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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Banshee16" data-source="post: 5294707" data-attributes="member: 7883">I'd never predict that such an event would kill every human.  I think however, that civilization as we know it would change significantly....and populations might be severely curtailed.  But even if 99% of humans were killed, that still leaves 70 million....more than enough to continue the species.  Enough to continue modern civilization?  Maybe not....at least in the short term.But I will point out that despite our brains, we're still living organisms, who on some level, obey the same physical and biological laws as other life forms.  We need access to clean water, we need food, though we can survive without it.  When supplies run out or become scarce, civil society can and does break down.  We saw during the Ice Storm, supposedly in the aftermath of Katrina, etc.  Now, imagine the chaos caused by displacing tens of millions of people into areas that weren't built up to support them.I could be wrong, but I think the problem is more on the level of......if changes like this cause problems that disrupt our food supply even on a relatively short-term level, like one or two years, imagine how many people could suffer or die during that time.  It's not inconceivable.  Plants can adapt and grow back.....but look how long it takes.  I remember near my cottage, they clear cut part of the forest.....15 years ago.  Basically down to ferns.  It's been allowed to grow back, but it has to go through the natural cycle.  Now, there are poplars, some conifers coming back etc....but it's still nowhere near where it was, and it's going to be another fifty years before it recovers to that point.I don't think anyone can predict what would happen....but I think it's arrogant of humans to assume that just because we're human, we will.  I think our brains and the sheer number of us on the planet give us better than even chances, but who knows?BansheeBanshee</blockquote>

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