Our Final Hour

A Scientist's Warning

By: Martin Rees

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Paperback | 14 April 2004 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

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240 Pages

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20.96 x 13.97 x 1.91

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A scientist known for unraveling the complexities of the universe over millions of years, Sir Martin Rees now warns that humankind is potentially the maker of its own demise -- and that of the cosmos. Though the twenty-first century could be the critical era in which life on Earth spreads beyond our solar system, it is just as likely that we have endangered the future of the entire universe. With clarity and precision, Rees maps out the ways technology could destroy our species and thereby foreclose the potential of a living universe whose evolution has just begun. Rees boldly forecasts the startling risks that stem from our accelerating rate of technological advances. We could be wiped out by lethal "engineered" airborne viruses, or by rogue nano-machines that replicate catastrophically. Experiments that crash together atomic nuclei could start a chain reaction that erodes all atoms of Earth, or could even tear the fabric of space itself. Through malign intent or by mistake, a single event could trigger global disaster. Though we can never completely safeguard our future, increased regulation and inspection can help us to prevent catastrophe. Rees's vision of the infinite future that we have put at risk -- a cosmos more vast and diverse than any of us has ever imagined -- is both a work of stunning scientific originality and a humanistic clarion call on behalf of the future of life.

Industry Reviews

"Heady, scary--and very scholarly--Stuff.... Rees writes with beautiful simplicity. This is a conversational book, totally accessible to a general reader."

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Science Science in General Philosophy of Science Society & Culture Social Issues & Processes Social Forecasting Miscellaneous Items History Earliest Times to Present Day Modern History from 1700 to 1900 Engineering & Technology

Environmental Science

Preface	p. vii
Prologue	p. 1
Technology Shock	p. 9
The Doomsday Clock: Have We Been Lucky to Survive This Long?	p. 25
Post-2000 Threats: Terror and Error	p. 41
Perpetrators and Palliatives	p. 61
Slowing Science Down?	p. 73
Baseline Natural Hazards: Asteroid Impacts	p. 89
Human Threats to Earth	p. 99
Extreme Risks: A Pascalian Wager	p. 115
The Doomsday Philosophers	p. 135
The End of Science?	p. 141
Does Our Fate Have Cosmic Significance?	p. 157
Beyond Earth	p. 169
Epilogue	p. 185
Notes	p. 189
Index	p. 209
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.

Our Final Hour

A Scientist's Warning

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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