Seth Baum | Global Catastrophic Risk Institute

GCR News Summary Trial Run

Post Date March 08, 2013

Comments 10 Comments

Author Seth Baum

Category news summary

GCRI, in partnership with Robert de Neufville, is trying out a new project on global catastrophic risk news. The basic idea of the project is to compile various news items related to GCR, and then periodically (probably once or twice per month) summarize them on the GCRI blog. The aim is to help keep people informed with what’s going on in the GCR world. We’re using ‘news’ in the broadest sense of the word, to include anything new: current events, commentaries, announcements, etc, related to …

Double Catastrophe: Intermittent Stratospheric Geoengineering Induced By Societal Collapse

Post Date March 05, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category publications

View the paper “Double Catastrophe: Intermittent Stratospheric Geoengineering Induced By Societal Collapse”

To date, most research on global catastrophes analyzes one risk at a time. A better approach uses systems analysis to capture the many important interactions between risks. This paper analyzes a global catastrophe scenario involving climate change, geoengineering, and another catastrophe. We call the scenario “double catastrophe”.

Climate change and stratospheric geoengineering.The rising temperatures of global climate change pose great risks to humanity and ecosystems. Climate change can be slowed by reducing emissions of greenhouse …

Join GCRI At SRA 2013, December 8-11, Baltimore

Post Date March 04, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category events

Every year, GCRI hosts sessions on global catastrophic risk at meetings of the Society for Risk Analysis, the leading professional society for all forms of risk. The call for presentations for the SRA 2013 Annual Meeting has recently been announced. The meeting will be December 8-11 in Baltimore.

We invite you to join us at this meeting. If you have something to present on any topic related to global catastrophic risk, we want to hear from you. Please send a short (1-5 sentence) speaker bio and …

New Website Events Section

Post Date March 04, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category announcement, discussion groups, events, online lectures

This website now has a new events section, featuring pages for discussion groups, online lectures, and Society for Risk Analysis meetings. We are actively planning new events. Please check back for updates.

Grant Wilson Promoted To Deputy Director

Post Date March 04, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category new affiliate

I am delighted to announce that Grant Wilson has been promoted to Deputy Director of GCRI. He was previously a Professional Associate. The promotion acknowledges the growing leadership role that Grant has come to play for GCRI. Grant is now right there with Tony Barrett and myself in helping build the organization. His legal background and nonprofit experience have been especially valuable. He is also contributing to GCRI’s research, in particular his law article Minimizing global catastrophic and existential risks from emerging technologies through international …

New IEET Article On International Treaties For Emerging Technologies

Post Date March 02, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category emerging technologies, law & policy, publications

Quick FYI – Grant Wilson and I have a new article up at IEET: How to create an international treaty for emerging technologies. The article discusses several options for the institutions that can support such a treaty, mainly institutions within the United Nations. The article was produced for our crowdfunding campaign Preventing Technological Disaster Through International Treaties. We had hoped to raise $8000 and write a full academic journal article, but we only raised $300, so we wrote this instead. I still think it provides …

The Benefits and Harm of Transmitting Into Space

Post Date February 12, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category publications

View the paper “The Benefits and Harm of Transmitting Into Space”

Deliberate and unintended radio transmissions from Earth propagate into space. Deliberate transmissions, such as the Arecibo message pictured above, are intended as attempts to send messages to potential extraterrestrial watchers (METI). Unintended radio leakage includes television and radio broadcasts, cell phone networks, and high-power military and astronomical radars. This radiation gives evidence of our technological civilization to any extraterrestrial watchers. This paper asks: do radio transmissions pose a risk and should they continue? The value …

Updated Donate Page: 3 Reasons To Support GCRI

Post Date February 11, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category announcement, outreach

To help you decide whether to donate to GCRI, we have updated our donate page with three reasons why GCRI is an excellent organization to support:

1. Global catastrophic risk is an important cause. Global catastrophes can affect everyone around the world. Preventing global catastrophes is an efficient way to help a lot of people. Humanity today faces some worrisome threats, making global catastrophic risk an urgent issue to address.

2. GCRI does important work on global catastrophic risk. We help society figure out how it can …

Double Catastrophe Article At Scientific American

Post Date February 06, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category articles, emerging technologies, environmental change

Another quick FYI: I have a new article up at Scientific American blogs, When global catastrophes collide: The climate engineering double catastrophe. This article summarizes my recent journal article with Tim Maher and Jacob Haqq-Misra, Double catastrophe: Intermittent stratospheric geoengineering induced by societal collapse.

Teaching Astrobiology In A Sustainability Course

Post Date February 05, 2013

Comments Comments Closed

Author Seth Baum

Category astrobiology

View the paper “Teaching Astrobiology In A Sustainability Course”

Sustainability commonly refers to the ability for human and/or ecological systems to be sustained on Earth in the face of natural resource depletion, environmental degradation, and other stressors. Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe, including Earth-life colonizing space and life that originates elsewhere. Both are interdisciplinary fields asking big-picture questions about humanity and its surroundings. While sustainability almost always focuses on life on Earth, much about sustainability can be learned from astrobiology. This paper …

STAY INFORMED