Your predictions for the next century or so
Feel free to post your predictions of doom here in this thread. My personal view is this - humanity as a species will continue, but western civilisation will collapse. With fossil fuels running out, it will become too expensive for all but the most vital transport links to run. Without this, the economy will gradually grind to a halt. Food supplies in import-sufficient western countries will be reduced to a trickle, resulting in mass starvation across the western world. This will cut off aid to third world countries, thus tipping them over the edge and causing mass starvation there. The continent of Africa would be thrown into utter chaos as governments fall apart, replaced by the tribal and racial rule of the early 18th century.
Meanwhile, China and India would see mass death as populations starve to death. The world population would be halved by the end of the century. Desperate governments, hungry for resources would start invading their neighbours. America would occupy many of its close neighbours including Canada and Brazil. The rainforests of Brazil would be completely decimated as mining companies search feverishly for resources.
That looming destroyer of the world that is global warming will have made it's attack. World sea levels will have risen by 2 metres as the Arctic is reduced to nothing but a thousand square miles of slush, and Antarctica is quickly going the same way. Millions are displaced as large coastal cities are drowned. In Bangladesh, half the population dies of the disease caused by this flooding, while those that survive are displaced. Countries such as India, already under pressure from food, electricity and water shortages find themselves crippled by the swath of immigrants.
Elsewhere, a few countries that still hold a safe supply of resources find themselves managing to just about limp on. Britain, with its 230 year supply of coal underneath it, finds itself relegated back to the 19th century, unlike the rest of the world. The canals find new industrial use, while steam locomotives that have been mothballed since the 60's find new life.
With the world economy collapsed, governments find it harder to hold onto power. Large countries dissapate, their populations starving and unhappy. The large cities find themselves deserted due to the lack of food, and only those who have the know how to be self-sufficient, or those lucky enough to recieve government aid packages manage to survive.
Close to the end of the century, as the last of the Antarctic ice melts, much of the low-lying parts of the planet are underwater. Vast parts of the world are uninhabited, the few powerful countries in the find themselves back in the 19th century and once again Britain is the only superpower, even in its weakened condition. America, so far from the rest of the world, finds itself running a shell of a country, barely able to do much, cut off from everything. In a last bid of desperation, they threaten the world with nuclear annhilation if they don't get the resources they need to carry on running. From then on, who knows what could happen?
This piece of doom-mongering was brought to you by currywurry, your source for pessimism since November 2004.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
You think that's gloomy?
I'll give you a real reason for unremitting depression. France are going to win the Grand Slam.
~:mecry:
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
Quote:
America would occupy many of its close neighbours including Canada and Brazil. The rainforests of Brazil would be completely decimated as mining companies search feverishly for resources.
Sorry, man. Must argue that one. Not enough cojones to occupy a couple of semi-deserted countries with a 35% literacy rate in, what? 5 years?
And you reckon it is possible to occupy Mexico? Brazil? Colombia? No way in hell. Compare Brazilian prisons to american prisons and you'll see why.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
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Originally Posted by SwordsMaster
Sorry, man. Must argue that one. Not enough cojones to occupy a couple of semi-deserted countries with a 35% literacy rate in, what? 5 years?
And you reckon it is possible to occupy Mexico? Brazil? Colombia? No way in hell. Compare Brazilian prisons to american prisons and you'll see why.
You have to keep in mind that by about 2030-40 in my little doomworld, Brazil would probably be a trainwreck, while Canada would probably be easily pacified. Come on, it's Canada.
South America would definitely fall apart given the various global problems in my little scenario. It would end up easy pickings for a desperate US.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
That's very pessimistic currywurry. Couldn't we have a brighter possible future rather than starvation and death.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
Quote:
Originally Posted by currywurry
You have to keep in mind that by about 2030-40 in my little doomworld, Brazil would probably be a trainwreck, while Canada would probably be easily pacified. Come on, it's Canada.
South America would definitely fall apart given the various global problems in my little scenario. It would end up easy pickings for a desperate US.
Nah. I'll remain an optimist and accept the fact that south americans are perfectly capable of killing themselves without any externa help.
Besides, are you forgetting Katrina? Doomsday scenario, instead of New Orleans, it'll be New York.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
How about:
EB 1.0 is finished. The world rejoices. There is a global march in favour of EB. Khelvan is proclaimed dictator. All hail Khelvan!
:balloon:
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
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Originally Posted by Orb
How about:
EB 1.0 is finished. The world rejoices. There is a global march in favour of EB. Khelvan is proclaimed dictator. All hail Khelvan!
:balloon:
That doesn't strike me as a very realistic vision of the next 100 years.
Khevlan is already our dictator. You just don't know it yet.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
Quote:
Originally Posted by currywurry
That doesn't strike me as a very realistic vision of the next 100 years.
Khevlan is already our dictator. You just don't know it yet.
Meh, Ironside's decendants take over the world (Lemur's decendants gets the US ~D ) as they have invested in solar panels and will later aquire the fusion technology. As the world is in a such a sorry state, uniting it into a new working state will be easy.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
Politicians will still be lying, and taxes will be too high.
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
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Originally Posted by drone
Politicians will still be lying, and taxes will be too high.
It's true.
Communications tech will increase hugely, as will processing power (just consider difference between now and 50 years ago, then imagine that multipled again, then again, we're talking billions of times more power available).
There will still be poor people, people will still die pointlessly, there will still be wars, the rich will still be unbelievably rich, the poorest unbelievably poor, etc. I supect population in 100 years will be about 9 billion (birth rates average say 2 worldwide by then, but people live much longer).
Maybe life expectancy of 150? Who knows? Kind of hard to say, that might be hopeless optimistic or really naive. Assuming is that high, a lot of us will still be alive then. So we'll be able to go, "Damn we were right/wrong" or, more likely, "Wow didn't see that coming!".
Re: Your predictions for the next century or so
Xiahou's children turn out to be hippy, leftwing, environmentalists who faithfully vote Democrat in every election.
Tribesman's kids, on the other hand, turn out to be hard-core conservatives who so ardently support the war in Iraq that they move to the US and join the Marines after the UK finally says they've had enough and pull their troops out in 2037.
Both Tribesy and Xiahou continue to post in the Backroom well into their golden years, where they continue to disagree about everything except what a disappointment children are.
:clown:
