Armageddon, the Apocalypse, the 2012 end of days prophecy, or any other doomsday scenarios are all entirely possible but have been predicted by humans, at nearly all stages throughout history.

It is true that the Earth will one day come to an end through entirely natural means, perhaps by a large enough asteroid, another planetary collision, or the eventual enlarging of the sun.

Perhaps our solar system will come too near a black hole or some alien race will blow our planet up for sport. All of these things are possible, but, until we can see, with direct scientific evidence, that the end is near, I find little to no reason to fear such scenarios.

It is true that our fragile computer-based civillization could be thwarted by magnetic pole shifts, which, it appears, happens every so often in geological history. It is true that a large enough solar event or flare could wipe out much of our technology. And, I do not doubt that a great number of events could destroy the properties that make human life or much of life, possible on Earth.

If we are creating such scenarios, such as by altering the composition of our atmosphere with greenhouse gasses as in climate change theories, then something should be done as soon as possible but it may well be too late and/or humans may be incapable of changing their ways soon enough to avert disaster.

But, none of these things mean we should stop appreciating each moment we have here because anyone one of us could go at any moment by any number of means. Nuclear war is always possible.

Earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, volcanoes and other normal disasters occur all the time and any one of our regions or cities or continents could be taken out quite instantly in geological terms.

I see no reason why we should take the Mayan calendar's end seriously as a warning for the end of human civilization. Perhaps they ran out of room on their stone wheels or this marks not an end but a change. Perhaps all apocalyptic theories are more about changes than ends.

If life as we knew it ended or even if all life on Earth were to end, does this necessitate that consciousness or the possibility for life ends as well? Doesn't evolution itself build in death and destruction to each carrier or, perhaps all the carriers, of the genetic code? Perhaps viruses and epidemics are ways of self-correcting the imbalances of an overabundant species.

If humans can find a way, in sufficient time, to colonize other planets here or in other solar systems or in other galaxies, could we outlast all possible ends?

Could we find new universes or new dimensions in which to live infinitely or eternally? Perhaps this is already part of the system and we simply can not observe it with our science. Perhaps all things are finite and it is not the amount but the quality of the time we spend here that matters.

Immortality could be seen as a curse after a while if there was no escape. This is not to say we should not take care of our home while we are here, but how many of us can even sufficiently take care of our bodies, our cars, or our actual abodes?

Everything falls apart. The apex of disentropy is the emergence of a being that experiences and can know that it is experiencing. Unless this being, perhaps us, invents a way to escape the planet, then we are certainly, eventually, at least, doomed to be destroyed by a cosmic event.

And, if that doesn't get us, we'll probably do ourselves in given our violent and suicidal tendencies as a species. But, this is perhaps all for the best because humans haven't proven themselves very friendly or cooperative as a whole. While nice human examples exist, most humans are little more than talking apes, ready to fling their poo at whatever comes their way.

We should remember that the Earth is not humans' alone and this forgetting is part of the quickening of our demise as a species because we are part of a larger chain of life systems.

Perhaps we could use technology to engineer the atmosphere without a single forest or ocean creature, but this certainly doesn't seem like the best alternative. Though, if it became feasible and was all that was left in terms of options, I'm sure humans would attempt it.

I don't think humans are all that exists in terms of intelligent species in the universe. I don't think anything lasts forever- at least not in material or solid form. Humans, as I have said elsewhere, are a sometimes violent and greedy species just like our near relatives- the primates. We are also capable of great love and creativity despite all of these things. We are, at first, innocent and pure.

Then, society corrupts us and makes us liars and thieves. Some few can be saints and some other few can be capable of horrific evil. Most of us are just humans- flawed and ignorant but generally trying to be decent beings simply attempting to live with what we've been given in our environment.

If the end came one second from now, at least we were here and we experienced this human experience. If it all went away in a flash of energy, it could never erase the existence of the past. No, the sun might not rise tomorrow and this silly assumption has kept humans plugging away for some thousands of years.

Should we make it to the hundreds of thousands or millions of years as a species, we will be nothing like we are now; and this will be for the best. It would be wonderful if we could take the vicious animal out of the human being but the knowledge of how to do so without ruining us is far, far beyond our current understanding.