• Question: When will the world end? And should we be worried?

    Asked by Beng to Pete, Natalie, Keith, Abbey, Aaron on 10 Nov 2015. This question was also asked by Leonard hofstader, Lewis Clarke.
    • Photo: Keith Franklin

      Keith Franklin answered on 10 Nov 2015:

      Probably in about 5 billions years time, but you shouldn’t be worried as there is nothing you can do about it…………

    • Photo: Aaron Boardley

      Aaron Boardley answered on 10 Nov 2015:

      The fate of the planet earth depends on what happens to the sun, which we can predict based on what has happened to other stars. In about 5 billion years, the sun will expand into a ‘red giant’, and it’s possible the earth will be swallowed up by the sun then.

      Should we be worried about this? No…it’s so far in the future it won’t affect us. However, I have to confess things like this used to really worry me, as they seemed so significant and I felt so helpless.

      I think our main concerns should be with changes to the world, rather than the end of the world. For example, climate change will not end the world but it does affect the temperatures and sea levels which will really affect life on it, so I think this is more worth concentrating on (though I still wouldn’t ‘worry’!)

    • Photo: Natalie Garrett

      Natalie Garrett answered on 13 Nov 2015:

      If you mean when the planet will cease to exist, that is when our sun dies in 5 billion years (as the others have mentioned). But if you mean when will humans die out, if we don’t do something about climate change, pollution and using up our natural resources, it might be a lot sooner than that. In terms of being worried, we should be worried about not looking after our planet properly – you can help by recycling and encouraging other people to behave in an eco-friendly way.

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