What are the greatest threats to ending civilization , and the planet?

Answer 1

These questions are not at all in the same league.

Civilization is simply the state when people are living together in a level of society where law and order are the norm. It takes very little - certainly not a nuclear war - to bring that to an end.
Any situation where laws do not protect the population create the seeds that will end civilization.
Laws can not stop over-population, although China has been experimenting with such laws for decades. One of the consequences of overpopulation is starvation and when that happens, civilization comes to an end, and chaos rules.
Laws can not easily stop the migration of alien organisms and viruses that could cause catastrophic levels of death in either the human population or in their food resources.
In either case, the foundations of civilization could fail.
Civilization rests atop the institutions of society, and are maintained by the people in good faith. When their best intentions can not stop a catastrophic even from happening, people readily revert to a less organized, less civilized behaviour. If the cause is wide spread enough, the civilization will end world wide.

To end the planet Earth would require an astronomical event such as a direct collision with a rogue planet larger than Mars. Earth is basically an iron ball in orbit around the Sun. To destroy such an object would require stupendous amounts of energy. Even a collision with something the size of the Moon would not do it.

;-D Of course even a much smaller collision would kill all the people and higher life forms.

Answer 2

At this moment in history we are in what Carl Sagan would call the transition to a type I civilization. This means that soon we will be truly masters of out domain. We will have complete control over the planet, including weather systems, volcanoes; the works. Something else associated with a type I civilization is a Global Govt, which can be a very slippery slope. So that is why my number one threat to human beings is nuclear war.

The second is the sun burning out. After the sun uses all its hydrogen it will begin to burn helium and grow into a red giant. When it does this it will grow to about the size of our orbit, engulfing us. Hopefully by then we will have a way to get off the planet, or we will have done so already.

Answer 3

Historically civilizations have simply fallen apart. The Roman civilization just fell apart. These days people are all concerned about natural disasters ending civilization, but that is extremely unlikely. People are also increasingly concerned that increasing population and technology will end civilization. I think that is also extremely unlikely. I have to say that the greatest threat to civilization is civilization itself. There really is no threat to the planet. Death of all human life in the world is no threat the the planet. The Earth doesn't care if there are people on it or not.

Answer 4

Historically, the greatest civilizations have eventually fallen apart primarily because they became too large to efficiently govern, and they became over confident in their ability to eliminate their enemies. All the largest and most powerful eventually met their demise because of a combination of these two factors: Babylonians, Persians, Huns, Romans, etc.... I think this poses the single greatest threat to civilizations as we know them. Although many great governments have lasted for many years, it seems to always end in much the same way.

As for the destruction of the entire planet, I would have to say that the greatest single threat might be a roving black hole. There are several catastrophic events that could end all, or most, life on earth, but most of these would leave the planet behind. A black hole moving in our solar system could easily completely consume all matter on Earth. The world would be literally sucked apart. And, that would definitely, well uh, SUCK!

Answer 5

The planet is relatively safe from scars inflicted by humans.
Terrorism is the one greatest threat to the survival of civilization.

Answer 6

Terrorists
Nuclear War
Asteroids
Super Volcanoes

Answer 7

I believe that we are between two ages, The Age of Pisces and the dawning of The Age of Aquarius" it's more than just a song!" In layman's term.. The new age"Aquarius" is an age of enlightenment, a time of truth, a time of very advanced technology...In my opinion, The new age has been dawning for some time. The age of Pisces has been drawing to an end, the thinking of this age is dying, the mono-theo "one god" way of thinking is also dying. War mongers, terrorist, tyrants fear the age of Aquarius and they're fighting with every breath to retain control..Bush,radical Islam are just two examples of those who wish to remain in the age of Pisces, They rule and govern through death and destruction. But the average person is longing for change. The ability to lie and deceive was a simple task in the previous age...However because of extraodinary advancements in technology, it's nearly impossible to conceal the truth from the masses! This is what Bush and his ilk fear the most! I welcome the new age! Let the sun shine in!

Answer 8

1. Global thermonuclear war
2. A large asteroid striking the earth
3. The next ice age

Answer 9

Probably ourselves.... we have the capability to destroy ourselves, and most likely will, someday.

Beyond that... Global warming is a big factor, but not a life-ending one. Natural causes are next - meteors, novas, diseases.

Cheery subject.

Answer 10

nuclear war
deadly epidemic
artificial intelligence
asteroid impact
super volcano
nanobots
global warming resulting in global freezing
extraterrestrial invasion
a massive solar flare