Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 144 pages
- Published by: Oxford University Press January 2006
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0192804936
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0192804938
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Book Dimensions:
6.7 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
- Weighs: 5 ounces
Product Review
`Review from previous edition A very enjoyable if somewhat frightening read' Latest Homes 14/05/2002
`This book is racy, pacy, opinionated, sassy and fun [] an ideal holiday read, in fact' Geoscientist
`each chapter does cover the current state of knowledge with impressive thoroughness, often backed by striking facts and figures' New Scientist 13/04/2002
`I would heartily recommend Bill McGuire's potted history of the Earth and its many mechanicanisms of destruction' www.bluegreenearth.com 16/04/2002
`The book is pacy and terrifying' Literary Review 01/04/2002
`a convincing, gripping and, at times. terrifying, case' TNT Magazine 18/03/02
`If you like self mutilation, this book will make a humorous light read at bedtime' Front Magazine, 01/04/2002
Product Description
Life on earth will come to an end. It's just a matter of when. iGlobal Catastrophes: A Very Short Introduction/i focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet and our species in the future, and looks at both the probability of these events happening and our chances of survival. Coverage extends from discussion of the likely consequences of the current global warming to the inevitable destruction of the earth in the far future, when it is enveloped by our giant, bloated sun. In between, other 'end of the world scenarios' will be examined, including the New Ice Age, asteroid and comet impact, supervolcanoes, and mega-tsunami.
Reader Reviews
Many take unceasing infinite progress for granted. After all, hasn't humanity survived and gradually bettered its place on earth for the last 4,000 years? Though this remains arguably true, "civilization", as we call it, in geologic time has barely breached the infantile stage. A mere 4,000 years means practically nothing to the powerful forces that shape our living space. The miniscule 1k or less human brain strains inexorably to fathom a span of 4 billion or even 1.2 million years. But what it can see from this height reveals a race of doily fragility. A race that often gets beaten and pummeled by the very rock that gives it its life. In other words, the earth and the universe have given us some pretty good whoopings in the past. And there's plenty of evidence that more await us on the horizon. This small book delivers a great introduction to just what could lie in store. Its original title, "The End of the World: A Very Short Introduction", probably smacked a little too much of despair. The change made sense, because this book does not spew misery and hopelessness. It actually states that our race will very likely survive numerous nasty fulminations (though admittedly in greatly decreased numbers), because we've survived them in the past. Still, the threat of human extinction always looms to some degree. Four chapters (with accompanying "facts to fret over") focus on four naturally-induced disasters: global warming, global cooling, internal disruptions, and asteroid strikes. But preceding this, an introductory chapter on the workings and origins of the earth jump starts the discussion. Those with no background in geology or cosmology will learn much, such as the formation of the earth from accretion disks and the foundation of plate techtonics. The earth began as a nasty place where no known life could have survived. Eventually things cooled down, but bits of the nastiness remained. And we continue to deal with these today in the form of natural disasters. Anyone who wants to know just how complex the debate over global warming can get should read chapter 2. The author starts with the premise that humans unarguably do contribute to global warming and that the majority of scientists agree on this. He presents a litany of evidence for this, and then lists the consequences: rising sea levels, droughts, more intense storms, more El Ni?o events, falling water supplies, and even cooling. Some evidence exists that suggests rising global temperatures may hasten the onset of the next Ice Age (discussed in chapter 3). So, paradoxically, warming might lead to cooling. A "little ice age" occurred between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries, exposing some of the natural cycles the earth goes through. Then "the year without a summer" occurred in 1816 (probably brought on by a large volcanic eruption). So the author does not deny that the earth's temperature fluctuates throughout time, but he does claim that our "experiment" with excessive industrially produced carbon dioxide emissions "messes with" the entire system. This "messing" has led to higher and higher temperatures over the last two hundred years. And if we don't stop, things will just get worse. Chapter 4 takes on "the enemy within", or volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Volcanoes play a vital role in the earth's continuing formation, but they can also cause massive loss of life. Though volcanic activity takes place frequently, super eruptions thankfully remain very rare. Using the logarithmic VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale, the author compares relatively minor eruptions (with VEIs between 0 and 2) to superblasts that cause devastation (VEIs 3 and up). The last VEI 7 eruption occurred in 1815 (in Sumbawa, Indonesia). And a very dangerous VEI 8 blast happened 74,000 years ago at Toba in Sumatra (now a lake). Some think that this blast may have come close to obliterating the human race. Also, deadly VEI 8s have occurred at the present location of Yellowstone National Park a million or so years ago. These pretty much wiped out most everything on the North American continent. No one really knows if Toba or Yellowstone might fulminate again. Just as disturbing, a large mass of earth at Cumbre Vieja (in the Canary Islands) sits waiting to collapse and bring on mammoth tsunamis. But when? Plus, earthquakes in heavily populated areas (the author tells the grisly tale of the 1923 Tokyo-Yokohama earthquakes) continue to threaten millions of lives. And 2004's hugely destructive Indian Ocean tsunami (brought on by deep ocean earthquakes) told us all how much destruction large waves can deliver. The final chapter brings up a now familiar doomsday scenario: the end of the world via asteriod or comet impact. Around 1000 near earth asteriods (NEAs) exist, but scientists have not yet identified them all. But do these objects hit the earth only periodically or do they come in waves? Either way, examples such as Chicxulub (now thought to have obliterated the dinosaurs), Tunguska, and Meteor Crater speak for themselves: The right impact in the right place would unleash horrific destruction. Not only that, the dust kicked up by such an impact could block out the sun for years or decades. Luckily these only seem to occur once in a great while (on the order of millions of year cycles). Such is the world and universe that we live in. It's dangerous. Nonetheless, people have pulled through terrible unimaginable catastrophes in the past. And in spite of these we still inhabit this place. But more will undoubtedly arrive in one form or another. Not only that, human life on planet earth will inevitably come to an end. In about 5 billion years the sun will supernova. We'd best not stick around for that. Though some may find the contents of this book depressing and deflating, it nonetheless conveys essential knowledge for long-term human survival on this planet. After all, the more we know about the potential pitfalls the more we can avoid or mitigate them. Shutting one's eyes to the harsh realities will only worsen the situation and foster illusions of guaranteed infinitude and invincibility. Conversely, opening one's eyes may inspire well-directed action. This book provides a great introduction for anyone to the topic of natural global disasters. The reading level stays accessible throughout and the content may end up changing the way readers think about their place in the world.
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