Apocalypse:
No margin for error
Polar ice sheets are melting at an unprecedented rate |
Evgeny Ubiyko, a military engineer has invented a time capsule to
survive the 2012 Armageddon. According to the Mayan calendar the Earth
will suffer cataclysmic events. Floods, eruptions and earthquakes will
annihilate the whole human race.
Other scenarios include collision with a celestial object – known as
Nibiru or black hole or the arrival of the next solar maximum – a period
of intensified solar activity. Scientists spurn these apocalyptic
theories claiming that they contradict simple astronomical observations.
Come to think of it the world is faced with natural disasters more
frequently. Polar ice sheets, expected to be a major contributor to
projected sea level rises, are melting at an unprecedented rate. In fact
according to WWF the rise is expected to top one metre by 2100.
If Green House Gas emission is not kept in heck, it is warned that
the global temperature will rise by four degrees within the century,
resulting in devastating consequences. Two degrees is considered ‘safe’,
with no margin for error. Although four degrees may not seem much, it is
the global mean.
Temperature variations in some areas may range from 10 to 15! This
may have devastating impacts on eco-systems. On the other hand a sea
level rise of just two metres, which is expected to happen by the turn
of the century, could displace 2.5 percent of the world’s population.
Was this what the Mayans predicted? Are we really headed for Armageddon?
Only time will tell.
- Sajitha |