Nuclear Weapons, Global Warming and Disaster Management

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Nuclear Weapons. 3. Global Chemical Contamination. 4. The Biological Weapons. 5. The Risk Created by Space Technologies. 6. Global Warming. 7. Multifactorial Scenarios. Bibliography. Index.

Studying of global risks goes on the following chain: comprehension of one global risk and the fact of possibility of extinction in the near future, then comprehension of several more global risks, then attempts of creation of the exhaustive list of global risks, then creation of system of the description which allows to consider any global risks and to define danger of any new technologies and discoveries. The description system possesses bigger prognostic value, than simple list as allows to find new points of vulnerability just as atoms periodic table allows to find new elements. And then research of borders of human thinking about global risks for the purpose of methodology that is way creation effectively to find and estimate global risks.

Though in this book we investigate about the nuclear weapons used by the terrorists which can lead to human extinction, it is easy to notice, that the same catastrophes in a little bit smaller scales can not destroy mankind, but reject it strongly back. Being rejected in the development, the mankind can appear at an intermediate step from which it is possible to step as to the further extinction, and to restoration. Therefore the same class of catastrophes can be both the reason of human extinction, and the factor which opens a window of vulnerability for following catastrophes.