AP Portfolio Entry #1
Considering the past and our current conditions a.k.a. the present, I think that future civilizations would either progress into something better or for a much worse turn. It depends on our current generations if they will take care of our world and make the right choices. Like for example, if we continue to make the wrong choices, our entire world could go into World War 3.
World War 3 could become a possibility due to things such as nuclear weaponry and such. The reason why I am mentioning nuclear weaponry is because that there are countries in the world that are developing such kinds of technology. Like North Korea vowed recently to nuke or attack to any sanctions or U.S. provocations. Also North Korea was punished by the United Nations for conducting nuclear tests and weapons programs. Due to this, I think that if the world is supposedly in a state of peace and goodwill, why is there a country that is developing such weapons of mass destruction? World War 3 was speculated by some to be continuations of World War 2 and of the Cold War, which was between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Though there were others who said that the Cold War is World War 3 already. Also there were others who said that the cause for World War 3 is due to religious reasons.
Another possibility that could happen to our civilization is that we will stop progressing and instead regress. We could start to regress due to numerous wars and global warming. Because of wars, there will be famine and disease and deaths of millions of lives and pollution. Because of global warming, there will be droughts, illnesses, starvation and etc. People could start resorting to means like stealing, murder, assassinations and etc. just to feed themselves or live. We could suddenly start going back to being cave men! This is because that we will soon fall into our animalistic instincts to hunting like animals and living in caves and wearing animal skins because of the lack of technology. There are a number of films and literature that shows this possibility.
Another possibility could be that the world will be divided into sectors after becoming one with Russia or some country that starts attacking other nations and conquering them. Like back in the days of conquest. There could be one nation that starts to build weapons like what North Korea did to. And then after they have sufficiently created weapons like no other has and are very strong, politically, economically and the military as well. They could start annexing other nations and annex other nations after annexing some other nations until they have annexed the whole world. Like we could all go and turn into communism or etc.
Another possibility is that the entire world could die due to an epidemic or disease like A (H1N1) or something else. There can be causes of this. One is that the virus or disease can be natural, like it just evolved and came to be or that nature caused it. Another is that it can be a man-made virus which. Usually man-made viruses are created for biological warfare. There have been such instances already such as during the World War 1, Germany pursued an ambitious biological warfare program. Small teams of saboteurs were supplied with anthrax by the German General Staff. In Finland, Scandinavian freedom fighters placed them in stables of Russian horses in 1916. It was also supplied to the German military attaché in Bucharest which was employed against livestock destined for Allied service. Also during the World War 2 and Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army conducted human experimentation on thousand, mostly Chinese, Russian and American prisoners. In military campaigns, the Japanese Army used biological weapons on Chinese soldiers and civilians. For example, in 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force bombed Ningbo with ceramic bombs filled with fleas carrying the bubonic plague. However, some operations were ineffective due to inefficient delivery systems, using disease-bearing insects rather than dispersing the agent as an aerosol cloud. But there are treaties that ban or restrict biological warfare such as the Geneva Protocol and the Biological Weapons Convention. Though the Geneva Protocol states that it prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons, it doesn’t say anything about production, storage or transfer of such weapons. Succeeding treaties, such as the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, covered these aspects.
One that is natural and extremely deadly disease could turn into a pandemic. There have been numerous pandemics throughout history and time. Having one in the future that could wipe out civilizations is not improbable. For example, the Great Plague of London which occurred during 1665-1666 was a massive outbreak of disease in England that killed an estimated amount of 100,000 people, 20% of London’s population. The disease was historically identified as bubonic plague transmitted through a flea vector. The 1665-1666 epidemic was on a far smaller scale than the earlier "Black Death" pandemic, a virulent outbreak of disease in Europe between 1347 and 1353. The Bubonic Plague was only remembered afterwards as the "great" plague because it was one of the last widespread outbreaks in England. Another example of a pandemic could be Smallpox. It is caused by the Variola Virus. The disease killed around 400,000 Europeans per year during the closing years of the 18th Century. During the 20th Century, Smallpox was estimated to have been responsible 300-500 million deaths. However there were also a number of unknown diseases that were extremely serious but suddenly just disappeared. Since the diseases have vanished, no studies regarding the causes or behaviors have been made. The cause of the English Sweat in 16th Century England, which struck people down in an instant was more greatly feared than even the Bubonic Plague, is still unknown. Though it was suspected that the English Sweat is actually a Hantavirus. It started in 1485 and vanished in 1551 afterwards.
Another possibility is that the world will progress so much that one day it would be possible to live in space. People will have created the technology and means that would allow life in space as well as travel throughout the universe. We could invent space ships that could travel faster like warp drive. Then using these space vessels, we could travel across the universe and discover that other life forms aside from the ones living on Earth exist in other places in the universe. Once we come in contact with another species, we could form alliances with them or conquer them. Though it would be preferable if we just make friends and form an alliance with them since conquering them seems very hostile and mean. Plus it’s not nice to try and take away the freedom of an entire planet by enslaving them or making them our own. It’s just wrong. Also what if they turn against us? If they do turn against us, then it would turn into an interplanetary war. This is very bad since they might have an alliance forged long ago before we conquered them that we have not discovered but I think we’d have discovered that other race already. Since we kept conquering other planets, we’d turn into some kind of intergalactic empire. But we’d get overthrown one day probably. I foresee this because empires never last. History shows us this. Anyhow if we lose the war, there is a chance things might escalate to all planets becoming equals or the human race could be enslaved forever.
Another possibility could be