Would Thanos's Snap save the Planet?

 Would Thanos's Snap save the Planet?

⏱2.5-3 minute read

I am a couple years late to this - but hey - EarthPlex didn't even exist when Avengers Infinity War and End Game arrived in theaters, and I've always thought about Thanos and the environmental impact of his snap. 

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Avengers Infinity War concluded with Thanos collecting all of the infinity stones. He put on the infinity gauntlet and snapped his fingers, causing half of the population to disappear. To analyze how Thanos's snap would affect the environment, we must assume a few things.

1. Thanos's snap only caused humans to die.
2. The people's remains disappeared entirely.

Less consumption 

Obviously, with the population splitting in half, emissions will lower. Because of a drastically decreased demand for fossil fuels, wildlife will flourish and populations of endangered species could grow. 

The population will regenerate

If the current population of about 7.8 billion people in 2020 divided itself in half, we would have the population from about 1973. That means that if the population grows at the rate that it used to, our population will hit new all-time highs in less than 40 years.

(Population information from Worldometer)

What this buys: time

In the last few centuries, machines have become far more efficient. By the time the population would grow back to 7.8 billion, our technology wouldn't require the emissions that they do today. Also, more of our energy would come from clean and renewable sources, and our vehicles will be more sustainable. If Thanos caused our population to halve, we would have more time to fight the effects of climate change.

Don't try this at home

Even though Thanos's snap could help us fight climate change, it's a terrible solution. Spreading climate awareness and reducing your carbon footprint are more practical. After all, why try to save people from the climate crisis by killing billions? I cannot question the evil ways of Thanos. 

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