Is the world coming to an end? The Mayans seem to believe so. According to their calendar, the world will meet its extinction in two years. A couple of weeks ago, my friends watched the documentary about the doomsday on the History Channel and are now firm believers of the 2012 prediction; I, on the other hand, was a little skeptical.

I’d rather not think of my life ending in two years. No offense to the Mayans but the whole prophecy sounded like a load of horse manure to me. The big Y2K scare several years ago was a dud, so why should the 2012 theory pan out any different?

A couple of weeks later though, the idea is starting to look less far-fetched.

Climate changes have been causing all kinds of bi-polarity in the world. In Binghamton alone, residents are experiencing drastic weather changes daily; In one day, I may change my clothes three times. I may wear my bulky winter jacket in the morning, change into a light sweater in the afternoon, and return to wearing my bulky jacket in the evening, or change into a T-shirt on warm evenings. Over the course of a week on the Binghamton campus, you can find students wearing snow boots and their North Face parkas on a Monday, and shorts and short-sleeve blouses two days afterward.

On a more global scale, a large number of penguins were recently found in Brazil. Many were spotted on the tropical beaches of the country and more than 400 penguins died due to the oils and pollutants in the air. Most of them were infants, according to superintendent for the state coastal protection and environmental agency. The healthy birds that did survive were airlifted back to cooler waters.

How over a thousand penguins managed to migrate from Patagonia and the Strait of Magellan all the way to the shores of Rio de Janeiro is a mystery. Sure, there have been cases of stray penguins from time to time from the Strait of Magellan, but the number to arrive this year is extraordinary.

Japan and South Africa are not immune from climate change either. Warmer climates are said to be the cause of the cherry blossoms blooming early in Japan and the endangered ecosystems of Cape Town, South Africa. There have been more frequent and wilder fires occurring in the floral kingdom of this South African region.

On top of signs of global warming, there is the whole swine flu hysteria. And let’s not forget the conflict in the Middle East.

Now, I am no Chicken Little. I have no plans to start running around any time soon, proclaiming that the sky is falling. I am also far from wanting to build a fallout shelter or preparing a “What to do in case of an apocalypse“ list. I just think that things in the world are not in the best condition right now. Honestly, things are pretty crappy at the moment. Let’s just hope that someone like President Obama can improve the status of the United States.

Maybe then he can actually deserve that premature Nobel Prize he was awarded a few weeks ago.