Apocalypse 2012: An optimist investigates the end of civilization

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Nor am I a catastrophe buff. I am proud to report that I expended not one cent or one minute defending against the possibility of the Y2K computer bug. Neither have I ever prepared myself nor my household for nuclear holocaust, comet impact, harmonic convergence gone haywire, or any other such donnybrook. Living in the earthquake zone of Southern California, I do however keep a flashlight by the bed and an extra jug of water in the closet. And for the record, I do not hope, advocate, agitate, or pray for any catastrophe, 2012-related or otherwise, regardless of how uplifting the outcome is purported to be.

My conclusions concerning the potentially cataclysmic nature of 2012 are based on approximately fifteen months of research, conducted with the expertise gained from more than twenty years as an author of nonfiction books and as a journalist covering science, nature, religion, and politics for a variety of publications, most frequently the New York Times.

Is writing this book an irresponsible thing to do, for fear of the panic it might cause? The public’s right to know is not absolute, but neither is it contingent upon the paternalistic assessments of the global oligarchy. I can only have faith in the overall process wherein the powers-that-be, using their best judgment, attempt to control information that might cause social instability, and also where passionate individuals, groups, and organizations work to bring vital facts to light. Ultimately, the best solutions come from a spirited interchange between truth-seeking individuals and the power structures created to protect us.

THE MARK OF DESTINY

Will the world end in 2012? Will all hell break loose, on the order of an all-out, World War III-scale nuclear holocaust or a meteoric impact like the one believed to have extinguished the dinosaurs? I do not believe so, though that may be partly a reflection of my emotional limitations—as the father of two young, wonderful children, I am simply not capable of such a conviction. Not capable of confronting the possibility that everyone and everything that anyone has ever held dear could be destroyed.

What I am capable of doing is gathering the facts and presenting the evidence necessary to ferret out the reality of 2012. I have found that the prospect of an apocalypse in 2012 should be treated with respect and fear.

This book will demonstrate what I consider the middle-case scenario, namely that 2012 is destined to be a year of unprecedented turmoil and upheaval. Whether the birth agony of a New Age or simply the death throes of our current era, a disturbing confluence of scientific, religious, and historical trends indicates that an onslaught of disasters and revelations, man-made, natural, and quite possibly supernatural, will culminate tumultuously.

The year 2012 has the mark of destiny upon it. Judging from the facts gathered for this book, there is at least an even chance of some massive tragedy and/or great awakening occurring or commencing in that year. The question ultimately is not if but when, not so much the exact date as whether or not this transformational event will occur within our own or our loved ones’ lifetime. The value of the 2012 deadline is that, being so close, it forces us to confront the myriad possibilities for global catastrophe, to gauge their likelihood and destructive potential, and to examine how prepared we are to respond to them, individually and as a civilization.

Everyone responds to deadlines, constructively or otherwise. Especially if there’s pressure. It’s human nature. The last two minutes of each half of a football game, together less than 7 percent of the total playing time, yield at least half the action. I need deadlines. Most of us do. With the unlikely exception of Y2K, that silly dress rehearsal, the 2012 deadline is the first in modern history when so much is on the line for so many.

The blessing of a deadline is the advance notice that goes with it, to get body, mind, and soul together, to take some sensible precautions for oneself and one’s family. In some sense, not necessarily including physical survival, we’ve all got a chance like never before to come together and rise to our collective higher Self. That’s the invigorating challenge of 2012. It forces us to find a common purpose. And having a purpose in life is about the surest way I know to stave off demise.

GUILTY OF APOCALYPSE: THE CASE AGAINST 2012 (#u8e1386e0-1fe7-581f-a6e3-79cddab0e6e5)

The thesis of this book is that the year 2012 will be pivotal, perhaps catastrophic, possibly revelatory, to a degree unmatched in human history.

1. Ancient Mayan prophecies based on two millennia of meticulous astronomical observations indicate that 12/21/12 will mark the birth of a new age, accompanied, as all births are, by blood and agony as well as hope and promise.

2. Since the 1940s, and particularly since 2003, the Sun has behaved more tumultuously than any time since the rapid global warming that accompanied the melting of the last Ice Age 11,000 years ago. Solar physicists concur that solar activity will next peak, at record-setting levels, in 2012.

3. Storms on the Sun are related to storms on the Earth. The great wave of 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma coincided with one of the stormiest weeks in the recorded history of the Sun.

4. The Earth’s magnetic field, our primary defense against harmful solar radiation, has begun to dwindle, with California-sized cracks opening up randomly. A pole shift, in which such protection falls nearly to zero as the North and South magnetic poles reverse position, may well be under way.

5. Russian geophysicists believe that the Solar System has entered an interstellar energy cloud. This cloud is energizing and destabilizing the Sun and all the planets’ atmospheres. Their predictions for catastrophe resulting from the Earth’s encounter with this energy cloud range from 2010 to 2020.

6. Physicists at UC Berkeley, who discovered that the dinosaurs and 70 percent of all other species on Earth were extinguished by the impact of a comet or asteroid 65 million years ago, maintain with 99 percent certainty that we are now overdue for another such megacatastrophe.

7. The Yellowstone supervolcano, which erupts catastrophically every 600,000 to 700,000 years, is preparing to blow. The most recent eruption of comparable magnitude, at Lake Toba, Indonesia, 74,000 years ago, led to the death of more than 90 percent of the world’s population at the time.

8. Eastern philosophies, such as the I Ching, the Chinese Book of Changes, and Hindu theology, have been plausibly interpreted as supporting the 2012 end date, as have a range of indigenous belief systems.

9. At least one scholarly interpretation of the Bible predicts that the Earth will be annihilated in 2012. The burgeoning Armageddonist movement of Muslims, Christians, and Jews actively seeks to precipitate the final end-times battle.

10. Have a nice day.

SECTION I TIME (#u8e1386e0-1fe7-581f-a6e3-79cddab0e6e5)

That the Rastafarian cabdriver sang reggae prayers to the Almighty Jah all the way to the airport, bowing his head right down to the steering wheel at least fifty times while shooting the rapids of 1405, the busiest freeway in Southern California, did not in itself disturb me. The man was an excellent driver, very smooth. No problem either with the interior of his taxi being plastered with 8 × 10 glossies of snarling lions covered with religious messages about love, death, and the Lion of Judah. I am originally from New York City, where crazy cabbies spice the day. What did give pause, however, was the flawless way in which, when his cell phone rang, Rasta Cabbie would become James Earl Jones saying, “West Side Transportation, may I help you?” After wrapping up his office business, it was back to Jah and the lions and the bowing and the prayers.

I was headed to Guatemala, to meet with Mayan shamans who would explain the prophecies of 2012. When I mentioned this to Elia, my housekeeper, who is from El Salvador, she shouted, “No te vayas! Gangas! Think of your children. What if you don’t come back?” and ran out of the room. Maybe Rasta Cabbie’s prayer dance was some sort of tripped-out empathic blessing for a safe trip. Praise … Jah.

We pulled into LAX and on impulse I asked Rasta Cabbie if he’d ever heard about 2012.

“Educate me,” he replied, as he hoisted my luggage out of the trunk.

“Well, people say big things are going to happen in 2012. Maybe, you know, the End.”

“They always sayin’ that. I was waitin’ for that to happen in year 2000,” he said, shaking his head sadly. But it was tip time, and Rasta Cabbie wanted to end on a positive note. “We keep workin’ on things, and your year could be the one.”