Cosmic threats : a planetary response / Neville Brown.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brown, Neville, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emergency management--International cooperation.

Emergency management.

Disaster relief--International cooperation.

Disaster relief.

Natural disasters--Government policy.

Natural disasters.

Collisions (Astrophysics)--Government policy.

Collisions (Astrophysics).

Security, International.

Defensive (Military science).

Government policy.

Physical Description:

xviii, 178 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Brighton ; Portland : Sussex Academic Press, 2017.

Summary:

"Cosmic Threats : A Planetary Perspective calls for the progressive creation of supra-national institutions intended to protect life on Earth against natural threats, be these terrestrial (pandemics, super-volcanoes, major earthquakes...) or celestial (comets, asteroids, meteor storms...). The protection proffered would need to be pre-emptive though also responsive, reducing the number of adverse events but also their specific consequences. Rancid though the world scene currently looks, this may actually be a good time to look towards a planetary security programme that can build up over a century or more. It would need special international institutions that are sufficiently integrated to cope with the celestial and terrestrial contingencies anticipated yet not so much a class apart as to be a law unto themselves, a military regime able to ride roughshod over general world opinion. Such an holistic approach to planetary security might prove to be a definitive substitute for war between nations. Professor Brown comes to such questions from a broad career background. His lead qualifications are a Masters degree from Oxford in Modern History and a Doctorate of Science from Birmingham (UK) in Applied Geophysics. He has been a naval meteorologist; staff college instructor; part-time but pro-active as a defence correspondent for several of the West's leading journals; and political consultant. From 1980 to 1986, he was Chairman of the Council for Arms Control. From 1993 to 1997 he worked half-time in the Sensors and Electronic Systems directorate of Britain's Ministry of Defence. This was as the Academic Consultant in a small task force specifically created to advise the government of the day apropos what British policy to Strategic Ballistic Missile Defence should be"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prefatory statement

The author

Legends and realities

Galactic reconnaissance

[I] Underlying overviews

Tough centuries ahead

Planetary confinement: (1) Limited world war; (2) Ambiguous togetherness

The Abrahamic schism: (1) Islam; (2) The Holy Land

[II] Space age progression

The thermonuclear five

Skyward progression: (1) Muscovite adjustment; (2) The Chinese heritage; (3) China ascendant

[III] Space age encounter

Terrestrial belligerence: (1) Near space; (2) Regular war; (3) Insurgency and proliferation

Near Earth objects

Celestial engagement: (1) Strategic command; (2) Operational applications

[IV] Cosmic spearhead

Emergent priorities

The cosmic setting

Appendix A: The geostrategic structure

Appendix B: Earthquakes and volcanoes.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781845197704

1845197704

9781845197711

1845197712

OCLC:

945358235