Threats To Our Civilization

A great number of the 6000+ posts here deal with the ultimate tragedy: the end of our civilization as we know it due to our own stupidity or, even worse, our malfeasance.  Of course, we’re reminded of all this via the recent revelations about ExxonMobil’s decision to suppress the evidence of climate disruption associated with the burning of fossil fuels.  We learned, to our horror, that the executive team of the US’s largest oil company had zeroed in on this 35 years ago via the exhaustive research performed by its own scientists, but conspired to tell the world the precise opposite, i.e., that fossil fuels were benign.

This post is about something different: the threats to humankind from sources beyond our ability to see them in advance.   Check out this piece on the potential for an asteroid strike, and what our response should be.