Had you asked me last month what I thought would be the most likely thing to strike midnight on the doomsday clock, I’d have told you it’s our current economic/political situation. International tensions combined with the late stage capitalism is a juicy cocktail of disaster. But with the recent Polar Vortex, a new contender is rising in the ranks: our planet’s demise.
Social media and the news have been reveling lately over what they’re calling a Polar Vortex. This is a large spiral of super cold weather that has been descending from the North into the midwestern part of America. As a result, we’re seeing places like Chicago hitting all-time record low temperatures, as low as negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit. While this just seems like a freak storm, it illuminates signs of something worse.
So what will kill us first? Let’s discourse.
Economy/Government
It doesn’t take a scientist to tell us that America is in bad shape right now. There’s been a growing divide between wealth classes. The super wealthy are reporting record profits, making enough money to feed a small town for life, while others are working two or more jobs because they can’t afford to pay the $100,000 in medical bills after a car accident.
All the while, our government has been in a difficult spot as well. Lobbyists are pushing for legislation that makes the common man’s life harder so that a major corporation can save money. And the two major political parties in the house and senate are working harder to fight each other than they are to help American citizens. We’ve had three government shutdowns in the last year, with the most recent one winning the record for longest running one of all time.
Not to mention the distrust and manipulation happening between us, China, Russia, and North Korea.
If we aren’t nuked by a foreign entity, we’re going to end up tearing ourselves apart trying to constantly take advantage of those will less representation and power. Just look at Venezuela.
Table could not be displayed.The Planet
Not everyone agrees with the idea that climate change is real. Every time it gets cold like this, you see people making jokes about how global warming doesn’t exist. But the truth of the matter is: this IS global warming. In the last year alone, America has experienced the hottest summer and the coldest winter of all time. And we can’t stop it.
Climate change is generally defined as such: the planet is having a hard time filtering out itself, leaving gasses in the air, and failing to filter out temperatures. It’s like when you get in your car in the summer, the inside is always so much hotter than the outside, this is because the heat can’t escape. This is also true for the cold. As the planet continues to suffer as it has, we will continue to experience hotter summers and colder winters. Eventually, it will reach the point that the outside world is entirely inhospitable during these seasons.
The worst part of it all is that many scientists believe it’s too late to fix. Commonly believes that carbon emissions from burning fuels are the biggest cause, they think that we as a planet have damaged it too much to stop now. Not only are we too dependent on our current fuel systems, but we can’t undo the existing damage.
So will we fall by our own hands, or by Mother Nature herself? Let us know what you think, and why, in the comments.