Catastrophe: Risk and Response (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780195306477)

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.

Author: Richard A. Posner
ISBN-10: 0195306473
ISBN-13: 9780195306477
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 12/08/2005
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 8.86h x 6.06w x 0.85d