Which of the following is most likely to cause the extinction of the human race?

Question

A Virus

An Asteroid/Meteor/Comet Impact

Irreversible Climate Change

Something else (please identify)

Answer 1

T h e N u c l e a r    F a m i l y.

C-Sections

I n d u c t i o n s

O v e r-Vaccinations...

War

Answer 2

Human extinction is highly unlikely: the most likely of your scenarios would be extra terrestrial impact at a scale large enough to knock us out of our orbit.

Answer 3

Well what event caused the extinction of dinosaurs?  Would seem plausible that could happen again.  After all, lightning does strike twice in the same location.

Answer 4

Overpopulation, which leads to famine, which leads to lower immunity systems, which leads to a catastrophe.

Answer 5

I believe the shortage of the most important natural resource: WATER. An Asteroid/Meteor/Comet impact would also cause a mass extinction,but it is less likely according to my science teacher.

Answer 6

Inhumanity.

We are the only animal  EVER to exist that created a means of self destruction, and to all apparent conclusions, we are bent on doing so with utmost stupidity.

No weapon has EVER been devised that was not put to use,

No arsenal has EVER been collected that was not expended in a collision of culture or concept,

No ideology to EVER reach a social dominion over others has ever failed to self-destruct,



and, no  religion has EVER existed that did not war on it's descenders,

so... don't believe for a moment that one exists today, that will deviate from the norm ...

The fate of humanity lays in the hands of governmental psychotics these days....   look around , listen to them posture and threaten and intimidate one another..  what hope can have we of existing another 500 years, much less another 50 thousand? or a million...

The end of us is stored in bomb bunkers by the tonnes and tonnes...

thousands upon thousands of tonnes of nuclear and neutron and atom bombs are stored in ALL the major powers of governmental regimes,

and all over the world, there are idiots  itching for some other moron to have a pissin contest with them.

Answer 7

One Day, Man will know too much.

And the World will end!

Answer 8

I would probably say Virus OR am asteroid (etc)

Answer 9

Read the book of Revelation in the Bible.

Answer 10

I would have said Irreversible Climate Change, but we are starting to pay attention and take action to reverse it before it gets that far.

In around 4 billion years, the Sun will burn out its core hydrogen and will expand to a red giant.  If we were still here by that time, we would be incinerated.

The success of a virus depends on its not being lethal enough to kill all its hosts, so I don't think that would cause extinction.

So for an Extinction Level Event within the next 4 billion years, I would have to choose in most likely order from 1 - 3:

1)  Nuclear War - if the Shrub attacks Iran before he leaves office (the likelihood here may be decreasing because they are having Senate hearings today about his constitutional violations)

2)   Very large Asteroid impact - We would need to see it years ahead of time to mitigate its orbit and prevent impact.  But we are starting to pay more attention and watching for them.  On Tuesday, February 5, 2008 an SUV sized asteroid passed between the Earth and the moon. Asteroid 2008 CT1 came within135,000 kilometers ( 84,000 miles) of Earth, only a third of the distance to the moon. The asteroid was discovered only two days before its close approach to Earth.  This is way too small for widespread destruction, but it shows that some are still getting almost here before we find them.  That makes 2 near misses in 9 days, maybe I should reverse 1 & 2.

3)  Supervolcano eruption - it would take a really super one to cause human extinction.  The USGS thinks any eruption of Yellowstone in the near future is likely to be only steam.

Answer 11

All of them could do it.

I don't know how you would go about putting odds on that...