The ancient Mayans were the ones who thought that the world will end in 2012. The Mayan calender ends at 2012. From what I know these folks had some really advanced mathematical capabilities. There must be a reason they came up with this idea of ending the calendar in 2012. So I won't discount the possibility that something horrendous might happen in 2012.
However I won't be surprised if the world comes to an end sooner. Man is not leaving any stone unturned. Endless yet needless wars, unabated wastage of resources, trashing of the habitat of other species that are a crucial part of the food chain, are just some of the things man is doing to ensure that civilization comes to an end.
The other day I found out that they are feeding animal waste to cows (
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-feed31-2009oct31,0,1227725.story and
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0128-03.htm). Now, that is totally against the rule of nature. It is a blatant violation of the food chain.
Another thing we need to be concerned about it the disappearance of Honey Bees (
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2007-04/2007-04-09-voa6.cfm). They are the most crucial component of the food chain.
I am not as much convinced by the whole Global Warming theory. But, I am convinced that the end of Human Civilization will come due to the collapse of the food chain or the use of weapons of extreme destruction.
I see that people over here in the west are taking notice of the above facts and are changing their way of life. People are switching to organic food, wasting less resources, throwing lesser trash, driving more fuel efficient cars, improving the energy-efficiency of their homes etc.
But, from what I saw during my last visit to India, people there are just so out of touch with reality. The very social activists/celebrities who cry hoarse about Global Warming go around in big SUVs, live in humongous mansions and live a life that totally contradicts their beliefs. I saw that more and more people are shopping for food at retail outlets instead of going to the local Farmers Markets.
Indians are adopting an unsustainable way of life that the people in the west are walking away from. I just do not understand what was wrong with the way things used to be when I was a child growing up back in India. In order to adopt a more westernised standard of living that consists of Malls, fast food places, multiplexes, shopping plazas, big cars etc, people have burdened the scarce resources of the country.
Traffic Jams, power outages, rising fuel prices, long commute times, unhealthy diets, lack of fitness regimens are all going to hurt India in the long run.
Its high time people changed their way of life by living responsibly, eating responsibly, and spend their resources wisely if they are really concerned about the world coming to an end. Trust me, its not going to be a meteor, or an increased solar activity that are most probably going to destroy the world. Its us humans and our way of life that will destroy the world.
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