Reasons To Drink – 6 More Ways That Civilization Could End

We all drink for different reasons. And one of the reasons why we drink at the American Craft Beer compound is to take the “edge” off of a sometimes troubling and unruly world. And if we didn’t already have enough to worry about – we do now – because an Oxford study recently came out about likely ways that our world could end – and we don’t like any of them. This study, which first came to our attention via the Financial Times, was so depressing that we thought it best to break it up into two parts

So here are 6 more ways that our civilization could end in the next 100 years – and if you’ve not yet checked out Part I – you probably should.

1. Nuclear War – While some say the threat of nuclear annihilation is less a worry than it was in the last century – these bombs still exist – and they are not going away – and that alone is reason to drink.

2. Global Pandemics – If you think the civilized world really understands how to keep deadly pandemics like the recent Ebola outbreak under control – you’d better think again. The Oxford study suggests that global epidemics with catastrophic consequences are not just a possibility going forward – they’re almost an inevitability. Yikes!

3. Major Asteroid Impact – You think we have a plan for this? Researchers warn that “an asteroid impact larger than 5km in size would destroy an area the size of the Netherlands,” and that’s a problem (just ask the dinosaurs – oh that’s right – there no longer are any). “Should an impact occur the main destruction will not be from the initial impact, but from the clouds of dust projected into the upper atmosphere,” the study warns and that could screw up the climate and biosphere, and create all kinds of political instability.

4. Synthetic Biology – This is the mad scientist or terrorist scenario – but it could also be as innocent as some researcher’s unanticipated mistake. An engineered pathogen that targets humans or our ecosystem could fuck things up royally – and its consequences might even be worse than any natural pandemic. (See #2)

5. Nanotechnology – Ultra-precise manufacturing on an atomic scale is a reality…And although this evolving technology could create materials that enrich our existence in the near future, it could also be used to create frightening new weapons, the study suggests. (See #4 and maybe even #2)

6. Unknown Consequences – The study concludes with an almost existential warning of “unknown risks and their probabilities.” That’s right…it’s a call to worry about things we can’t even imagine yet! We’re not sure if the zombie apocalypse or a biblical rapture that decimates 90% of the world’s population falls under the “unknown consequences” umbrella, but both seemed important to bring up anyway.