Behind The Mic With Joe Mathieu: Study Points To End Of Civilization

BOSTON (CBS) – It's the end of the world as we know it.

That's what researchers are predicting in a study sponsored by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center outside of Washington, DC. It looks at the prospect of civilization - not just the U.S. but global civilization - collapsing in the coming decades.

And it won't be because of a war or nuclear holocaust.

The study says it will be because of you and your lifestyle.

It's published in the journal Ecological Economics.

The reason they say is that we use too many resources, rely too heavily on technology and hoard too much money.

It's an unsustainable course. Too few people control too much stuff. And they say it's happened repeatedly in human history. Just ask the Romans.

But it's not too late to save us, they say.

All we have to do is shrink the gap between rich and poor, use fewer natural resources and lower the population to sustain civilization.

So we're only talking about changing human nature.

One thing researchers say won't save civilization is technology. In fact, they believe it will only make our decline more efficient.

Did I mention Spring starts Thursday?

Follow Joe on Twitter @joemathieuwbz

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