were to go into a nuclear war. I mentioned the other nations that hold the Taliban, and the muslim brother-hood since they would probably target the U.S. or Israel and if they were to target the U.S. Like Pearl Harbor, it will be like "poking the bear" only this time, nuclear weapons could come into play.

[Harry Smith]

Im actually not pro-U.S. In this debate, if you read it closely I'm actually saying that the U.S. would most likely screw up if they were under attack, resulting in devastating consequences in terms of human-life population. If anything, the U.S. will probably have another f'd up leader if it were to happen. It will most likely be the U.S. who would do the most damage to this world if we were to go into a nuclear war. I mentioned the other nations that hold the Taliban, and the muslim brother-hood since they would probably target the U.S. or Israel and if they were to target the U.S. Like Pearl Harbor, it will be like "poking the bear" only this time, nuclear weapons could come into play.

The Taliban don't have the logistics to launch a pearl habour style attack, neither do the muslim brotherhood. You have a very odd view of the middle east-they simply want to uphold there customs rather than bowing over to the US imperialists.

The US wouldn't use nuclear weapons against any nation-let alone a terrorist group which has no sovereign land

[Typhlosion]

Sorry, but tl;dr.

Planet obliteration is so far impossible, and the impact necessary to end all life on Earth is ridiculous, especially considering all sea life, non-nuclear-targeted areas and the vastness of land. With today's warheads we could not wipe Earth of all life, but let's say that it would be a very short mass-extinction period.

But this is a political debate!
Oh. [-]Sorry, but tl;dr.[/-]

I don't believe people are that reckless.

[JamesSC]

Yep. Humans are our own enemies.

[Miserabilia]

Define "the world".
Do you mean society?
Human life on earth?
All life on earth?
The universe?

[Fractured Silhouette]

I'm all for WW3. There are too many people in the world and we could use a big war to thin the herd, so to speak. No matter how large scale the war is, there's no way humanity could destroy the entire surface of the Earth and everything on it. Life will always go on, and unless we accidentally cause a singularity and a black hole forms, the Earth will be fine.

[Canadian Dream]

I agree with you, we will probably cause the destruction of the world eventually, possibly for the reasons you stated, but you forgot that solar flares could also devastate all life on earth, massive flooding and all sorts of catastrophes triggered by our interaction with nature.

[Zenos]

Everything here is speculation.

No one knows just how things are going to end,it could be nukes,an astoriod , a new or mutaed virus that's air borne or heck good old George A.Romero might have gotten it right AND WE END UP GOING OUT IN A ROMERO STYLE Zombie plague.

No one knows how we are going to buy it so speculation is useless.

[Tarannosaurus]

Oh most definitely we're already firmly on the right track.
It would take huge radical changes on our part to not destroy the planet, but of course loads of people will say that it's 'not their problem'.

[Miserabilia]

I'm all for WW3. There are too many people in the world and we could use a big war to thin the herd, so to speak. No matter how large scale the war is, there's no way humanity could destroy the entire surface of the Earth and everything on it. Life will always go on, and unless we accidentally cause a singularity and a black hole forms, the Earth will be fine.

I aggree. Life will move on, even if somehow all humans die.

I agree with you, we will probably cause the destruction of the world eventually, possibly for the reasons you stated, but you forgot that solar flares could also devastate all life on earth, massive flooding and all sorts of catastrophes triggered by our interaction with nature.

Solar flares are not caused by humans

Everything here is speculation.

No one knows just how things are going to end,it could be nukes,an astoriod , a new or mutaed virus that's air borne or heck good old George A.Romero might have gotten it right AND WE END UP GOING OUT IN A ROMERO STYLE Zombie plague.

No one knows how we are going to buy it so speculation is useless.

Speculation is not useles at all, it's best to be prepared for everything, and try to explore the future.

Oh most definitely we're already firmly on the right track.
It would take huge radical changes on our part to not destroy the planet, but of course loads of people will say that it's 'not their problem'.

I aggree.
I hate that attitude.

[Zenos]

I aggree. Life will move on, even if somehow all humans die.



Solar flares are not caused by humans



Speculation is not useles at all, it's best to be prepared for everything, and try to explore the future.



I aggree.
I hate that attitude.



Well your right about speculation

[CharlieHorse]

The world will definitely be destroyed by us.
I've accepted it. It sucks yes, but it will happen.

[Miserabilia]

The world will definitely be destroyed by us.
I've accepted it. It sucks yes, but it will happen.

Define the world.
Do you mean life on earth?
Human life?
The entire universe?
THe planet earth?

[Canadian Dream]

Solar flares are not caused by humans

Although solar flares are not caused by humans, the weakening in the earth's atmosphere CAUSED BY HUMANS will cause solar radiation emitted by solar flares to melt ice caps and therefore causing many deaths by flooding and radiation.

[Its Pretty]

What is your definition of destroyed?

[Bmble_B]

To be honest, if the sun doesnt destroy us first [I'd rather not go into it that much] then humans will. Its the sad but inevitable truth that most humans and economies are fudged up.

[Miserabilia]

To be honest, if the sun doesnt destroy us first [I'd rather not go into it that much] then humans will. Its the sad but inevitable truth that most humans and economies are fudged up.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that statisticly the odds are that we kill ourselves before any large natural event kills us.

[ImCoolBeans]

The Earth will be destroyed at some point, whether it's by human hands, a collision with another planet, or the sun engulfing the planet. But no matter how the course of history goes, every atom will be reused at some point down the line for something, just like they are doing now.

I think we've hurt the Earth very badly; we have raped her for her resources, paved paradise (sorry Joni), sucked crude oil through her oceans, rivers, plains and deserts, we have poisoned soil and water supply with chemicals (fertilizers, garbage, industrial waste), the list keeps on going.

The threat of humans actually destroying the Earth came to be a reality with nuclear warfare/energy. Who really knows what will happen? But the potential is certainly there, and nobody can deny that.

[Ethe14]

Well this is going to sound weird but this planet is going to go eventually. I personally think that in the next 2,000 years we will gave run out of resources and might have a nuclear war or whatever new technology is made by then. I just hope that in the next 600 years or so we can start colonization of other planets. Antimatter better be ready soon! Humans are close to becoming a type I civilization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale

So eventually we will exhaust earths resources and have to find a new planet.

[Kurgg]

Earth will not be destroyed by humans, but the death of human race will be delivered by humans themselves.

I believe that China will start a nuclear war because of debts Western countries have to it, or because they will run out of vital natural resources.

[Ethe14]

Earth will not be destroyed by humans, but the death of human race will be delivered by humans themselves.

I believe that China will start a nuclear war because of debts Western countries have to it, or because they will run out of vital natural resources.

Why China? Ever thought because debts are so high that the western countries just want to blow china sky high instead of paying them back?

[Harry Smith]

Earth will not be destroyed by humans, but the death of human race will be delivered by humans themselves.

I believe that China will start a nuclear war because of debts Western countries have to it, or because they will run out of vital natural resources.

What? Surely the Chinese would need the western countries to be working in order to collect their debt-how can the countries pay back their debt if they've been crippled by nuclear war.

China don't need to nuke us-they already own most of our countries

[Ethe14]

What? Surely the Chinese would need the western countries to be working in order to collect their debt-how can the countries pay back their debt if they've been crippled by nuclear war.

China don't need to nuke us-they already own most of our countries

I believe he was saying that the debt ammsed by western countries would be so great that they might as well nuke us. It's not the best solution but it works.

[Kurgg]

Why China? Ever thought because debts are so high that the western countries just want to blow china sky high instead of paying them back?
No, China will be the one who will be nuking, not the West. And that will be occiring when the West can't or will not pay the debts.
Same goes as an answer to Harry.

[Harry Smith]

I believe he was saying that the debt ammsed by western countries would be so great that they might as well nuke us. It's not the best solution but it works.

What? By that logic the US would of Nuked 90% of Africa in the 1980's

[Ethe14]

What? By that logic the US would of Nuked 90% of Africa in the 1980's

Yes that's true but the US had the decency not to do that, besides Geneva convention treaty would have made the US look really bad if they nuked Africa.

[Kurgg]

What? By that logic the US would of Nuked 90% of Africa in the 1980's
Africans have never said that they will not pay them, and the US is not a crazy dictatorship. Besides, there are Western companies on Africa.

[Ethe14]

Africans have never said that they will not pay them, and the US is not a crazy dictatorship. Besides, there are Western companies on Africa.

Agreed I think the Africa situation is different, what I'm talking about is a crazed china.

[Harry Smith]

Yes that's true but the US had the decency not to do that, besides Geneva convention treaty would have made the US look really bad if they nuked Africa.

I was being ironic-I know the US wouldn't do that. I was just showing how stupid the 'China will nuke us because of debt' is by giving another example

China are also a signer of the Geneva convention

Africans have never said that they will not pay them, and the US is not a crazy dictatorship. Besides, there are Western companies on Africa.

No. But they're unable to pay them. The amount of interest triples every year so they struggle just to pay that. There are Chinese companies in America so your idea that China will nuke america is complete bollocks. I'd argue that the US is a different type of dicatorship one domiated by wall street.

China will not nuke us because of our debt-that defies any sort of logic

Agreed I think the Africa situation is different, what I'm talking about is a crazed china.

Crazed? How so? Look at the last 30 years of foreign policy. The US have invaded
-Panama
-Iraq 91
-Iraq 93
-Afghanistan
-Multiple countries through drone strikes

But please tell me again how crazy China are

[Ethe14]

I was being ironic-I know the US wouldn't do that. I was just showing how stupid the 'China will nuke us because of debt' is by giving another example

China are also a signer of the Geneva convention



No. But they're unable to pay them. The amount of interest triples every year so they struggle just to pay that. There are Chinese companies in America so your idea that China will nuke america is complete bollocks. I'd argue that the US is a different type of dicatorship one domiated by wall street.

China will not nuke us because of our debt-that defies any sort of logic



Crazed? How so? Look at the last 30 years of foreign policy. The US have invaded
-Panama
-Iraq 91
-Iraq 93
-Afghanistan
-Multiple countries through drone strikes

But please tell me again how crazy China are

Yes I think your right our foreign policy is stupid, the idea that China would nuke us would be only if they needed the money desperately and we weren't paying them.

[Kurgg]

No. But they're unable to pay them. The amount of interest triples every year so they struggle just to pay that. There are Chinese companies in America so your idea that China will nuke america is complete bollocks. I'd argue that the US is a different type of dicatorship one domiated by wall street.

China will not nuke us because of our debt-that defies any sort of logic
Well, Africans, unlike Westerners are generally speaking very poor, as are African nations. They try to pay the debts, and lots of debts are forgiven. US has no reason to nuke Africans as they pay the debts as they can.

I agree though, US is a plutocracy.

[Harry Smith]

Yes I think your right our foreign policy is stupid, the idea that China would nuke us would be only if they needed the money desperately and we weren't paying them.

But how would nuking us give them money? All that would happen is the US radars and intelligence services would see the nukes coming in, the president would be rushed off and send 500 warheads back to China. China would have no need for money if there country is turned into nuclear dust


Well, Africans, unlike Westerners are generally speaking very poor, as are African nations. They try to pay the debts, and lots of debts are forgiven. US has no reason to nuke Africans as they pay the debts as they can.

I agree though, US is a plutocracy.

The US also pay there debt, what does China gain from nuking the US apart from a return strike towards Beijing

[Kurgg]

The US also pay there debt, what does China gain from nuking the US apart from a return strike towards Beijing
A revenge or warning to other countries who owes the China? US pay the debts, but their debt is growing all the time, in other terms than in interest.

[Vocabulous]

To quote George Carlin, " the planet's fine. The people are fucked."

[JustAnotherTeen]

I'd like to hope so. If it is caused by humans then chances are that nature will take over and maybe a few survivors could recreate civilisation.