The End of the World As We Know It

That's great, it starts with an earthquake,
birds and snakes, an aeroplane - Lenny Bruce is not afraid.

REM - It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

      Michael Stipe and the guys from Athens penned that catchy little tune way back in 1987. Reagan was president, the Soviets were definitely not our allies, and as far as anyone knew the Cold War could turn hot at any moment. Since the early '60's the world had lived in the shadow of the threat of nuclear destruction and nobody seemed to know or care about what we now have come to realize was the bigger threat, the REAL threat...the end of the Mayan calender on December 21st, 2012, which according to some folks means the world will be destroyed by some means or another. Oddly, the Mayans, who apparently knew of this disaster, failed to specify the exact nature of this event which leaves us no choice but to speculate, which Al Gore has been doing for some years ever since he found himself with time one his hands after inventing the internet. 

     Some suggest we will be destroyed in a great fiery conflagration brought on by a giant asteroid hitting the earth. Actually, according to Mayan legend and supported by today's science, this is a plausible scenario. The Mayans and other ancients believed the world has been destroyed four time so far, by water, wind, fire, or some earth event like an earthquake. The cycle ending in 2012,  supposedly the fifth and final cycle, may be brought to a close by the massive impact of a so far undetected gigantic asteroid which would unleash a devastation unseen on this planet since the time of the dinosaurs. The recent close call (by astronomical standards) with the asteroid 2011MD this month which passed earth at the cat's whisker distance of 7500 miles underscores that possibility. While not large enough to cause worldwide damage it was undetected until a month before the close encounter. Of course that wouldn't be much consolation if it decided to impact in your back yard.

     In the book of Revelations John writes that in the end times a blazing star strikes the earth poisoning the earth and darkening the sky. Nostradamus also predicted that sometime after 1999 a comet would impact the earth which would cause massive destruction and start WW III. A ten kilometer asteroid impacting earth would would release roughly 60 million megatons of energy. This would be about the amount produced by the simultaneous detonation of 100,000 nuclear warheads give or take 10,000 or so. Anyone surviving the initial impact would be challenged first off with finding uncontaminated water as the ash cloud formed by impact ejecta would produce contaminants which would settle into ground water. The ash cloud itself would choke out sunlight for a time possibly resulting in nuclear winter; plants would not grow, herbivores would starve followed soon thereafter by people, if the lack of oxygen produced by the plants didn't get them first. Not a pretty picture for sure. Hopefully we will be able to detect any future potential collision in time to take some kind of action like sending Robert Duvall in the space shuttle on an intercept course armed with a few nukes to knock it off course. Or better yet, send Al Gore.

     It's doubtful the Mayans had any secret knowledge of the future that modern science hasn't as yet been able to determine. There was an editorial cartoon a while back showing a Mayan stonemason chipping the date 12/21/2012 on the very last open spot on rock he was working on. A second Mayan fellow is observing and comments that future people are going to freak out when they see that. So that may be all there is to the so called Mayan prophecy...they just ran out of room on the rock.