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Choose Your Own Apocalypse: Which Scenario Will Humanity Embrace?

From extermination to limitless expansion, humanity has choices. Whether we make the right one is yet to be determined.

René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH
The Quantastic Journal
8 min readJan 12, 2025

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Person standing alone amidst the ruins of a city, surrounded by fog and crumbled structures, conveying a post-apocalyptic scene.
Image via Unsplash+.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future lately. Not just my future, but the collective future of humanity. Being a father will do that to you. Learning about medical history will also trigger that notion.

Not 200 years ago, we didn’t know that viruses and bacteria were a thing. Then Germ Theory came around and changed the landscape of medicine. About 120 years ago, the Wright Brothers developed a flying machine. Today, we have manned rockets leaving the atmosphere regularly. There are also several space probes on their way into interstellar space.

Not everything is good news, though. The Industrial Revolution brought us the use of fossil fuels for energy. That revolution brought us pollution that is changing the climate of our planet. In the next few decades, millions will die unnecessary deaths from climate events like extreme heat, storms, and floods. There is a thin layer of lead in the soil all around the world, a symbol of how every corner of the world has been negatively affected by things that otherwise make our lives better.

Marconi Played the…

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René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH
René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH

Written by René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH

DrPH in Epidemiology. Public Health Instructor. Father. Husband. "All around great guy." https://linktr.ee/rene.najera

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