Global Catastrophes and Trends

The Next Fifty Years

Vaclav Smil (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba)

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English

Massachusetts Inst of Tec
14 September 2012

Social forecasting, future studies; Mathematics & Sciences; Science: general issues; The environment

Series: The MIT Press

A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at global changes that may occur over the next fifty years-whether sudden and cataclysmic world-changing events or gradually unfolding trends.

Fundamental change occurs most often in one of two ways- as a ""fatal discontinuity,"" a sudden catastrophic event that is potentially world changing, or as a persistent, gradual trend. Global catastrophes include volcanic eruptions, viral pandemics, wars, and large-scale terrorist attacks; trends are demographic, environmental, economic, and political shifts that unfold over time. In this provocative book, scientist Vaclav Smil takes a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at the catastrophes and trends the next fifty years may bring.

Smil first looks at rare but cataclysmic events, both natural and human-produced, then at trends of global importance, including the transition from fossil fuels to other energy sources and growing economic and social inequality. He also considers environmental change-in some ways an amalgam of sudden discontinuities and gradual change-and assesses the often misunderstood complexities of global warming.

Global Catastrophes and Trends does not come down on the side of either doom-and-gloom scenarios or techno-euphoria. Instead, Smil argues that understanding change will help us reverse negative trends and minimize the risk of catastrophe.

By: Vaclav Smil (Distinguished Professor Emeritus University of Manitoba)
Imprint: Massachusetts Inst of Tec
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 178mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 499g
ISBN: 9780262518222
ISBN 10: 0262518228
Series: The MIT Press
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 14 September 2012
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience: Adult education , General/trade , Tertiary & Higher Education , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Vaclav Smil is the author of more than thirty books on energy, environment, food, and history of technical advances, including Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines an d Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature, both published by the MIT Press. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Reviews for Global Catastrophes and Trends: The Next Fifty Years

I think Smil should probably be set as homework for every Member of Parliament, and there will be a test later... -Dick Pountain, The Political Quarterly