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worst case scenarios

Reconsidering Fred Guterl’s book The Fate of the Species

March 24, 2020 / Leave a Comment

Like many people I’m pondering the intensifying COVID-19 infectious disease crisis, with daily life here in Australia (I live in Melbourne) beginning to transform as governments implement policies which upend daily life and many industries. Initial forecasts suggest we’re likely to see the worst level of unemployment since the Great Depression. I have no idea … [Read more…]

Posted in: Anticipatory action, Knowledge practices, PhD research Tagged: Prospective knowledge practices, worst case scenarios

Do green movements play the doom card too frequently? And, if so, does it matter?

August 2, 2017 / Leave a Comment

These questions have been on my mind lately, particularly in relation to an article entitled “The Uninhabitable Earth” (link) which recently caught fire on social media. This post briefly considers these questions and related questions about human action on climate and energy issues. The questions are not simple or straightforward to consider, but topical high-profile … [Read more…]

Posted in: Anticipatory action, Climate change, Sustainability issues, Uncategorized Tagged: climate change, worst case scenarios

The Population Bomb revisited – again

June 2, 2015 / Leave a Comment

It’s a bit too soon, arguably, to do a full postmortem on the book The Population Bomb and especially on related debates – given the global population continues to rapidly rise and is heading towards 9 or 9.5 billion by mid-century – but lately I spotted some interesting revisiting of the book, its impacts, and … [Read more…]

Posted in: Anticipatory action, PhD research, Sustainability science Tagged: Paul Erhlich, Scenarios, worst case scenarios

To collapse or not to collapse: is it just a stupid question, or should it be discussed?

February 14, 2015 / Leave a Comment

Last night I went to the Sustainable Living Festival’s annual great debate, this time on the somewhat convoluted topic (perhaps written by a committee?) of “To collapse or not to collapse: Pushing for economic ruin or building a great transition”, juxtaposing: At one end of the spectrum, [are] some environmentalists [who] are fueled by a … [Read more…]

Posted in: Sustainability issues, Sustainability science, Uncategorized Tagged: Sustainability, worst case scenarios

Preoccupations with collapse and crisis, and the risks of such tendencies

January 12, 2015 / 2 Comments

It seems to be increasingly common to consider the prospect of collapse (or some form of major “breakdown”) in the near-future (e.g. here, here, here, here). Authors and activists like Paul Gilding assert that some form of collapse is inevitable. Gilding writes that “the time to act preventatively has past” and asserts that “the coming … [Read more…]

Posted in: Anticipatory action, Sustainability issues Tagged: collapse, Sustainability, worst case scenarios

Worst case scenarios – how should we deal with low-probability risks of disaster?

December 22, 2014 / Leave a Comment

Worse case scenarios are an important part of sustainability discourses which I’ve recently been prompted to consider more deeply. Indeed Cass Sunstein – in his book Worst Case Scenarios (published by Harvard University Press in 2007) – talks about “worse-case specialists”, a group which he contends includes environmentalists (along with many others such as those … [Read more…]

Posted in: Anticipatory action, PhD research, Sustainability issues, Sustainability science Tagged: PhD research, Scenarios, worst case scenarios

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