| Catastrophe: Risk and Response Contributor(s): Posner, Richard A. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0195306473 ISBN-13: 9780195306477 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $35.63 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 2005 Annotation: In this shocking work, Posner reveals to an unsuspecting public that catastrophic risks are much greater than is commonly appreciated. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Disasters & Disaster Relief - Political Science |
| Dewey: 363.34 |
| Physical Information: 0.85" H x 6.06" W x 8.86" (1.04 lbs) 336 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Catastrophic risks are much greater than is commonly appreciated. Collision with an asteroid, runaway global warming, voraciously replicating nanomachines, a pandemic of gene-spliced smallpox launched by bioterrorists, and a world-ending accident in a high-energy particle accelerator, are among the possible extinction events that are sufficiently likely to warrant careful study. How should we respond to events that, for a variety of psychological and cultural reasons, we find it hard to wrap our minds around? Posner argues that realism about science and scientists, innovative applications of cost-benefit analysis, a scientifically literate legal profession, unprecedented international cooperation, and a pragmatic attitude toward civil liberties are among the keys to coping effectively with the catastrophic risks. |