Aside from all humans being dead, is there anything that could alter or damage us enough that nobody could have children anymore? No stragglers
Aside from all humans being dead, is there anything that could alter or damage us enough that nobody could have children anymore? No stragglers
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Kick everyone in the balls
Edit: Apparently women don’t have balls.
Mass radiation incident?
Children of men is a good movie about a similar promise. At least its consequences.
It would have to be something medical. Radiation, some type of chemical in the air, rainborne distribution of something that destroyed fertility, etc.
As we’ve found out, some social conditions will lead to less people choosing to have children, but that doesn’t stop people from choosing to engage in the act that makes children anyway, and accidents plus those that don’t choose that direction won’t stop the population from reaching a self maintenance point.
Yes, either every male or every female on earth all die at the same time.
Everyone of the opposite sex survives but is instantly made sterile by the same virus/disease.
Release a virus that genetically targets one gender to either kill them or make sterile (think mixo for rabbits except for 100% effective) often thought that some state actor would attempt this against whoever they don’t like.
For 100% of people, it’s extremely difficult.
There could be some radiation from a solar flare or whatever that kills nearly everyone and leaves the survivors infertile, but that doesn’t seem in the spirit of your question. If it leaves billions alive there are bound to be at least some who are still fertile.
There could be a sterility plague, but it’s not going to get everyone, there will almost certainly be people with natural immunity, there are uncontacted tribes who’d never be exposed, e.g. those guys on Sentinel Island. Maybe it’s possible in principle for there to be one which easily crosses the species barrier and it’d reach them eventually, but you’d have to worry about mutations.
You’d need something that can spread better than a virus that sterilizes everyone as it spreads.