14 things that may not exist in 2020

• 1. Metrocards

  

  The MTA plans to implement a new payment system for riders in the next five years, according to NPR. While they are not sure what the new system will look like, it is likely it won't include plastic fare cards.

  IMAGE: GED CARROLL

• 2. Facebook

  

  For the last couple of years, analysts have predicted Facebook's demise by 2020, due to outside competition and sliding stock prices. But so far, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

  IMAGE: MASHABLE

• 3. Chocolate

  

  A combination of insatiable human appetites and dry weather along the Ivory Coast and Ghana could lead to a massive shortage of cocoa in the next five years.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, STEPHANIE KEENEY

• 4. African Elephants

  

  In 2013 alone, more than 35,000 elephants were killed for their ivory tusks. If poaching is not reduced, conservationists warn they will become extinct by 2020.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, SHANKAR S.

• 5. Andean glaciers

  

  While glaciers are receding worldwide, many of them will still remain (if only just barely) in five years time. It is predicted that some formations in the Andes mountains of Peru may be mostly melted in 2020.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, PEDRO SZEKELY

• 6. Checkbooks and PIN numbers

  

  Checkbooks, PIN and even card readers may become a thing of the past in favor of digital payment options.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, JRIDGEWAYPHOTOS

• 7. The town of Shishmaref, Alaska

  

  This small Arctic town is definitive proof of the disastrous effects of climate change. Every year, thecoastline erodes deeper into the ocean and few residents have means to move away.

  IMAGE: DIANA HAECKER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

• 8. Postal Service (as we know it)

  

  Postal service jobs are expected to decline by 26.5% between 2010 and 2020, according toForbes. Post offices may not be completely gone in five years, but they could be well on their way out for more competitive shipping services.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, RON DOKE

• 9. Helium

  

  Bad news for people who like to talk with funny voices. At the production rate of 1 billion cubic feet per year, reserves of helium in the United States may not last beyond 2018, Popular Mechanicsreports.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, FRANKIELEON

• 10. South African Rhinos

  

  Poachers often hunt rhinos in South Africa for their horns, which are believed to have medicinal properties. Wildlife experts warn that if poaching continues, rhinos will face extinction by 2020.

  IMAGE: SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM

• 11. SkyMall

  

  The in-flight retailer filed for bankruptcy in Jan. 2015 after suspending its catalogue operations. Air-bound shoppers will have to look elsewhere for their bathroom gadgets and strange pet accessories.

  IMAGE: BROWNPAU

• 12. Whiskey

  

  The great whiskey shortage is upon us, so start hoarding your premium aged booze now. "It isn’t going to get any cheaper or easier to find in the next five years," says Esquire.

  IMAGE: FLICKR, AMY FELCE

• 13. CDs

  

  Music retailers are predicting that CDs are quickly becoming a thing of the past, thanks to streaming services and iTunes. Some believe CDs will all but disappear as early as 2016.

  IMAGE: DECLANTM

• 14. The Hubble Space Telescope