The world is facing a crisis as humanity consumes more resources than the Earth can provide, and the planet’s wealth is unequally distributed. Researchers from the Universities of Maryland and Minnesota have drawn drastic conclusions from this situation, predicting the downfall of humanity. The scientists have identified five risk factors for advanced civilizations: energy consumption, climate change, water supply, agricultural development, and population growth. These factors can lead to two devastating developments for a civilization: overloading nature through excessive resource consumption and simultaneous unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and poor.
The researchers are skeptical about the potential for technological progress to save humanity. While technology can save resources and use raw materials more efficiently, the researchers believe that technological progress will also increase resource consumption by those who can afford it. The political and economic elites who benefit from the current system and wealth distribution are blocking the collapse that could be avoided. The researchers emphasize that even one of the two reasons could lead to the collapse of a society: exploitation of natural resources or economic stratification.
The researchers plan to expand their methodology to analyze the causes and consequences of our lifestyle more precisely. They want to examine different states with different policies and their effects more closely. They also want to differentiate between renewable and non-renewable resources to get a more accurate picture. The researchers emphasize that we should at least try to delay the downfall of humanity by using resources sustainably, using alternative energy sources, and distributing resources more fairly in society.
