Global catastrophes and trends
Subtitle: the next fifty years
By: Vaclav Smil.
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 307
ISBN-13: 9780262195867
Subjects: Natural disasters.; Environmental risk assessment.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-295) and indexes.
Table of contents: title: 1. How (not) to look ahead; title: 2. Fatal discontinuities. Natural catastrophes; title: Encounters with extraterrestrial objects; title: Volcanic mega-eruptions and collapses; title: Influenza pandemics; title: Violent conflicts; title: Transformational wars; title: Terrorist attacks; title: Imaginable surprises; title: 3. Unfolding trends. Energy transitions; title: Dominant fuels, enduring prime movers; title: Solar (nuclear?) civilization; title: New world order; title: Europe's place; title: Japan's decline; title: Islam's choice; title: Russia's way; title: China's rise; title: The United States' retreat; title: Place on top; title: Dominance and decline; title: Globalization and inequality; title: 4. Environmental change. Global warming and its consequences; title: Rising temperatures; title: Ocean's rise, dynamics and composition; title: Ecosystems and economies; title: Other global changes; title: Changing water and nitrogen cycles; title: Loss of biodiversity and invasive species; title: Antibiotic resistance; title: Biosphere's integrity; title: 5. Dealing with risk and uncertainty. Relative fears; title: Quantifying the odds; title: Rational attitudes; title: Acting as risk minimizes; title: The next 50 years.