What better time to contemplate world-ending disasters than the holiday season?
- Meteor/asteroid/comet strike. A big one would wipe out most life on the planet within weeks. On the plus side, we wouldn’t suffer for long.
- Global pandemic. The Black Death killed as many as 200 million in Europe in the 14th century and that was without convenient air travel allowing the infected to hopscotch the planet, spreading disease as the go.
- Trump starts some kind of nuclear war. I call out Trump specifically because he is more likely than anyone else on the planet to think using nukes is a good idea, and then to actually use them. It would be tough to wipe out all life, though, because most other leaders would probably be smart enough to hold off.
- The sun dies. This one will actually happen, but we’re good for a few more billion years or so.
- Climate change goes amok. The signs aren’t good. The biggest concern would be climate change making basic resources like food and water scarce, even in developed countries. This could see billions die as areas where people can comfortably live and food can be grown will shrink dramatically. Tip: Don’t invest in Miami beachfront property.
- Aliens vaporize our planet to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Let’s face it, we’d be hard-pressed to give them a good reason not to do this.
- An unprecedented solar storm strips away the atmosphere. You can only hold your breath for so long.
- A different sun a few light years away goes supernova, baking the Earth like a clay pot. Suns can be real jerks sometimes.
- One or more super volcanoes erupt. As befits their super designation, these volcanoes can alter the global climate in a way that would kind of kill almost everything, thanks to years of ash-filled skies.
- Gravity stops working and everything just floats off into space. It’s just a theory, after all. Maybe it’s controlled by molemen in the center of the Earth and they all go on strike for better pay or free Netflix.
