A Guide to the End of the World: Everything You Never Wanted to Know - Hardcover

McGuire, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0192802976 ISBN 13: 9780192802972

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Thousands of people die every year from floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes and typhoons. Yet compared to what the Earth endured in prehistoric times-lethal volcanic winters, deadly asteroid collisions-our civilization has developed against a backdrop of relative geological calm. Will this calm last? A Brief Guide to the End of the World looks at the frightful prospects that await us in the 21st century and beyond.
Bill McGuire, a leading expert in the field of geological hazards, admits that the omens are less than encouraging. Only 10,000 years after the last Ice Age, the Earth is sweltering in some of the highest temperatures it has ever seen. Overpopulation and the relentless exploitation of natural resources, combined with rising temperatures and sea levels induced by greenhouse gases, are increasing the likelihood of natural catastrophes, from continuing El Ninos, to large-scale glacial melting, to mega-tsunami. Even more disturbing is the near certainty that we are headed toward another asteroid or comet collision on the scale of the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. In this provocative and immensely readable guidebook, McGuire discusses when these catastrophic events are likely to take place, how they will effect our global society, and what we can do to increase our chances of survival--from emissions reductions, to massive geo-engineering schemes, to the colonization of space.
Illustrated with photographs and diagrams, and backed by meticulous research, A Brief Guide to the End of the World sheds new light on the extraordinary vulnerability of our planet, and on our capacity to withstand the dramatic changes Mother Nature has in store for us in the distant--or not so distant--future.

About this title

About the Author:

Bill McGuire is Professor of Geohazards and Director of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, University College, London. He has worked on volcanoes all over the world, including Mount Etna, Rabaul, and Mount Pinatubo, is a member of the Association of British Sciences Writers, and a regular contributor to radio, television, and the press. He recently presented his own Radio 4 series on the forces of nature, and was featured in two Horizon programs as the leading British expert on volcanoes and mega-tsunami ('tidal waves'); these documentaries scored the highest ratings of the year on BBC2 (6 million).

Review:

`A very enjoyable if somewhat frightening read'
Latest Homes 14/05/2002

`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 histroy 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

`This book is racy, pacy, opinionated, sassy and fun [...] an ideal holiday read, in fact'
Geoscientist

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0192802976
• ISBN 13: 9780192802972
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216