What Does the Distant Future Hold for Humans?
By Saam Hasan
Gandalf once uttered the words, “it is here, the great battle of our age”.
For us, the modern-day human race, this would most likely be climate change. With a continuously deteriorating environment, accelerated by human activities, we have been figuratively and literally digging our own graves. Our situation is exacerbated by the fact that we tend to treat the climate crisis like parents treat unwanted kids – ignore them until they are too big and too far-gone to be helped in any way.
Nevertheless, despite the inaction on the part of those who can actually do something about it, scientific research continues to probe at the immeasurably complex mechanisms underlying the ongoing changes in global climate.
While the impact we are having on the environment is well documented, an equally intriguing question is what would happen if human-induced climate change wasn’t a thing? Would we simply go on forever, or does the planet stamp an expiry date on all species? The answer is the latter.
Scientific research seeks to identify how and when the Earth will change in ways that make it inhospitable for us. So when can we expect this kitchen to get too hot for us to take the heat any longer?
Well, in that regard we are somewhat in luck, because the answer to that question is around 250 million years from now, according to a Bristol University study working alongside a supercomputer.
The supercomputer analysis took into account various eco-physiological parameters that can predict how a species will be affected by environmental factors such as temperature. The end result was that, it’s bye-bye mammals.
In a study led by Dr Alexander Farnsworth, published in Nature Geoscience, scientists used various kinds of climate, tectonic, biological and other kinds of data to predict what the Earth will look like in the distant future.
While the models and parameters are about as easy to understand as some elderly folk’s logic for sharing conspiracy theories on Facebook, the long and the short of it is that in about 250 million years time, most mammals, including humans, will be wiped out.
The key factor in all this is tectonic movements. In 250 million years, all of the continents will merge into the Earth’s new supercontinent, appropriately named Pangea Ultima. Just like how collabs between your favourite artists produce the hottest material, this merger will send the world’s temperatures skyrocketing.
According to the report, these seismic changes will result in changes in volcanic activity and the release of vast amounts of carbon dioxide. As if things could not get any worse, the report explains that the sun will also be getting hotter, increasing the solar energy the Earth is subjected to and consequently raising temperatures even higher.
As indicated in the report, and unfortunately for mammals, our rate of evolution is simply too slow to keep up with these changes in the environment. And as we all know, organisms that cannot evolve in time, must perish.
While given the timeline of all this happening, it is natural to think that is irrelevant to any of us. At the rate we are going, it might not require a continental merger to wipe us, we are perfectly adept at creating serious change in our own lifetimes.
However, it does still tell us how the story of a planet truly unfolds, with all dominant species coming and going as mere chapters in an epic tale with a tragic, extinction-level ending.
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this piece by the author are their own – they do not and are not intended to represent the beliefs and opinions of Plymouth University, University of Plymouth Student Union or the Plymouth Gazette.
Picture credit: Unsplash courtesy of NASA