General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: GLOBAL EXTINCTION WITHIN ONE HUMAN LIFETIME? [View all]AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Realistically, it isn't all that likely, by any stretch, that First World society will totally disappear. AGW, unlike, say, a nuclear war in the 1980s, just wouldn't be able to cause that on its own. Now, granted, there will probably be complicating factors as well, such as societal breakdown(varying by country), terrorism, etc., and even these probably wouldn't accomplish this, or at least not in the short term.
As for us being the first draft of intelligent life? Well, that's really just an opinion, and nothing more at this point. Could there be others after us? Sure! After all, this planet is going to be here for another 4 billion years or so, and that's plenty of time to see the potential for other intelligent life to develop(well, at least for some species. No hope for primates, though, IMO, they're pretty much screwed in that regard, even the higher ones. My bet's on dolphins or birds being the first after us humans. ).