In this world a Doomsday clock is ticking. For every beginning comes an inevitable end. Some scenarios that can end the world are climate change, solar system failures and human behavior failures.
Climate Change:
Climate change is a worldwide issue that needs to be solved. Climate change can cause intense storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, and etc. This affects animals because rising temperatures lower many species’ survival rates which can lead to a food chain disaster. For instance, when there is less food there is a lower rate of successful reproduction, and therefore less food for the greater species on top of the food chain. A disaster in the animal food chain can also affect human diets due to less food in the market, starvation rates will increase without food and lead to less successful reproduction in humans. These natural disasters are well known to destroy villages, cities, suburbs and even human lives. Climate change is a high possibility that can end planet Earth, it is a harsh reality.
Solar system failing
Although this scenario is possible in 6-5 billion years away it can still happen. According to Space.com, the sun has been around for 4.603 billion years. The sun is one of the main sources of light for the planet Earth and other close by planets in the solar system. The placement in which the temperature isn’t perfect for “Earth”, it is perfect for Earth to be a birthing ground for life. Therefore, the Earth relies on the sun to support life on Earth. However, there will be a time when the sun will become a white dwarf which means it will stop producing heat. Once this happens all life on Earth will be destroyed, starting off with the plants dying off first since there is no sunlight for their growth. If plants die then animals that rely on plants will have no food and which can cause a disaster in both the animal and human food chain.
Human Behavior Issues
Humans over the years have succeeded with many memorable achievements such as the moon landing, the discovery of the vaccine, etc. However, humans have recently built nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction. Humans have a history of many wars that caused many deaths, for instance World War II was the deadliest human conflict with 70,000,000 deaths worldwide. If wars with these rates of deaths keep occurring the world can simply run out of human lives. For instance, if a nuclear war started, millions and millions of people would die due to intoxication and mass destruction. Also, nuclear weapons can be bad for the planet by killing plants and animals, which can limit the food supply too, just like climate change or failure in the solar system. One Solution could be that if leaders of countries stop using weapons of mass destruction and make peace around the world.
Although the end can happen at any time we should enjoy every moment that we have on Earth. We should also take care of Earth so we can keep calling it home for much longer.
Juan Alcantar – Cristo Rey Jesuit High School – DMSF Class of 2026
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