Another potential way civilization is going to end.

[Pope Viper]

Catastrophic Solar Storm.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,478024,00.html

A new study from the National Academy of Sciences outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.

Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.

What I found interesting was the blurb about the 1859 event.

The prediction is based in part on major solar storm in 1859 caused telegraph wires to short out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_031027.html

 

[shadybob]

yay we got more things to worry about now destroying us. on the other hand thats pretty nifty shit. if it happens def got to put it on youtube lol

 

[Fade]

yay we got more things to worry about now destroying us. on the other hand thats pretty nifty shit. if it happens def got to put it on youtube lol

Plenty of things to worry about if you know where to look & what to read. Some of them there is very little we can do anything about if they happen so don't spend too much time worrying.

Not sure I really believe the bit about the worst storms only knocking out power grids. Given with the 'right' change we could end up as either Mars or Venus and the sun is powerful enough to induce such a change.

Edit:
Another way life could end:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/merging_backhole_021119.html

When all is said and done, few stars are likely to remain in the vicinity of the merged and more massive black hole.

Not in our lifetime or even the expected lifetime of our species probably.

 

[Dead Guy]

I'm waiting for that perfectly lined up gamma ray burst myself. :p

Thanks for the link!

 

[Fade]

I'm waiting for that perfectly lined up gamma ray burst myself. :p

Thanks for the link!

Comic fan? Run for your lives it's Planet of the Hulks.

 

[jero cvmi]

pfft why sit back and wait when you can destroy the earth yourself

 

[alec]

I love how the Sun is capable to fuck us up.

pfft why sit back and wait when you can destroy the earth yourself

That is one cool site.

 

[SuAside]

it's no secret Solar Storms fuck up our modern shit now & again.

hell, many electrical and hardware failures in the IT industry comes in waves & have been linked quite frequently to heightened solar activity.

and yes, 2012 is the most quoted year for catastrophic failure. not to mention it's the end of the Mayan calendar & the Egyptians once predicted a catastrophic event on that year. yay, we're all going to die.

total nutjobs also claim it will be so bad that the magnetic poles will switch and the earth will start spinning the other way around, causing near self-destruction.

anyhow, i'm pretty sure we'll experience some shit in 2012 (NASA etc says so), but i'm gambling on the fact that it won't be quite as bad as some predict.
i think we're all gambling on that.

 

[alec]

anyhow, i'm pretty sure we'll experience some shit in 2012 (NASA etc says so)

Link, SuAside?

I would just love it if the shit hit the fan in 2012. It would totally rock. We'd all go: "Damn, them primitive Mayans were right, how the fuck did they figure that out?"

 

[SuAside]

Link, SuAside?

I would just love it if the shit hit the fan in 2012. It would totally rock. We'd all go: "Damn, them primitive Mayans were right, how the fuck did they figure that out?"

if you do a quick google you'll find that NASA has a number of articles up about it, but none really extremely to the point. either way, NASA just said there would be heavy solar storms, but that the damage wouldn't be too great.
my reference came from written media, can't find a digital copy.

anyhow, some scientists argue that it might be before 2012 even.

it's also quite fun to observe the industry it sprouted. Mayan calendar, Egyptian prediction, NASA's solar storm, etc. they're at the moment being used to fuel an industry very much like the Year 2000 (Y2K) scare.

 

[alec]

Googled it. Came up with stuff like this:

“According to NASA scientists, the earth will stand still for about three days and then, in one hour, rotate a full 90 degrees (the geographical pole shift) during which time winds will be an average of 200 miles per hour. Every volcano on earth will erupt and of course there will be many earthquakes, so two thirds of earth’s population will die in that one hour surprise. Then another 20% will starve to death during the next six months because the volcanic ash will cover the earth and keep out sunlight for six months. About 10% of the [world’s] population (about 600 million) will survive.

Doesn't sound like NASA to me.

it's also quite fun to observe the industry it sprouted. Mayan calendar, Egyptian prediction, NASA's solar storm, etc. they're at the moment being used to fuel an industry very much like the Year 2000 (Y2K) scare.

If the fear is big enough, you can sell anything. Even lies.

 

[Pope Viper]

Hell, our wonderful president got re-elected because of fear.

 

[Crni Vuk]

Catastrophic Solar Storm.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,478024,00.html

A new study from the National Academy of Sciences outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.

Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.

What I found interesting was the blurb about the 1859 event.

[quote[The prediction is based in part on major solar storm in 1859 caused telegraph wires to short out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_031027.html[/quote]

Jesus Christ? Who cares ... I mean would anyone have believed that we [human race] came so far anyway? We should have been dead a long time ago. With all the agressivity and weapons and shows/movies with Rosie O donnell or American Idol still going on.

 

[shadybob]

if anything is going to destroy the hman race its going to be things like american idol i mean for fuck sake im sick of seeing a bunch of shit cunts ruining tv for me

 

[Dead Guy]

I'm waiting for that perfectly lined up gamma ray burst myself. :p

Thanks for the link!

Comic fan? Run for your lives it's Planet of the Hulks.

I was referring to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray_burst

However unlikely... read mass extinction events.

 

[Per]

pfft why sit back and wait when you can destroy the earth yourself

That is one cool site.

Excellent indeed.

"Destroying Rob proved remarkably easy."

so two thirds of earth’s population will die in that one hour surprise.

Apparently no one will be the least surprised by the Earth stopping prior to that, presumably killing everyone depending on what type of magic is invoked.

 

[CloudlessDruid]

not to mention it's the end of the Mayan calendar

Actually, I know that everyone says that, but this is wrong. I've read a lot about the mayan calendar, and it'll not end. We'll just begin a new cycle.

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar forms the basis for a New Age belief, first forecast by José Argüelles, that a cataclysm will take place on or about December 21, 2012, a forecast that mainstream Mayanist scholars consider a misinterpretation, yet is commonly referenced in pop-culture media as the 2012 problem. [12][13]

"For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. in Crystal River, Florida. To render December 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." [13]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_calendar

 

[TorontoReign]

^ Good to know. Here I was thinking I would get out of buying my son presents on that day since the world was going to end. His B-Day is on the 21st of December. I think the main thing people are talking about is the so called "Planet X" aligning with various other planets on that day. I love the crazy theories that Earth will be pulled off of it's axis.

Edit: Noticed I spelled various as varies. Hahaha. Good times.

 

[Per]

I remember the Earth was going to be pulled out of its axis once when I was a kid (apparently in 1982, before most of you people were even born). It did, too, but we fell back into the old groove in 1987 (you weren't born then either).

 

[TorontoReign]

Actually I was born in 1985. Not that it matters though. The whole axis reversal theory is kinda far fetched. Did people actually believe that though? What was supposed to cause it?