2012 - The end of the world as we know it?

As far as conventional science is concerned things are pretty simple when it comes to the end of the world - don't expect it any time soon.
Short of an unpredicted all out nuclear war between the US and China or an asteroid firing into the planet from some far off galaxy, experts are in general agreement that we shouldn't rush out to buy canned goods and bottled water just yet.
Nasa says there are no meteor strikes predicted, and has compared the 2012 theory to the unfounded fears peddled by theorists over the Y2K bug.
Science may have little time for the 2012 doomsayers, but for conspiracy theorists, the end of the world is a matter of faith, not fact.

There can be little doubt that the world is getting more dangerous.
Wars across the Middle East, terror attacks, global warming, earthquakes, tsunamis and a nuclear arms between rogue states have combined to make apocalyptic conspiracy theories increasingly popular.
From the prophecies of the Egyptians, through the ancient Romans, to the bible and Nostradamus, the Mayans are by no means alone in predicting a doomsday in 2012.
Recent instability from within the planet itself, including the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis that have struck the Caribbean and South East Asia, has helped fan the flames of fears that something catastrophic is brewing.
The Mayan calendar was incredibly accurate, forecasting events thousands of years into the future, and it resets in 2012.
The ancient South American tribe's ability to use lunar and solar observations to predict the invasion of their lands by Western European conquerors to the exact date has leant huge credibility to their prophetic skills.
A giant black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, which has been independently verified by modern scientists, is pointed to as the possible cause of the End of Days by the ancient tribe, who believed that the mantle of the earth would shift as a result of magnetic pole realignment and planetary movements, causing huge earthquakes and tsunamis to tear the modern world apart.
The Mayan's strong track record has led conspiracy theorists to dig deeper, and look for clues in other cultures to discover whether the world is really going to end in 2012.
Among these are the ancient Chinese document I Ching, known as the book of changes, a text generally used for personal fortune telling that has been used by maverick mathematicians to predict everything from the fall of the Roman Empire to World War I&II and finally the end of days in 2012.
Even the bible has been used by theorists to back up the belief that 2012 will be the year of Armageddon.
The book of revelations, written by St John, foretells a final battle between good and evil, with global warfare centred in the Middle East and ravaging pandemics preparing the earth for the final apocalypse.
And there is science to back up the theory too, with solar storms predicted, and a potential reversal of the earth's magnetic poles not ruled out by conventional scientists.
Though these events may not destroy the earth on its own, the modern world's communications technology, banking systems and satellites could all falter as a giant solar burp disrupts the magnetic fields surrounding the globe.
As the conspiracy theory has grown, believers have pointed to everything from crop circles to alien abductions as evidence of the coming apocalypse.
Quite what will cause the end of days remains up for debate.
Will it be a rising sea caused by global warming, an alteration in the alignment of the planets shaking our core, a solar flare destroying the world, a reversal of the magnetic poles shifting the crust of the earth or a mysterious planet called Nibiru crashing into us from outer space?
Whatever the final cause, the various doomsday prophecies have formed into one movement, and the ranks of the 2012 doomsayers are swelling every day.

- The date 2012 has been pointed to by the bible, Nostradamus, the Mayans and various other religious groups. There seems to be a lot of support for it, even the ancient Egyptians identified the sunspot cycle as ending in 2012, bringing with it the apocalypse. Ancient Roman prophets including the Sybil, who predicted the coming of Christ, and Ancient Greek holy figures such as Delphi, who foretold the rise of Alexander the Great, all forecast the end of the world in 2012.

- The Web-Bot online system, a stock-picking software which was able to predict everything from Hurricane Katrina to the Indian Ocean Tsunami, has foretold a series of catastrophic events in 2012.

- The Mayan long count calendar was incredibly accurate, predicting solar eclipses thousands of years into the future, and comes to an abrupt halt in 2012.

- Dr Michio Kaku, a theoretical physician, has predicted a peak in the sunspot cycle, leading to a shift in the magnetic poles of the earth in 2012. Einstein also spoke of magnetic pole shifts, but this may only cause a minor disturbance on earth.

- All half decent prophets know the basic rule of foretelling the future, keep it as vague as possible, and allow for many interpretations of your works. Only the Mayans give an exact date, Roman, Greek and biblical prophets all couch their predictions in vague terms. All doomsday predictions so far have one thing in common - failure.

- Could the fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012 simply be a product of the untimely demise of their empire? Had they been around today, they may well have worked out a calendar for the next 2000 years.

- Astronomers say the theory of an unidentified planet hitting the earth is unrealistic, any such object would already be visible through telescopes and if it is as near to earth as it is said to be, you'd already be able to see it with the naked eye.

- Some fringe elements have cited Merlin the magician as part of their argument, damaging the consensus on 2012 and making believers look a little loopy.

- Biblical scholars believe the book of revelations applied only to St John's own time, and should not be read as a prediction for the future.

Like all good conspiracy theories, the 2012 doomsday scenario is a heady blend of hocus pocus, myth and a touch of science. Though meteor strikes and even a reversal of the earth's magnetic poles are possible, there is no evidence to suggest they will bring about the end of the world. A huge meteor would be showing up on the NASA advance warning systems or in the telescopes of millions of stargazers worldwide. A shift in poles could be completely benign, and the threat of seas rising due to global warming and earthquakes caused by movements in the tectonic plates are more of a constant problem than a one-off cataclysmic event. It is intriguing that so many cultures have identified the time around 2012 as one of major change, but these vague predictions, even if they prove correct, could refer to anything from financial collapse to famine, disease or warfare. The 2012 apocalypse theory is intriguing, and it made for a great disaster movie, but I won't be losing any sleep over it.