Natural+Disasters+and+other+risks

Humans, and Earth, might just be destroyed in some natural (and man-made) disasters. Here are what some scientists' worst fears:

__Climate Change__ One of the most contraversial environmental topics, climate change is supposedly changing the Earth even today. For those who believe in climate change: by the end of the century it is likely that the average global temperature will have risen by 2 degrees Celsius. This is hotter than Earth has been for 1.5 million years. This could completely alter the climate, leading to shortages of food and the collapse of social systems. Conflict could leave millions of people and animals dead.

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__Viral Pandemic__ As major pandemics occur almost every century, it is highly likely that we will have one in the future. HIV, influenza, and avian influenza have had major impacts in the past. A virus could kill many people, but probably not the whole human race. It might set us back for a couple of years though (and who knows? Maybe less people is a good thing).

__Terrorism﻿__ Society today is vulnerable to terrorism because terrorist groups can easily get a hold of and make dangerous weapons. Chemical and biological weapons (like Anthrax and the smallpox virus) would have an especially huge effect. And we communicate and move around a lot, so a weapon would spread quickly.

__Nuclear War__ A war of this kind could destroy human civilization. We have developed an international system to restrain nuclear use, but countries such as North Korea are still a threat.

[] __Robots__ Within the next 50 years, some scientists think robots will have human-like capabilities and mental power. . . which means that they could turn against us. Someday we might be able to upload ourselves into computers, or depend on robots to diagnose diseases, so I think we shouldn't be to worried yet.

__ Super-Volcanos __ About every 50,00 years Earth experiences a huge, destructive volcano. As for exactly how devastating it would be depends where on Earth it is. But these volcanos can appear in unlikely places that haven't erupted before. And there is a 0.15% chance that one will happen in your lifetime.

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