Snowball Effect

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Though each of these scenarios could happen, most scientists think a snowball effect of multiple events is more likely, Miller said. For instance, global warming could increase the prevalence of pathogens while also causing widespread shifts in climate. Meanwhile, ecosystem collapse could make it slightly harder to produce food, with no bees to pollinate crops or trees to filter agricultural water. So, instead of an epic catastrophe, several relatively small factors would slightly worsen life on Earth until it gradually degraded, Miller said.
In that scenario, the downfall of Earth is not dramatic, "like being attacked by a saber-toothed tiger," Miller told LiveScience. "It's more like being nibbled to death by ducks."

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