The most popular topics of the media and modern cinema are variations on the theme of the end of the world, apocalypse and global catastrophes. To understand what excites a modern layman, just turn on the TV or watch the rating of popular films. In the first place films about global catastrophes threatening the extinction of life on the planet. In cinema, of course, everything ends with the victory of mankind. But what are the endings of these scenarios in the works of scientists?
Terminology
By definition, a catastrophe is an event that caused numerous casualties or caused damage to the health of a large number of people who simultaneously require medical assistance, which caused disruptions to the organs and institutions. Global catastrophes are catastrophic events affecting all of humanity, affecting relationships within the entire world community. Such disasters do not recognize borders, and no state can cope with them alone.
Catastrophe classification
The criteria for the classification of global catastrophes of mankind are many. For example, according to the damage caused, the number of victims, the time of the course, the area of the territory covered. But the most common classification is the nature of their origin. And here the following types of catastrophic events are distinguished:
- Disasters of anthropogenic origin (caused by human activities). Allocate industrial, transport, social disasters.
- Endogenous (natural forces and energies of the planet Earth itself) and exogenous (gravitational and hydrodynamic forces, solar energy) natural disasters.
Natural and man-made - the unity of opposites
Any classification of the global catastrophes of the Earth is very arbitrary. Most often, we observe a combination of many factors of various nature, leading to disastrous consequences. For example, a global environmental catastrophe, on the threshold of which humanity has turned out to be from the end of the 20th century, has many reasons. And only an understanding of the current situation and the adoption of the global concept of sustainable development of mankind, we hope, will keep us at the bifurcation point, while we are looking for a way out of the current situation of global catastrophe. It’s no secret that the planet’s natural resources will be enough, according to forecasts, for another 50-100 years. And during this time, the task of scientific and technological progress is to find ways of providing energy and resources for humanity. In this case, do not ruin the planet.
Forecast - a delicate matter
Disaster forecasting is an entire scientific trend, which, based on the monitoring of a huge amount of data, models the development of the situation and predicts possible consequences. Synergetics, mathematics, physics, astronomy and many other sciences - in each of them there are entire industries with their enthusiasts engaged in such forecasts. Let's not forget about the mass of pseudoscientific theories, in a variety of replicated by the press. All this creates a certain tension and causes alarm among the ordinary inhabitant of the planet. Without going into panic, we give the most accessible and scientific rating of the global catastrophes of the Earth that mankind can expect.
Catastrophic immortality
There are “immortal” creatures on our planet that can cause a global catastrophe. And these creatures are jellyfish. So say researchers at the University of British Columbia (USA). According to them, the number of these organisms on the planet over the past decade has increased by 62%, which has led to changes in the numbers of fish, whales and penguins. And these are only the first symptoms of an impending danger that can change the whole face of the planet.
Researchers at Harvard University (USA), who have already managed to stop aging in experimental mice, see the catastrophic consequences in a bold prediction that in the coming decades a “cure for death” will be found for humans. What this discovery will lead to is easy to imagine. We will fight for resources with our own descendants.
Biology is our enemy?
The development of pharmaceuticals, of course, is good for humanity. But scientists predict that people may well develop resistance (immunity) to antibiotics. In this case, any infection can become fatal. Today we already know many strains of microorganisms that have overcome the threshold of resistance to our drugs. While we are inventing more and more new pharmaceuticals, but will this continue forever?
Predictions of science fiction writers in action
Such a scenario will delight fans of the Terminator saga. World-renowned professor of robotics Noel Sharkey (University of Sheffield, UK) believes that we have come to a stage in the development of artificial intelligence when the robots we created may well decide to get rid of their creators. A manual of ethical standards for creating robots, issued by the British Institute of Standards, is a real confirmation of a new era in the development of human civilization.
Older brother
For more than 60 years, mankind has been sending signals into outer space. Astronomy doctor Seth Shostak and physicist Stephen William Hawking allow humans to be discovered by alien representatives. And since we have not yet found them, is it not likely that when they find us, it will not be like meeting Columbus with the indigenous inhabitants of the New World?
Distant perspective
Recent astronomy data indicate that there is an Oort cloud on the periphery of the Solar System, from which a whirlwind of “stone showers” flies to us with a frequency of 28 million years. And there is also Halley's comet, which flies near our planet every 1770 years. It is believed that with its last approach to the Earth, the Mayan civilization (year 837) perished. So consider - while we can sleep peacefully.
Dangerous luminary
Explosions and plasma ejections into outer space are constantly happening on our Sun. The probability that some kind of explosion will lead to a global catastrophe on Earth is 12%. The last strong outburst of plasma occurred in 1989, and the planet then recorded the most powerful magnetic storm (disturbance of the planet’s magnetic field). A burned transformer in New Jersey and massive power outages around the world are the consequences of this storm.
Killer asteroids
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was 10 kilometers in diameter. The fall to Earth of a cosmic body with a diameter of 90 kilometers with a 100% guarantee will cease life on the planet. Even a meteorite of 1.5 kilometers will lead to the deaths of millions of people and for many months will deprive us of sunlight through a dust cloud.
Ozone is the basis of organic life
Numerous data on the thinning of the ozone layer of our planet and the appearance of holes in it can also be the end of organic life. The appearance of this boundary of the atmosphere lit a green light for the movement of living matter. The destructive ultraviolet will destroy protein molecules, stopping organic evolution. Space programs, the greenhouse effect and the development of weapons - which of the following can we stop right now?
Writing about global disasters and their development scenarios is a thankless task. How many scientists - so many opinions. And it’s hard not to agree with their arguments. But you can watch the notorious series and agree with Fox Mulder and Dana Scully that "the truth is somewhere nearby."