THE BRIGHTONIAN

Different ways the world could end

he world will end. It may not be in 2012 or even within the next five thousand years, but it will end. Nobody can be positive about the way it will end, but the two most likely ways are through astronomical events or humanitys use of nuclear weapons. Possibly the most popular belief on how the world will end is through an asteroid. An asteroid can be large enough to cause a wave of debris that would consume Earths entire atmosphere in darkness and dust, crippling plant life and therefore the planets entire food chain. An asteroid may even be large enough to completely knock Earth out of orbit. Another thought is that the sun will expand or turn into a black hole. This idea is also referred to as a gamma ray burst. Expansion of the sun would create fatal temperatures and a black hole would completely wipe out existence. Some people believe that humans can even create apocalyptic black holes. A European machine, the Large Hadron Collider, undergoes the process of colliding high energy ions that some believe may cause man-made black holes that could grow until they sucked in everything. This idea seems highly unlikely; however, given the properties of black holes, it does not appear to be completely impossible. Yellowstone has a massive volcano with deadly potential. If it were to erupt, vegetation on Earth and dramatic decrease of global climate could wipe out the majority of life on earth. Humanity may also cause its own demise. Due to recent advancements in nuclear technology, and the history of the Cold War, nuclear war doesnt seem out of the picture. Nuclear war could easily lead to the sudden destruction of the planet. Other than nuclear advancements, humans have also made impressive advancements with artificial intelligence. Watch the movie I, Robot and observe the consequences that robots had on the human race. This situation is a possibility if we develop artificial intelligence to the extreme. Hundreds of years ago, Europes population had a significant chunk cut out of it from the Black Plague. Much like the movie Contagion, a worldwide outbreak of a tolerant, powerful virus or bacteria could completely wipe out humanity, and nobody would see it coming. As ridiculous as it may seem, some of the previously mentioned disasters could essentially cause the earth to turn into a giant snowball! If global temperature were to decrease due to an event like an asteroid, ice and snow-like substances could develop all over the planet. This bright ice would reflect warmth from the sun back into the atmosphere, putting earth at a constant state of frozen equilibrium. Though more unlikely than any previously mentioned idea, an alien apocalypse is also possible. Countless movies have been made about aliens raiding earth for resources. If an alien civilization were to have the technology to reach earth, yet be in need of resources, then they would have no use of keeping life on earth around. Story by: Seth Armentrout

2 0 1 2 Safest locations
1. Cheyenne Mountain Complex- (Old NORAD) -Located just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado -Built during the Cold War and was used for government operations -Self-sufficient -Can protect people from biological warfare, chemical warfare, or nuclear fallout 2. Downtown Denver -Located in Denver, Colorado -Surrounded by mountains -A mile above the level, so in case of rising water -Located near a large oil reserve 3. New NORAD -Located in El Paso County, Colorado at the Peterson Air Force Base -Short for North American Aerospace Defense Command -The Alternate Command Center is located at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, which used to be the original headquarters 4. Fort Carson -Located in El Paso Country, Colorado -40 miles north of Pueblo -Holds the 4th Infantry Division and the 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) 5. DIA -Denver International Airport can provide safe shelter, security, and food in a national emergency. -It is in a remote location away from the city. 6. Air Force Academy -Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado -At the bottom of Rampart Range -Used as a place to educate and train individuals to become officers in the Air Force -Built in 1958 7. Buckley Air Force Base -Located a little East of Aurora -Contains active duty soldiers in the National Guard, Reserve, and retired personal -Has global surveillance and missiles 8. Police Stations -There is usually a police station in every town -Officers are trained to deal with emergency situations 9. Your basement -A basement is a good location for personal safety. -It is a good place to store food and other necessities -You can have the comfort and security of staying at your house. 10. A mall -There is a surplus of food located at the mall. -Nice and big, which allows for excellent hiding spots -In the case of emergency, large buildings can provide safety and can be a good gathering point.

December 4, 2012

January 1, 2000, a predicted Y2K computer bug was to wipe out all technology and in turn human society would cease to exist and function properly.

September 10th, 2008, many believe the Large Hadron Collider experiment would cause planet-eating black holes that would destroy the world.

December 21, 2012 mesoamerican calender ends, predicted end of the world possibly through a super nova, zombie apacolypse, nuclear war, geomagnetic reversal, or several other ways.

May 2, 1994, Bah sect predicted that a nuclear bomb would drop on New York and trigger a battle of Armageddon.

November 29, 2003, The Japanese predicted that the world would end in nuclear war.

August-October, 2011, fears that Comet Eleninwould collide with the earth and end the world.

EDITORS IN CHIEF: ALEXA HESS AND EMILIO ZENTENO

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