Surviving Armageddon: Solutions for a threatened planet
Jun 2005 · OUP Oxford
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About this ebook
The Asian tsunami of Christmas 2004 killed more than a quarter of a million people and shattered the lives of many more. The ruthless indifference of the forces of nature to our fragile existence on the surface of the planet could not have been more shockingly demonstrated, nor the sheer scale of their power more tragically displayed. Massive earthquakes and super-eruptions, collision with vast boulders from space, the insidious, potentially catastrophic dangers of global warming: what can mere humans do against these natural hazards, which have devastated life on Earth in the past and could do so again? Are there real alternatives to simply awaiting our doom? Bill McGuire believes there are. Following on from A Guide to The End of the World, in which he presented a frightening vision of the hazards that face us, in Surviving Armageddon he guides us through the major threats, assessing the solutions that have been proposed, from the reasonable to the bizarre. There really are ways in which we can, perhaps not prevent, but limit the damage caused by future disasters, he concludes. As a volcanologist, McGuire has sensed at first hand the dangers of volcanic eruptions, and he was deeply involved in the scientific analysis of the Asian tsunami. In this lively narrative, he combines the science behind natural hazards with enthralling accounts of his own experiences and narrow escapes while working in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. He gives us a down-to-Earth view of how we might (just) deflect Armageddon, and live to tell the tale.
The Asian tsunami of Christmas 2004 killed more than a quarter of a million people and shattered the lives of many more. The ruthless indifference of the forces of nature to our fragile existence on the surface of the planet could not have been more shockingly demonstrated, nor the sheer scale of...
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About the author
Bill McGuire is Benfield Greig Professor of Geophysical Hazards at University College London and Director of the University's Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre. A volcanologist by training and inclination, he has worked on volcanoes all over the world (including a period as Senior Scientist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory) and published over a hundred papers, books and articles on volcanoes and other natural hazards. Bill is a regular contributor to The Guardian newspaper, and a much called upon television and radio expert whenever a natural catastrophe strikes. His popular science books include Volcanoes of the World, Apocalypse: A Natural History of Global Disasters, Raging Planet: The Tectonic Threat to Life on Earth, and A Guide to the End of the World. He has also presented two series on BBC Radio 4: Disasters in Waiting and Scientists Under Pressure.
Bill McGuire is Benfield Greig Professor of Geophysical Hazards at University College London and Director of the University's Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre. A volcanologist by training and inclination, he has worked on volcanoes all over the world (including a period as Senior Scientist a...
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