"The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire," a thought-provoking book by British paleontologist Henry Gee, delves into the reasons behind humanity's precarious position in the world. This award-winning publication reveals that humans have significantly contributed to their own potential downfall. The book outlines various factors leading to this peril, including over-reliance on agriculture, drastic lifestyle changes, and the domestication of animals. Furthermore, the human species' inability to cope with diseases is highlighted as another contributing factor to its possible extinction.
Henry Gee's book draws attention to the insufficient genetic variation within the human species. As he explains, "In fact, there is more genetic variation in a troupe of chimpanzees in Africa than in the entire human species." This lack of genetic diversity stems from humanity's expansion from a small group of founders, resulting in limited resilience against environmental and biological challenges. Gee estimates that humans have approximately 10,000 years left before extinction becomes inevitable.
The book also examines demographic shifts, noting that the global population growth rate peaked at 2.24% annually in 1964 but has since declined to just 0.88%. Meanwhile, the number of people over 65 is expected to increase from 1.7 billion to 2.37 billion by 2100, while the number of children under five will decrease from 681 million to 401 million during the same period. According to Gee, "The human population will sink to a level that is ultimately unsustainable and extinction will beckon."
Henry Gee proposes a bold solution to humanity's predicament: space colonization. He echoes the mindset of next-generation space explorers like Elon Musk, who envisions a permanent human colony on Mars by 2050. Gee suggests that if humans expand into the Universe, they could potentially "live — potentially — for millions of years."
"My proposed solution is the colonization of space, whether the surfaces of other bodies in the Solar System such as the Moon or Mars, or the interiors of modified asteroids, or completely artificial orbiting habitats," Henry Gee states.
Gee argues that humanity's trajectory towards extinction is due to its dominance as a species. He asserts that "we are far closer to the end of times than people realise." However, he maintains hope that with deliberate efforts, humanity can avert this fate.
"If Homo sapiens is going to take its long-term future seriously, it must start now," he urges.
The book further emphasizes that certain inevitable trends may lead to humanity's decline without external catalysts like pandemics or climate change accelerating the process. Gee notes, "It will appear to do this of its own accord, with help required neither from geopolitical tinkering, nor from pandemics, global wars, climate change, rampaging artificially intelligent killer robots, the invasion of malevolent aliens, although such things might make the decline happen faster."
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