Stephen Hawking will test his theory that humans must leave Earth. Let’s hope he’s wrong.

The disease must have finally reached the brain

He is a smart moron

So, one of the major bases of the prediction is sustainability based on resource consumption and worldwide population growth. Right now, population growth is steady at anywhere from 1.1% to 1.2% annually (population growth, by the way, takes into account both birth and death rates for a period of time). This may not seem like a significant number, except our world's population is ~7 billion (thanks Greg!). That means every year, we get about 80,000,000 more people in the world. That's 80,000,000 more requiring resource consumption in order to survive.

Meanwhile, we're depleting natural resources at an alarming rate. Lumber in particular is a high demand resource. Yeah, I know, we're talked to death about the rainforests... but we're also talking lumber-rich countries in Africa which other countries, particularly China, are stripping bare. And there's a time requirement between planting new saplings and when they can be harvested, or contribute meaningfully to the ecosystem.

Consumption of fossil fuels is another big concern, just on the pure aspect that it's a finite resource and we still rely heavily on it for energy production. We're getting better in that arena, but we still have a long way to go from overall sustainability.

Lastly, there's the concern about fresh water supply. As a Great Lakes resident, we're keenly aware about our world's fresh water supply because most of it is concentrated right around us. And it's dwindling. Faster than anyone wants to admit (especially Nestle). Draughts are becoming a real concern in areas of the country without easy access to that resource, and we're starting to revisit pipelines. Not to mention all the companies coming in and taking hundreds of thousands of gallons of fresh water daily to bottle and redistribute as a profit... while saying that people don't have a right to fresh water. Just ask anyone that's been dragged into court by the government for collecting rainwater. OK, yeah, that's getting a little political, but no matter where you stand on that subject, companies draining the Great Lakes for profit should be a little concerning.

I don't know if his 100 year prediction is accurate or not... but it's a real concern, with the way things are going right now. Just from a pure look at the numbers, and not the political stump speech BS.