The fad behind the apocalypse

Julie Lord
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Opinion

Lately, it seems we've been hearing a lot about the end of the world. Global warming and carbon emissions, terrorism, foreboding Mayan prophecies about 2012, "Cloverfield." Everywhere we turn, someone is telling us we are on the brink of extinction. With daily reminders of human frailty on the news and in our entertainment, how are we supposed to take these warnings seriously?

If people really thought their SUVs could destroy the planet, they wouldn't be driving them. If the population of the world thought the Mayan prophecy held true, there would probably be widespread panic.

The fact is most people don't buy into apocalyptic theories. But then why is popular culture flooded with movies and television shows promising just that?

Author Alan Weisman recently wrote a book titled "The World Without Us." In an interview he gave to Time magazine, Weisman asserted the book was in response to this end-of-the-world trend. Rather than focusing on how everyone will die and the world will be destroyed, Weisman writes about what the world would be like if the human race disappeared - and according to him, it is pretty amazing.

Weisman realizes that with the consistent onslaught of apocalypse warnings, another such prediction would be white noise that reached a very limited audience. What he is hoping to accomplish with this book is to show people the impact we are having on the planet and how far we've strayed from the natural order.

So what would the world do if humans suddenly disappeared? There is really no way to know for sure. However, we can make some assumptions: Obviously, there would be no terrorism or carbon emissions from cars. Big cities like New York would revert to a natural state, though it would take many years. But most importantly, Earth would be allowed to heal itself without the constant destruction imposed by humans.

Included in Weisman's book is an interview with the head of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, or VHEMT (pronounced "vehement," and they appear to be just that.) This movement is dedicated to encouraging people not to breed, so as to diminish the population and lead to the eventual extinction of the human race. Followers of this movement believe humans have lost their way and are a strictly negative influence on the world at large. They believe a world without humans is a beautiful vision.

Though I disagree with this philosophy, I suppose it's understandable that some people feel this way. After all, maybe a culture that constantly chooses to view its own demise as a form of entertainment is subconsciously bringing this upon itself. But surely there must be a way to solve our problems without burning civilization to the ground.

Maybe it is about time we start taking these warnings seriously - not because the threat of global terrorism is at an all-time high or Al Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize, but because we may just be able to better ourselves as individuals and as a species.

So how do we do it? Well, I think the first step is to relax. Just like New Year's resolutions - which by now have probably fallen by the wayside for many - making a drastic change overnight isn't going to do anyone any good. The human race probably isn't going to be wiped out by melting ice caps or nuclear enthusiasts. But perhaps by understanding Earth might be better off without us, we can help fix the planet we call home.

To quote T.S. Eliot, the world will most likely end not with a bang, but a whimper. If we could stop focusing on the impressive but unrealistic bangs they put in the movies, maybe we could begin to deal with reality.