I'll be on the forums I frequent the next day telling all the doomsayers they got it wrong-yet again. :nana: People saying the world will end has been going on from time immemorial. Given their track record, I'm amazed anyone listens to them any more. But nevertheless I consider these types of people very, very dangerous. If enough of the public believes the world will end, mass panic can ensue, and it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Therefore, the best course of action is to ignore the doomsayers, encourage others to do likewise, and do whatever you can to discredit them.
Sure, the world absolutely will end some day, but that's in a time frame which dwarfs human civilization. In about 5 billion years the sun will exhaust its fuel supply, expand, and probably swallow the inner 4 planets. However, there is also the possibility that the solar wind will push the Earth into a larger orbit while this is happening. If so, then Earth itself may survive, although not in any condition to sustain life. It will likely still get very hot first, probably hot enough to boil off the oceans. After the sun finishes its red giant phase, it will turn into a white dwarf, and the Earth will freeze over. Death by fire or ice or both. But we don't have to worry about it for another 5 billion years. Even if the most optimistic scenario of life extension comes to past, it's virtually certain I won't be around to see it (unless I hitch a ride with Dr. Who).