http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
The book is concerned with human progress and the unexpected consequences of technological advances. It examines a vast range of topics from medicine to agriculture, including electronics, communications, a global economy and a burgeoning population.
Cover; Contents; 1. Have We the Knowledge, Willpower, and Determination to Survive?; 2. Technology and Survival-Are They Compatible?; Disaster movie scenarios; Who will be vulnerable?; The villain; Satellite loss and air traffic; What will happen in the modest sunspot scenario?; A ground-based view of this modest event; History of auroras and sunspot activity; Vulnerability of modern interconnected power grid networks; Consequences of power grid failures; The real disaster situation; When will it happen?; How bad could it be?; Wider area consequences of grid failures.
Which areas of the globe are at risk?Is there any good news?; Knowledge is power and absolutely essential for survival; How should we view technology?; 3. Natural Disasters and Civilization; A fascination with danger; Events that happen only on geological timescales; Earthquakes and volcanoes; Future eruptions; European effects from Icelandic volcanoes; Tsunamis and floods; Rain storms; Ice ages; Attempts at climate prediction; Disease and plagues; How bleak are our prospects?; Weapons of mass destruction; The good news; 4. Good Technologies with Bad Side Effects.
Technological changes within our controlBeauty, style, and fashion; Progress no matter what; Acceptance of new ideas; Historic examples of unfortunate technology; Victorian kitchens; Hindsight so far; 5. From Trains to Transistors; Industrial revolutions; Food-small changes and big effects; The dark side of the Industrial Revolution; Understanding pollutants in our own time; Pollutants and climate change; Arithmetic for sceptics; Other greenhouse gases; Why are we reluctant to solve the problem of greenhouse gases?; Ozone-our shield against ultraviolet light.
Twenty-first century technology control of trace contaminantsBiological sensitivity to chemicals at levels of parts per billion; Potential future difficulties; How do we take control?; 6. Food, Survival, and Resources; Our caveman conditioning; Can we produce enough food?; How much food do we actually need?; Technology and obesity; More examples of our sensitivity to trace contaminants; Catalysis, enzymes, diet, and health; How can we recognize when there are delayed side effects?; How pure is our food?; Conclusion; 7. The 'Silent Spring' Revisited; Food, survival, and technology.
From hunting to farmingEarly hunter gathering; Growth of cities and long-range food transport-early Rome; Repeated patterns from later European nations; Twentieth-century agricultural technology; The bombshell of 1962; Genetic time bombs; How successful is a monoculture with pesticides?; Farming attitudes and black grass; A return to a diversity of breeds; Fishing; Technology of mutations; Water; Optimism or pessimism?; 8. Medicine-Expectations and Reality; Medicine-the scale of the problem; Attitudes and expectations from experts and the public; Understanding side effects and drug testing.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
[Oxford, United Kingdom] Oxford University Press, [2016]