With so many amazing things happening
in the world today,
what could possibly go wrong?
A giant asteroid is barrelling on a collision
course with Earth,
and life as we know it is on the brink.
After the smoke clears
This is What If,
and here's what would happen
With pandemics, election scandals,
and civil unrest worldwide,
maybe it is time for a do-over.
A clean slate.
A fresh beginning.
With only 1,000 people left
on the planet,
500 women and 500 men,
First of all, we'd need to work together
to flourish, rebuild society,
and repopulate the planet.
We'd need to farm, hunt,
and help each other succeed.
It sounds like a pretty good
starting point, right?
OK, where would we find the ideal place
to build this global village?
Most likely a temperate region,
that is not subject to huge threats from
wildlife or natural disasters.
Let's stay away from the Ring of Fire,
because earthquakes would not help
our society to rebuild.
We don't want to live in an area where
malaria is common, either.
"That's good."
Living in the north, like Canada,
especially northern Canada,
would mean surviving intense winters.
So, no.
How about Mediterranean Europe?
It's got a long growing season for food,
and there aren't as many natural wildlife
threats as there are in Africa or Australia.
Now that we've found the perfect location,
let's start by meeting our basic
survival needs, like water, food,
shelter, and sleep.
We have to take care of them first,
because if people are hungry,
then socializing, learning, or working
won't be their main priority,
slowing progress.
At this stage, the people who understand
how to take care of the land would
be extremely valuable.
They could teach others how to grow
and harvest food.
These community members would likely
be the farmers, and the other households
would get rations.
And there could be hunters in the group.
There should be lots of meat options,
because animal life would be flourishing
around the world.
Without 7.8 billion humans, animals would
be free to roam wherever they wanted.
This would also do wonders for our planet.
The atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions
would eventually level out, and plant life
would flourish again.
The Earth would finally recover after the
centuries of stress due to so many humans.
Okay, now that our food is taken care of,
what about love and belonging?
We are social beings,
and we need relationships.
This includes acceptance in a group,
family, love, and intimacy.
If we don't meet these needs, people
could become unhappy, and even bored.
How would we divide the work,
in our smaller pool of humans?
It could be easier to accept each other
as equals, as we're all in this
global village together.
We could develop this society with
greater equality and balance
between the genders.
Or, could we revert to more traditional
roles for men and women,
with women of child-bearing years
forced to have multiple pregnancies,
similar to "The Handmaid's Tale."
Well, everything seemed to be going OK
until that point.
Still, with not too many people
to choose from, things like love
and attraction wouldn't necessarily dictate
who you get intimate with, and those
creepy arrangements could be a thing.
"Like some licorice?"
But if you're a fertile man or woman,
you might be treated better, because
you're responsible for increasing
the population.
"What the hell?"
As we start to repopulate the planet,
there would be a need for doctors
and medical professionals.
Builders and construction workers
would also be helpful.
Teachers would be necessary,
but people would likely start doing
internships to learn in such
a dramatically different society.
If someone wanted to be a doctor,
they could shadow the doctors for
several years and learn from experience
rather than in a school.
Jobs in this new society may no longer
have any cash value, and we could see
ourselves going into an exchange economy.
Something like, I'll help you build your home
if you teach my kids to read.
Going back to a cash-based society may
take some time, and with no global
infrastructure to rely upon for a supply chain,
barter and trade make sense,
at least in the short-term.
A 1,000-person community wouldn't
guarantee a stable population.
We'd need to work together to overcome
the challenges of living without
a modern society.
The biggest problem would be another
disaster happening, and wiping out many
of this already small population.
Even a sickness could kill many people,
and leave the community vulnerable.
And what would happen if all humans
suddenly disappeared from Earth?
Well, that's a story for another What If.