Earth 2100: The Final Century of Civilization?

Earth 2100: The Final Century of Civilization?

2009, Science  -   290 Comments
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Earth 2100: The Final Century of Civilization?Interesting propaganda from ABC. Planet at Risk: Experts Warn Population Growth, Resource Depletion, Climate Change Could Bring Catastrophe in Next Century. It's an idea that most of us would rather not face - that within the next century, life as we know it could come to an end. Our civilization could crumble, leaving only traces of modern human existence behind.

It seems outlandish, extreme - even impossible. But according to cutting edge scientific research, it is a very real possibility. And unless we make drastic changes now, it could very well happen. Experts have a stark warning: that unless we change course, the perfect storm of population growth, dwindling resources and climate change has the potential to converge in the next century with catastrophic results.

In order to plan for the worst, we must anticipate it. In that spirit, guided by some of the world's experts, ABC News' "Earth 2100," hosted by Bob Woodruff, will journey through the next century and explore what might be our worst-case scenario. But no one can predict the future, so how do we address the possibilities that lie ahead? Our solution is Lucy, a fictional character devised by the producers at ABC to guide us through the twists and turns of what the next 100 years could look like. It is through her eyes and experiences that we can truly imagine the experts' worst-case scenario -- and be inspired to make changes for the better.

By 2015, there are expected to be hopeful signs. Experts predict alternative energy solutions that are currently in their infancy will gain momentum. Windmills may sprout up everywhere. Off the coast of Scotland, a sprawling wave farm will harvest renewable energy from the ocean. Vatican City will meet all of its energy needs with solar power. And the U.S. will produce cleaner, more fuel efficient vehicles in accordance with newly unveiled emissions guidelines.

But will it be enough? In 2015, global demand for fossil fuels could be massive and growing, but experts say oil will be harder to find and far more expensive to consume. If the cost of gasoline skyrockets, few may be able to afford to maintain the lifestyles to which we've grown accustomed. There may be a mass exodus from the suburbs, as driving gas-fueled cars becomes nearly impossible economically. But will that convince us to change our ways?

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Conrad
Conrad
1 year ago

This is what science has degraded to, fairy tales.

SOOKA MUHDEEIK
SOOKA MUHDEEIK
2 years ago

Communists/leftists/marxists must invent continual crises to create a "purpose" for their existence, because heres a NEWS FLASH-NO ONE NEEDS OR WANTS THEM! THEY MUST DISRUPT, DESTROY AND TEAR DOWN, AND CREATE FEAR IN ORDER TO ACQUIRE POWER. THE FORCES OF GOOD NEED TO HUNT DOWN AND KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THESE EVIL FVCKS.

Kobus
Kobus
3 years ago

Just another propaganda orgy for the cabal. The climate change hoax and the co-called vaccine hoax.
Let's see what the fake alien invasion will be all about.
Start studying flat earth people. The thing we have most of is ice!! It's all around us.
Why would the military keep people from crossing over from the continents closest to it.
Its all about control.
Why were dinosaurs only discovered for the first time after Darwin came up with his theories. There were no dinosaurs. They have divided people between
Most of our history is one long fake story. It is us against the central banks.
Who forced fossil fuels, supermarkets and pharmaceuticals on us???

Look up Rockefeller and Carnegie in pharmaceuticals. Rothchild's pretty much own the central banks. They own the city of London.
The lot of them are mostly related, going back. JP Morgan, Rockefeller etc.

The food industry has also been taken over by them. That's why people cannot sell the food they grow in their own countries to feed their own people.

They have manipulated the global system to enable them to control food, water and energy.

THINK!!!

Caedmon
Caedmon
4 years ago

The world was warmer 20 years ago than it is today. This vid pushes the fake and failed "menace" of CO2 and virtually ignores the real elephant in the living room: resource depletion.

yyyyyyy
yyyyyyy
4 years ago

this is stupidly dramatized

JakeC
JakeC
4 years ago

Hurricane Sandy, Coronavirus, Refugee Crises, yup we're already seeing a bunch of these things.

peter
peter
4 years ago

blah, blah blah, we can all see that and it's easy to criticize but noone ever seems to give any solutions, and i dont mean the bs like 'government should that and that...' no government is gonna save us, revolution must come from within

ald ker
ald ker
4 years ago

Well, with 10 years hindsight, WRONG.

charley
charley
7 years ago

Footnote: Fall 2016…… How completely, totally bizarre is this production, made about 7 years ago, not to mention all these comments? I've been watching the recent scientific videos of the ice under both poles melting, right now, something they are predicting in this film around 1:00.00, as occurring around year 2075 …… Opps!!! But hasn't Armageddon been rescheduled forward to 2020, just a heartbeat away? And my daughter will be having a baby in 2017….. Well, as Edwin above has stated, the fat is already in the fire, and to think that 10 billion human beings will stay sane enough to salvage anything of this orgy of madness is truly exaggerated optimism! I must copy all these comments to read through the next few years in my leisure….. I'm 79 now and hope to finish up here on earth soon…..

big picture
big picture
8 years ago

The scariest thing is that--- (the parents of the next three billion added earthlings soon to be born-- ) are totally clueless/careless about the above problems. All they want is more luxury living!

We need more shock awareness as in this doco, and it must be compulsory viewing. MAYBE THIS DOCO helped 'Peak oil change to 'peak demand' in 2014, when people realized the potential seriousness of pollution from fossil fuels.

Edwin Young
Edwin Young
8 years ago

At 83, I have seen the TX coast become devoid of fish and crabs, rivers too polluted to swim in, air in cities so polluted that it is causing decline in health, the US populace consuming so many over prescribed medications that that in itself is causing health problems, the US becoming another imperialist nation wreaking and havoc on underdeveloped countries, pseudo wars that are highly profitable for US defense industries, the earth polluted from our chemical industries and oil and coal industries, our people becoming obese on foods devoid of nutritional value, waste sites as big as cities, oceans depleted of species of fish, the world population growing at an unsustainable rate, and on and on. Yet a tiny few of the world's best scientists are predicting a doomed earth in 100 years. Corporate leaders continuing to compete while ignoring that they themselves are driving the planet toward the next great extinction.

Malek just my thoughts
Malek just my thoughts
9 years ago

see in 2015 good things have happebed

disqus_kgzyKsG70b
disqus_kgzyKsG70b
9 years ago

if true im glad i wont be here.

Anatoly Kucherjavenko
Anatoly Kucherjavenko
9 years ago

The future of social development, civilisation.

People always wanted to know that them expects. It is
rather probable that at the initial stages of human communities in
primitive-communal tribes, groups of people prophets, oracles aspiring by
primitive forecasts were already allocated to provide to themselves a part of
public foodstuff, places at the centre and other privileges. Simply so there
was a process of division of labour … So it has turned out that by the XIX-th
century end "the basic" contradiction between public character of
work has been developed and is private in the capitalist way of consumption of
its results. K.Marx, F.Engels, V.Lenin on the basis of this contradiction have
developed the whole doctrine about class struggle. Matter is not in those tens
thousand pages of the spoilt paper, and in millions human lives which have been
put on a mythical altar of struggle for ostensibly light future of the
proletariat, all people … I would not like, that still someone put forward
ostensibly the basic contradictions. I have studied all works of classics of
Marxism-Leninism, other philosophers in these subjects of social development
and have developed the contradiction which is capable to begin a difficult way
on creation of a society for people and people for a society, to the future
development of a civilisation. It was necessary to allocate main principle of
distributive relations and to "track" a way from the mechanism of
manufacture before consumption. As a result in 1986 I for myself have
formulated the contradiction between public character of work and individual
way of consumption of its results which without exaggerations and it is
possible to name the core. Considering has occupied not much few 28 years while
I have not registered it as idea –

Why I represent it to YOU? The simple answer - I have all preliminary
approaches to the decision of many problems, but people should choose concrete
ways of their decision and decide what directions to choose it … Especially to
me 61 year, the invalid of 1st group and inflow of fresh thought should be … we
Will begin with publications under the question decision recombination technologies. This a little
unexpected for many the decision of a question of an individualization of
manufacture of subjects of private use, but I in 1986 did not know about 3-D
printers. Business stands up for small - instead of a paper to use durable,
strong, non-polluting, a material repeated (micro-modular application). A
problem of individual power-manufacture, of course, priority, but the mankind
has not grown yet to its decision.

Jon
Jon
9 years ago

"But will it be enough? In 2015, global demand for fossil fuels could be massive and growing, but experts say oil will be harder to find and far more expensive to consume. If the cost of gasoline skyrockets, few may be able to afford to maintain the lifestyles to which we've grown accustomed. There may be a mass exodus from the suburbs, as driving gas-fueled cars becomes nearly impossible economically. But will that convince us to change our ways?"

Who are the experts? The False Prophet cannot change its ways since the name means contradictory to the Truth. Many have been victimized by false prophesy and they should really start to THINK and mend their ways.

mike
mike
10 years ago

should this be under sci-fi movie ? entertaining, but its the governments way of brainwashing and freaking people out into staying under control.

Daniel Weasner
Daniel Weasner
10 years ago

Wasteful with our resources, time for a change in our life patterns, Plant many more trees and have less people born into the world ! Be like the Natives of America before the Europeans came !

lily
lily
10 years ago

If really looking for the solutions; Stop complaining on each government, religion and being an ignorant. As my aspect seems most of the people didn't teached to learn how to sustain mother nature and values on being a very responsible beings. Instead we'd been brain washed and enslavement by the every core of education and religious systems and lit the fire of greed in each innocent children and we goes on!

So, people are unblameable there is no use to blame and criticize, if we does. Act of violence arose automatically as
blaming on country causes war.
blaming on religious causes conflict then to holly war in every society.
even blaming on someone will causes fight and very displeasant moment etc.

As how we step in we step out, step by step via raising awareness, being optimistic, bare tolerance, offer loving and understandingly spread the right message of nature of natural values and most important genuine human understanding.

Since we are a social animals with mutual respect and
together we can live better.
together we can do better.
so, lets be together and make some changes in action
that how we like to make a healthy life.

Judith Woolworth Donahue
Judith Woolworth Donahue
10 years ago

Heres the documentary not allowed through yet...the right answer...Global warming is like Venus a natural reverting of a naturally incendiary planet...Earth + Venus are so alike they are called sister planets....Change EVERY light bulb it will still revert,,,there is ONLY ONE way to reverse it...GEOENGINEERING ...and ONLY ONE RIGHT way to geoengineer it....how do I know that? I ts written across earth in giant stone megalith sites, which read as simply as pictionary...Not the hieroglyphs the giant sites themselves...SEE my avatar? The pyramid was mirrored, I replaced the mirror reflectivity...you now SEE the original ideogram...smaller volcano like buildings and a super volcanic building coated in mirror VOLCANIC MIRROR...which is a real phenomena described by NASA as acid rain aerosols which in the instance of largest eruptions reach stratosphere surround earth + stay up years...Highly solar reflective this acid droplets shield reflects away incoming sun heat + radiation thus earths temps drop EVERY TIME....Super volcanoes cause volcanic winters by this process,,,,however Pinatubo PROVES 1991-1993 the volcanic mirror can in less density siimply cool earth...YOU SEE in desert a volcanic mirror ideogram which is only one phenomena + does ONE thing cools a planet.....in front of that ideogram is a sphinx which instructs ...get it right you live..... volcanic winter mortality rate is 90% of all life....global warming like Venus mortality rate is 100%.....GEOENGINEERING like Pinatubo + combined with the other megalith instructions written across earth all liife saved.....IF I am crazy so are you cause you SEE a volcanic mirror ideogram in that picture as does every person on earth despite color race religion etc.....2 facts solve it ...GOOGLE them both......NASA volcanic aerosols reflect sun and cool earth........Pyramid casestone mantle casing mirror .....do not get sidetracked by other opinions or other sciences...its simply these 2 facts....+ then you SEE it....i also have Easter Island + I can SHOW how pyramid was made with helium

Alain Archambault
Alain Archambault
10 years ago

I have no faith in humanity whatsoever. I see multiple unprecedented problems coming to a head in the near future. The question is when. The U.S. is internally sick, and will collapse under it's accumulated debt load. All it will take is a severe enough shock to the system, or that China stops buying the U.S.'s treasury bonds. With 17 trillion on the books, so little as one percent increase in the T-Bills interests will choke your government. And I place all of that blame on the U.S, people's sense of entitlement on the left, AND the right wing nut jobs who keeps fighting for the status quo.

Orla Louise
Orla Louise
10 years ago

only needed to watch 12mins to know this is propaganda bull

Weneedabetterfuture
Weneedabetterfuture
10 years ago

Watch "Zeitgeist: Addendum" and JOIN the Zeitgeist Movement!

ChefBryn
ChefBryn
10 years ago

One thing we do have is over population

terencegalland
terencegalland
10 years ago

Like master magicians the forces that be are letting this global catastrophe happen so as to reduce population to sustainable levels and then they will pull the rabbit out of the hat with amazing cure alls for the planet its getting real crazy thats for sure and then you have the armies who want war at all costs its just a mad mad world and its doomed!!!

Bestoink Dooley
Bestoink Dooley
10 years ago

Was watching a news video clip of an ignor@#t, ugl** black woman and her 15 kids subsisting on welfare and food stamps. She was furious that she didn't get more handouts:"Somebody gonna pay for dis!" she yelled. This is a good example of why the planet is doomed.

Dan Ro
Dan Ro
10 years ago

I am shocked that there can be people out there who don't see the problem with over population and finite resources. NO, we don't have infinite natural resources and no we can't feed an unlimited amount of people. Hopefully, the human race survives long enough to actually become conscious in all respects.

bumpercrop
bumpercrop
11 years ago

This was a big mainstream TV public introduction to the scientific probabilities of overpopulation and plastic combined on a finite space. It is animated in a creepy way. The family is projected from now current time, into the next ninety years. Some interpret this doc as propaganda for global warming and overpopulation. But I think it is merely the science of exponential mathematics and culture.

Don Kanis
Don Kanis
11 years ago

It will take disasters of absolutely unprecedented scale before they will make any changes to oil company profits, and when they do they will force us to pay an unimaginable price.

Teresa Sumrall
Teresa Sumrall
11 years ago

Contraception should be free and freely available for all humans, the religious stand in the way of that, not the one per cent.

POZZIMYSTIC
POZZIMYSTIC
12 years ago

Everything has to do with mismanagement of resources. There is plenty of room for everybody. Bottom line, there is more than enough for our needs. Look to our leaders who are greedy.

Rocky Racoon
Rocky Racoon
12 years ago

When you don't have winter in Canada your on a different planet. it will not be the end of the century We have already passed the tipping point but not the point of no return. We will be their by 2020 if we don't change things now. If we change things now we can avert coming extinction as a species-allthough with Fukishima that might not be possible. This is not pessimism it is realism. Don't let the masters of the universe re arrange the chairs on the titanic with their bandaid solutions; We need to put best practices in place now and we know what they are in fact we have a variety of solutions as we should have. First is political change for that a General Strike is necessary. Advocate for this where ever you live on the planet. Organize with labour when you go on strike the money machine stops-that is the only thing that gets their attention-protests mean nothing.
Strike means everything.
RR

Boris Fliguinskikh
Boris Fliguinskikh
12 years ago

Hrshoer, you're no scientist. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Global climate change is one of the best proven theories in the history of science, but like evolution is is constantly "challenged" by small minded fools such as yourself. All you provide is anecdotal evidence, which is meaningless. Have you ever been in a lab or studied anything? Have you taken place in these studies? Do you even understand how the Earth climate works and the history of the earth's climate? I bet not. How can you possibly deny the dozens of credible studies, performed in different ways using different mechanics, that CLEARLY show that our earth's temperature is on the rise despite the fact that natural phenomena cannot be fully responsible? If you have mysterious peer reviewed study sitting in you attic, I would really love to read it. Open a damn book, honestly, and learn some respect for the people who study science, you small minded fool.

Hrshoer
Hrshoer
12 years ago

I just watched it this morning on the Histort channel. I knew from the start it was going to be full of liberal propoganda. In the late 60s and a teen at the time, they were saying we were headed into another "Ice Age".....I must have slept through it!!!! Damn Teenagers!!!
So what's to say that this isn't just a cycle that the earth goes through every couple of hundred years. There was a Documentry in the last few years "The Littlest Iceage" from back in the 1600s where the earth went through a cooling period that lasted 30 years and that too caused famine.
We all want clean water and air, and wish that there was peace on earth and free healthcare and whiskey. So maybe we all should try our best to be green and all that, but we're a little sick and tired of being pummeled as the bad guys in all this. The US is always portrayed as the bad guy Poluting the air, causing terrorism, starting wars, depleating the oceans, and bird poop on your windshield.
Yep, lets all put those CFL bulbs in our lights, then drive past the industrial sites and see all the buildings lit up. How about telling KMart, Walmart, and all the factories that are closed at night to shut off most of the lights in the parking lot, and the ones that light up their facade far from the doors where someone might want to break in. That would be such a big decision to make "Al,,, it's your job to shut off the lights".

The Last Zombie
The Last Zombie
12 years ago

Here is the FOX News side for all of you: Activist judges, dividing America, George Soros, Saul Alinsky, Biased Liberal Media, Job Creators, Liberal Lie, The War on Drugs, The War on Terror, Weapons of Mass Destruction, entitlement programs, Socialism, Communism, Anarchism, Marxist,
intellectual elite, faith and values, Marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman, un-American, Free market principles, Let the Free market Decide, Limited government, Deregulation, Science . . . It's just a Theory, Global Warming is a good thing because you will get to wear shorts more often!!!

Raptor jones
Raptor jones
12 years ago

Quite enjoy the odd docudrama, this one was interesting if disturbing. Embedding disabled at part 3 though/

Keith Parker
Keith Parker
12 years ago

This is the most liberal biased propoganda film I have ever seen,, I had to look to find out if they renamed Al Gore's movie in order to get more people to watch it!! What a load of crap! Yeah,, sure,,as soon as they get to New York city all the world is rosy again and things are better!! If any of these scenarios were to come about, New York City is going to be a zoo and most definitely not safe to travel to.. It's barely acceptable for humans now! This is so liberally biased it might even win an academy award or a nobel prize for the producers!! Totally laughable.

fair_go
fair_go
12 years ago

So, if the ice on greenlaand is melting, we are looking at a new iceage

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

Not much to do to resolve this.
Most if not all investments done on planet earth, are done on the purpose of taking over competitors. Competitor by any means.
When they'll get to the river, they'll build the bridge.

If it any of this ever happen, I'll be gone anyhow.
All things must pass, I guess?
Some said the dead line was 50 years back, some other in 1984, 2012 and so on while other say on an every day basis that it'll be tomorrow.

It rather looks as some are carrying a guilt on their conscience. Public confession is no religion though? As far as I know?

Pierre.

Pauline Carr
Pauline Carr
12 years ago

I agree crab, watch if your bored only.

Crab_Nebula
Crab_Nebula
12 years ago

This is more propaganda... when I was little (late70s early 80s), my generation was being told this no-future propaganda, but then it was "The Rapture" the year 2000 seemed unimaginable, and the "End of Days" was an easy sell for the masses. Then of course, it didnt happen, and Y2k was a joke.... before me it was nuclear holocaust...remeber all that fear mongering?
People need to be scared so now we got new stuff, while it lasts (usually a decade) The only true reality here, is that 85% of the worlds population is r*tarded in their own unique ways.

Antonio Lopez Jr
Antonio Lopez Jr
13 years ago

I am a soldier who fought for OIL and the right to destroy our beloved Earth. I am so sorry. But the Earth will shake the human race off of it like "Dust in the Wind". I am so sorry to my children. I was a culprit in the demise of humanity. I am so sorry.

Antonio Lopez Jr
Antonio Lopez Jr
13 years ago

I am crushed at how illiterate/not ignorant, but illiterate so many are. I appologize Mitch-Johnson. The older gennerations are the scum that put us here to play catch up. When have you heard any of them say they were wrong or that they are sorry for being so dumb. It's funny how all of the intellects are not afraid to post their names and the nay sayers hide behind accronyms and tag names. They should hide. thankfully they'll die soon. They eat too many potato chips and smoke too many cigarettes any way and no one will remember them because they accomplished nothing within their life times any way.

Avaritia
Avaritia
13 years ago

Typical Amerikan denial. Put your hands over your eyes and ears and claim that because they can't see it, it either doesn't exist or is not happening. For whatever it's worth by the time Amerikans wake up from their fluoride-induced stupor (if they ever do!), it will be entirely too late.

Joe
Joe
13 years ago

no real talk of population growth. American, we to often think it is all about us. The Chinese will be the global leader. The one with the gold, calls the tune. Maybe by that time we will be third behind the Indians. We will hit the breaking point, and then the bottle neck.

Finn
Finn
13 years ago

weird, that Americans don't change until it's too late, while many European countries (scandianavia, germany) are already trying to get independent from fossil fuels very actively

(this documentary is hilariously over the top though, global warming won't "strike" in 100 years)

henrymart81
henrymart81
13 years ago

ahh more global warming bs.. while my city is having one of the coldest years in recent times.. Now solar power.. are you kidding me? Do you know how inefficient solar power is? I can't watch any more of this.

Jaak Wassmuth
Jaak Wassmuth
13 years ago

World Leaders? Who's interests do world leaders act on? Experts? Really? In the patent office in Washington DC are buried the ideas and solutions that experts in days gone by. Tesla for example. There are so many ways for us to stop using oil it overwhelms. The oil industry does not want these ideas to see the light of day. Money. If the USA did not spend 40% of its budget on war, we would have the funds to develop alternatives to burning hydrocarbons but we would have to stop manufacturing weapons that are sold globally. These people would have to get new jobs. WE are not going to do that folks. The hubris of humanity and the psychopaths that governments, corporations and religions are run by are not going to suddenly become humble or reflective. They think they are smarter than nature despite evidence to the contrary.
What is the motivation for this film? Fear? Who made this film? What outcome did they hope to have from making it?
I have suspicions about that. Buy Seeds and plant them. You will not have to wait 100 years for this to play out.

Facety Jeff
Facety Jeff
13 years ago

Pretty much all the fresh water is usuable for consumption, alaska, greenland, north pole, south pole, we can melt them down and drink them. heck we can desalinate the oceans, we ain't going to run out of water. We can even find naturally occuring hydrogen and mix it with oxygen in the air. When the sun goes out we are all screwed, hopefully man will have mastered inter galatic space travel in a couple billion years when that happens

mendy ha
mendy ha
13 years ago

@ HelpGaia
The sea? You do you that it isn't drinkable. About 3% of the world's water is freshwater, but less than 1% is usable for consumption. Freshwater will become the new oil.
You will be the first in line to be cull.

David Foster
David Foster
13 years ago

Hehe... Never have I seen such a determined campaign of denial than in this comment section. Enjoy the future, kiddies!!