Armageddon Now!

So, we're all asking ourselves: might our entire civilization and maybe human life itself be destroyed by a giant asteroid strike? Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds gives it to us straight over at Tech Central Station: Yes, it might.

Comments

[Steve in CO]

We take so much nonsense too seriously, and the really serious we treat as nonsense. Is this natural selection at work, and will it clear the way for another species to "inherit the Earth?"

🙂

[Ron Hardin]

John & Ken (KABC) covered end by asteroid on July 29, 1999 (76kb) real audio, sort of a good news bad news thing.

[Pavel]

House of Representatives has passed legislation designed to encourage amateur astronomers to look for asteroids that might threaten Earth, by making awards of up to $3000 each.

By the time the government gets your money to you, all economic transactions will be fostered by the exchange of human skulls as legal tender.

[Mark A.]

From the article:

"As I've written before, the earth is too fragile a basket to hold all of our eggs."

Is this guy claiming credit for a Heinlein quote?

[Rick C]

Nope--if you follow his links, you'll see in a previous article he directly attributed the quote to Heinlein.

[Gene Berkman]

I think I can sleep more easily tonight, knowing Glenn Reynolds is worried about an asteroid striking earth.

This Reynolds guy supported a pre-emptive attack on Iraq because of Hussein's WMD and links to Al Qaeda. If he warns us about an asteroid, what are the odds that this is another fantasy of his.

[dj of raleigh]

I wonder if the sun will implode
or an asteroid will strike first?
Maybe an asteroid will hit the moon,
and a rain of debri will fly to earth.
Maybe a genetic experiment will go wrong,
and all the grain will die off, like the movie,
or a genetic mistake will unleash an organism
that will comsume all the free oxygen,
sucking dry the oceans while they are at it.
A vigorous plague, a world famine, a flood...

All people have to do is report the facts,
that an asteroid of that size came that close.
They can imagine or ask for the rest of the story.
Too much chicken, too fast, little gets people numb.

[Andrew Lynch]

Gene Berkman, I'm glad somebody around here is on to Reynolds.

[Glenn Reynolds]

Jay Manifold has noted evidence that asteroid impacts may be a bigger risk than previously thought.

[Andrew Lynch]

Should a major strike take place, it would likely mean a major setback to civilization, coupled with millions -- perhaps billions -- of deaths. That's worth doing something about, even if the likelihood appears small.

Define small. Smaller than the likelihood that Iraq posed a threat to the U.S.? I'm comfortable with those odds.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Get me off this rock, quick!