Averting Catastrophe

Download or read book Averting Catastrophe written by Cass R. Sunstein and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Best-selling author Cass R. Sunstein examines how to avoid worst-case scenarios The world is increasingly confronted with new challenges related to climate change, globalization, disease, and technology. Governments are faced with having to decide how much risk is worth taking, how much destruction and death can be tolerated, and how much money should be invested in the hopes of avoiding catastrophe. Lacking full information, should decision-makers focus on avoiding the most catastrophic outcomes? When should extreme measures be taken to prevent as much destruction as possible? Averting Catastrophe explores how governments ought to make decisions in times of imminent disaster. Cass R. Sunstein argues that using the “maximin rule,” which calls for choosing the approach that eliminates the worst of the worst-case scenarios, may be necessary when public officials lack important information, and when the worst-case scenario is too disastrous to contemplate. He underscores this argument by emphasizing the reality of “Knightian uncertainty,” found in circumstances in which it is not possible to assign probabilities to various outcomes. Sunstein brings foundational issues in decision theory in close contact with real problems in regulation, law, and daily life, and considers other potential future risks. At once an approachable introduction to decision-theory and a provocative argument for how governments ought to handle risk, Averting Catastrophe offers a definitive path forward in a world rife with uncertainty.

Download or read book Averting Catastrophe, the Global Challenge written by United States. Congress. Joint Economic Committee. Subcommittee on International Economics and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Averting Climate Catastrophe Together written by Martin Zapf and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humanity has so far failed to respect some essential compatibility limits to ensure sustainable development. Is it possible to change the course? This book revolves around this question, focusing on climate change. Averting Climate Catastrophe Together addresses the necessity of meeting the Paris Agreement temperature target and explores what framework could enable climate action in an effective, efficient and equitable manner that is consistent with that goal. It also looks at the contribution of technological change within the economic system, including the feasibility of a global energy transition. Whether humanity can avoid catastrophic climate change appears to depend not on the availability of technological solutions, but rather on international cooperation and coordination. Given the various sustainability issues, this book also discusses whether it is possible to derive a general approach to them. It argues that dealing with compatibility limits in complex systems requires a holistic change in the system structure. Therefore, systems science is discussed together with economics, technological change, and sustainable development. This book targets scientists and experts from different disciplines due to the interdisciplinary topic, but especially from environmental economics and energy technology; policy makers, as policy recommendations are provided to address climate change; as well as the general public due to the pressing common challenge of addressing climate change and comprehensive efforts for sustainable development. Provides evidence based on climate science research on the necessity of meeting the Paris Agreement temperature target Highlights the feasibility of the global energy transition as one major option to mitigate climate change, also going into detail about the process of technological change Brings together systems science with economics, technological change, and sustainable development Derives a framework to meet the Paris Agreement temperature target, enabling coordinated climate action in an effective and efficient manner while pursuing distributive justice

Download or read book The Wild and the Wicked written by Benjamin Hale and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-12-10 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brief foray into a moral thicket, exploring why we should protect nature despite tsunamis, malaria, bird flu, cancer, killer asteroids, and tofu. Most of us think that in order to be environmentalists, we have to love nature. Essentially, we should be tree huggers—embracing majestic redwoods, mighty oaks, graceful birches, etc. We ought to eat granola, drive hybrids, cook tofu, and write our appointments in Sierra Club calendars. Nature's splendor, in other words, justifies our protection of it. But, asks Benjamin Hale in this provocative book, what about tsunamis, earthquakes, cancer, bird flu, killer asteroids? They are nature, too. For years, environmentalists have insisted that nature is fundamentally good. In The Wild and the Wicked, Benjamin Hale adopts the opposite position—that much of the time nature can be bad—in order to show that even if nature is cruel, we still need to be environmentally conscientious. Hale argues that environmentalists needn't feel compelled to defend the value of nature, or even to adopt the attitudes of tree-hugging nature lovers. We can acknowledge nature's indifference and periodic hostility. Deftly weaving anecdote and philosophy, he shows that we don't need to love nature to be green. What really ought to be driving our environmentalism is our humanity, not nature's value. Hale argues that our unique burden as human beings is that we can act for reasons, good or bad. He claims that we should be environmentalists because environmentalism is right, because we humans have the capacity to be better than nature. As humans, we fail to live up to our moral potential if we act as brutally as nature. Hale argues that despite nature's indifference to the plight of humanity, humanity cannot be indifferent to the plight of nature.

Download or read book Pakistan written by Pervez Hoodbhoy and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-03-24 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an accessible, comprehensive, and nuanced history of Pakistan. It reflects upon state and society in Pakistan and shows they have been shaped by historical forces and personae. Hoodbhoy expertly maps the journey of the region from many millennia ago to the circumstances and impulses that gave birth to the very first state in history founded upon religious identity. He documents colonial rule, the trauma of Partition, the nation’s wars with India, the formation of Bangladesh, and the emergence of Baloch nationalism. The book also examines longstanding complex themes and issues – such as religious fundamentalism, identity formation, democracy, and military rule – as well as their impact on the future of the state of Pakistan. Drawing on a range of sources and written by one of the foremost intellectuals of the region, this book will be indispensable for scholars, researchers, students of history, politics, and South Asian studies. It will be of great interest to the general reader interested in understanding Pakistan.

Download or read book The Sterilization Movement and Global Fertility in the Twentieth Century written by Ian Robert Dowbiggin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many would be surprised to learn that the preferred method of birth control in the United States today is actually surgical sterilization. This book takes an historical look at the sterilization movement in post-World War II America, a revolution in modern contraceptive behavior. Focusing on leaders of the sterilization movement from the 1930's through the turn of the century, this book explores the historic linkages between environment, civil liberties, eugenics, population control, sex education, marriage counseling, and birth control movements in the 20th-century United States. Sterilization has been variously advocated as a medical procedure for defusing the "population bomb," expanding individual rights, liberating women from the fear of pregnancy, strengthening marriage, improving the quality of life of the mentally disabled, or reducing the incidence of hereditary disorders. From an historical standpoint, support for free and unfettered access to sterilization services has aroused opposition in some circles, and was considered a "liberal cause" in post-World War II America. This story demonstrates how a small group of reformers helped to alter traditional notions of gender and sexuality.

Download or read book Foundations of Safety Science written by Sidney Dekker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-04-09 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How are today’s ‘hearts and minds’ programs linked to a late-19th century definition of human factors as people’s moral and mental deficits? What do Heinrich’s ‘unsafe acts’ from the 1930’s have in common with the Swiss cheese model of the early 1990’s? Why was the reinvention of human factors in the 1940’s such an important event in the development of safety thinking? What makes many of our current systems so complex and impervious to Tayloristic safety interventions? ‘Foundations of Safety Science’ covers the origins of major schools of safety thinking, and traces the heritage and interlinkages of the ideas that make up safety science today. Features Offers a comprehensive overview of the theoretical foundations of safety science Provides balanced treatment of approaches since the early 20th century, showing interlinkages and cross-connections Includes an overview and key points at the beginning of each chapter and study questions at the end to support teaching use Uses an accessible style, using technical language where necessary Concentrates on the philosophical and historical traditions and assumptions that underlie all safety approaches