Year 2012: End of the World

So by now I’m absolutely sure that basically everybody has heard the latest prognostication by frequent Rapture predictor Harold Camping. That is to say that he has, once again, adjusted his calculations to predict the date of Jesus’ return to Earth based on biblical prophecy and the notion that he can actually find data that allows him to accurately date much of anything from the biblical era. (Anybody who looks at how the Bible was compiled, or considers the immense challenge of historical record keeping in an era that is virtually pre-historical should already be laughing at Camping.)

This is not the first time Camping has made a prediction like this. He had originally predicted the Rapture would occur in September of 1994… we all know how that turned out. Which is to say, it didn’t, he was wrong, like so many before him, and so many after.

While Camping’s beliefs sound ludicrous to most, whether they self identify as Christian or not, that doesn’t stop them from receiving wide recognition, if not acceptance. Look at any social networking service, Twitter, Facebook, whatever, and I’d bet dollars to donuts that you’ll see at least one status update or tweet about the world ending tomorrow. (For those of you on the other side of the international dateline… sucks to be you, you have until “6 pm” so hold your loved ones close. Or start drawing up plans for how to work the neighborhood for the most phat lewt you can scavenge from your Raptured natives.) It’s big time news, even if it isn’t actually believed by many. And it shouldn’t be believed. Honestly, we should probably feel pity for those who do believe this kind of nonsense.

So come Sunday, when the world is still here, and we’re all still on it (save those of us who died from something other than Jesus beaming them up to have, do not pass dead) and we collectively wipe away the crumbs from our eyelashes, and look bleary eyed at the credit card bills, and mortgage payments, and cell phone bills that still sit, languidly, waiting for you to process them, because, hey, why spend the money if the world WAS ending? Maybe we’ll be wise enough to recognize that Patrick Geryl and Nancy Lieder are no more qualified, no more accurate, than Harold Camping has ever been.

I can only hope that one woefully obviously inaccurate doomsday prediction will bring a shot of cynicism to those so eager to believe in messages of dire import from beyond our own star system, or that the Egyptians somehow held the key for deciphering the Maya(n) calendar despite being separated by an ocean and a lack of vessels capable of navigating it. If I’m wrong, if Harold Camping is right, well, that’s okay too. I’ve already got my own lewt map drawn up. Besides, somebody will have to stick around to take care of my cat. She couldn’t make it on her own. Shame on anybody who is Raptured that also owns a pet. Shame.

There are still people trapped by debris in Japan and snake oil salesmen are already lining up to claim this tragedy is proof for whatever brand of crazy they happen to be selling. This all too normal, all too natural tragedy is being cited as the beginning of the end by more than one group of people who have found a way to make their money off the end of the world. So we’re going to take a time to look at the ravenous ghouls who are all to willing to cash in on people’s fear and panic. With that said, let’s look at 5 of the biggest lies, or liars, trying to cash in on Dec 21, 2012.

1. Patrick Geryl is the author of a number of books where he claims to explain the “impending disaster” using the “ancient secrets” of the Egyptians and Annunaki. Of course, this is utter bullshit. He’s selling books like they were iPods and using the profits to invest in a compound in Spain for himself and his followers. Or more likely, himself when Dec 22, 2012 rolls around and we’re all still here. He can just say “oops, must have been wrong” and retire to his mountainous Spanish villa. Poor guy.

2. Nancy Lieder first gained notoriety when she declared that an alien intelligence from the Zeta Reticuli cluster had warned her of impending disaster for all of Earth. First, it was the Hale-Bopp comet hiding something terrible. Then it was the impending arrival of Planet X in 2003. When Planet X did not arrive, it took virtually no time at all for Ms Lieder to change the arrival date for Armageddon to one which already had some footing in the popular consciousness, the “end” of the Maya(n) calendar, 2012. I imagine once Dec 22nd arrives, she’ll just pick a new date for our doom, and continue to operate her website and sell her books until the day she dies, or the world ends. Guess which one I’d bet on happening first.

3. The Maya(n) Calendar is obviously an inanimate object (in the same way the Gregorian calendar is an “object.”). It can not control who claims it as evidence for their own particular theory of doom and profit. Be it Patrick Geryl, Nancy Lieder, or any number of random people on Youtube, more and more people are pointing to this amazing act of time keeping and astronomy as some kind of monster just waiting for the opportunity to bring ruin to us all. But that kind of thinking is based entirely on a flawed understanding of the Maya(n) culture, and their calendar. There are a number of artifacts that include dates pointing to the next “cycle,” which is to say, the Maya(n) did not think their calender “ended” on Dec 21, 2012.
4. 

   Image by NuclearVacuum

   Planetary Alignment and/or Galactic Alignment, much like the Maya(n) calendar are both ideas that have been seized upon by multiple groups and multiple theories. These alignment claims usually assert that a rare astronomical event will occur that will imperil the Earth. Essentially there is nothing to them. NASA and the astronomy community at large point out that the described alignments either will not occur, or happen all the time over and over again. In short, there’s nothing to any claims of any kind of alignment of celestial bodies.

5. Prophecies, both biblical and those of people like Nostradamus, are also frequently cited by various 2012 theorists as proof of their theory. Their adherents will work feverishly to associate any real world event or tragedy with their prophecy of choice in an attempt to legitimize their own beliefs. Ultimately though, prophecies are easily fulfilled when one looks back on them from the future and has the luxury of including, or excluding, events for the sake of demonstrating the veracity of the prophecy. Nostradamus did not make any 2012 prophecy. Neither did the Maya(n) people or the Bible, actually. In fact, it’s hard to find a legitimate “2012 prophecy” that’s more than 20 or 30 years old.

There is no reason to worry about 2012. We have enough problems with managing our limited resources as is. Don’t be fooled by any of these lies, or the liars that use them. You have more important things to be concerned about.

It seems like everybody these days is talking about the earthquake in Japan, and with good reason. This was one of the largest earthquakes to be recorded in the area and its impact has been anything but minor. Not only was there damage from the initial seismic disturbance, but the following tsunami impacted coastal regions half way around the globe while devastating those closer to the epicenter.

There are all too many people crawling out of the woodwork to use this tragedy as proof of their own preferred “End of the World” scenario, and the worst part of such behavior is that it takes away precious energy that could be devoted to the real problems and questions that the Japanese earthquake has posed.

• People are in danger, and need help. While parts of Japan which were on the opposite side of the island, or inland, may be mostly intact, coastlines were ravaged and vital infrastructure has been compromised. Nuclear reactors are offline and countless people are without electricity. Rescue crews are still working constantly to dig through the rubble and debris for both victims and survivors. If you want to help, you can donate to the International Red Cross/Red Crescent here.
• Why is our ability to predict these events non-existent? It is no surprise to us anymore what causes earthquakes. When the energy stored along a fault line between tectonic plates exceeds a certain threshold, the plates grind and stutter against each other causing earthquakes and tsunamis. I understand that we have only had a standardized method of measuring these events for less than 100 years, but I personally can not help but ask if a few hundred million dollars spent on understanding our planet might have been better spent than an equivalent investment in bombs, or banker bailouts.
• How safe is nuclear energy, really? I will not deny being concerned about energy issues in general, and peak oil in particular. Nuclear energy has recently started regaining momentum as a possible solution since it was almost completely abandoned in the US after Three Mile Island. While there is plenty to fear from a meltdown, I get worried just trying to figure out what we’re supposed to do with the waste. I more than recognize the need to find sustainable energy, and quickly, but nuclear power is not a real solution to the problem.

We can learn a lot from the earthquake in Japan. We can face down serious questions about our energy. We can recognize that as much as we have learned in the last 100 years, we still have so much more to discover. Most importantly, we can learn that we are a durable and compassionate people capable of overcoming great adversity with the assistance of our fellow human beings.

There is a lot of speculation these days about the possibility of a global cataclysm in the next few years. Most of this attention is based on the Mayan calendar. December 21, 2012 is the supposed end of the Mayan long form calendar, but it is only the end of one epoch, not the end of time. This date has been popularized by the modern media, being featured in everything from History Channel specials to a major Hollywood blockbuster film. There is no shortage of people out there willing to cash in on the attention being given to this phenomenon, but sadly, personal gain all too often outweighs informed or reasonable analysis.

To start off with most of the people talking about the “Mayan’s 2012 prophecy” do not have a proper understanding of the long count Mayan Calendar. December 21, 2012 is not actually the end of the calendar, it is the end of the 13th b’ak’tun. We will be delving into the intricacies of the Mayan calendar in the future, but to keep it simple for now, even the Mayans predicted events to occur after the 13th b’ak’tun’s conclusion. Not even the fascinating culture who’s calendar has inspired much of this frenzy thought that this impending date would be the end of the world.

End times prophecies and fears are common. While the most recent and easily remembered is probably the threat of the Y2K virus, they are not a new or recent phenomenon. Even the belief in an impending Rapture and biblical End Times prophecies, a relatively new school of thought within Christianity, is essentially only a little over 100 years old in a religion with a history that spans two millenniums. All you have to do is look at accounts of the turn of the first millennium to find evidence of groups shouting about the impending end of the world, and that was a thousand years ago.

However, it is also true that a failing infrastructure has left large segments of the population at risk from perfectly normal natural disasters. The National Academy of Sciences did issue a statement in January of 2009 warning about potential issues to modern electrical and communication networks caused by solar flaring. Prophecies might not be anything to worry about, but that does not mean there are no dangers presented by our reliance on modern systems and how they would interact with the processes of our planet and solar system.

It is our goal to not only examine theories and risks that modern society might face in the near future, it is our intention to provide reasonable advice you can act upon to help protect your self and your family. With all of the hysteria about the end times in today’s culture it is comforting to know that you are actually doing something. The year 2012 is probably not going to be the end of the world. However, unless we as a civilization fail to prepare ourselves and our culture to adapt to the challenges we will be facing in the future the era of man on Earth may be coming to a close sooner than we think.

If I had a nickel for a every theory about how the world is going to end in 2012, I would be sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere right now. I have not had the time to break down the convoluted logic that has lumped the Nemesis star into the Planet X theory or what they have to do with 2012. By all accounts the answer is that they are entirely unrelated except to those who wish to sell you a book explaining their esoteric connections. The really important word in that sentence? Sell.

I have however found this report which analyzes a theoretical connection between the “Nemesis” star and a cyclical pattern of mass extinctions that seems to occur roughly every 27 million years. How this is tied into 2012 I cannot imagine as it is widely agreed upon that if this cycle does occur again, it is not due for another 16 million years. If we as a species cannot find a way to spread beyond the confines of Earth to a “safe” location in 16 million years, well, we deserve that extinction.

That report is pretty darn technical, so to break it down, the researchers have ruled out the possibility of the Nemesis star as the cause of the cyclical extinctions because it is too regular. You see, due to the distance between our planet and the Nemesis star, if some kind of energy was being emitted from it that caused those extinctions, the number of gravitational fields and celestial bodies that would effect whatever might be transmitted would result in the cycle being more erratic than it actually is. That is right, the cycle is too reliable to be caused by a celestial body as distant from us as the Nemesis Star.

Image by NuclearVacuum

The Nemesis Star has lately been tangled up in the theories of “Planet X” or “Nibiru” which assert that a planet or nearly planet sized celestial body will collide or nearly collide with Earth causing a polar shift. If anything, I think this is an excellent example of how these various scenarios and theories tend to bleed together in the statements of those who are trying to assert their truth. The theory began with Nancy Lieder of Montana who asserted that she had received information from aliens of dire importance. It seems she initially argued that the Hale-Bopp comet was a false cover for an impending calamity. Later she would cite 2003 as the year of Earth’s inevitable doom. Now apparently the date has shifted to 2012 to coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar’s current cycle which has been embraced by pseudo-scientists, new age crazies, and countless others as the new “hip” date to predict the end of the world. Frankly, the idea that a celestial body 4 times the size of the planet Earth could be kept secret is patently absurd. Between the communication systems available today, the number of amateur astronomers, and the sad state of international political relations, an object like that would certainly be common knowledge.

If you’re thinking that perhaps there is a secret “Ark” program like in 2012, well, that wouldn’t work either. If a mass that size collided with our planet it would not be feasible to maintain the resources to support the population of elitists and specialists for the amount of time required for Earth to become hospitable to human life after such an impact. Essentially, the long running hysteria people have had about an impending Apocalypse continues today, and the conspiracy theorists that cite Planet X, Nibiru, and the Nemesis Star as the cause are far more concerned with reinforcing their own preferred world view than actually looking at the data and facts. Either that, or they’re just looking at their bank accounts.