02177cam a2200337 i 4500 545758176 TxAuBib 040701s2004||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2004556001 9780465068630 paperback 0465068634 paperback (OCoLC)7550 DLC eng DLC WRR TxAuBib rda Rees, Martin J., 1942- Our final hour : a scientist's warning : how terror, error, and environmental disaster threaten humankind's future in this century on earth and beyond / Martin Rees. New York : Basic Books, 2004. viii, 228 pages ; 21 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Originally published: 2003. Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-208) and index. Prologue -- Technology shock -- The doomsday clock: have we been lucky to survive this long? -- Post-2000 threats: terror and error -- Perpetrators and palliatives -- Slowing science down? -- Baseline natural hazards: asteroid impacts -- Human threats to earth -- Extreme risks: a Pascalian wager -- The doomsday philosophers -- The end of science? -- Does our fate have cosmic significance? -- Beyond earth -- Epilogue. Rees makes the case that hyper-technology and continuing harm to the ecological environment may lead to situations where, either intentionally or accidently, a single mistake can trigger a catastrophic mega-event. He describes natural hazards such as biological disease risks, man-made hazards such as orbiting human debris returning to earth, and social hazards such as terrorism which could have a global impact over a very brief time. Twenty-first century Forecasts. Disasters Forecasting. End of the world. Forecasts. https://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0831/2004556001-b.html Contributor biographical information https://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0831/2004556001-d.html Publisher description