Meanwhile, academics have both poured scorn on the likelihood of a Dec. 21 apocalypse and taken the opportunity to warn of human beings' reckless wastefulness with Earth's resources. If left unchecked, that is the most probable cause of the species' demise, they say.
"The Mayan prediction falls apart immediately in front of astronomy," says Liu Yujuan, a doctor with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
With an asteroid smashing into Earth touted as one possible cause of the apocalypse, she critiques the chances of such a collision ever happening. Telescopes stationed worldwide are intensely monitoring the movements of celestial bodies. If an asteroid is found dashing toward us, measures would be taken to change its track, the academic advises.
"Human beings will only be beaten down by themselves," she says, calling on people to cut excessive energy consumption and turn to new energy sources for sustainable development.
Bone-chilling cold, but lots of fun!
Feedback
RSS
