New York’s Housing Plans Must Address Affordability—& Climate Change

Post Date January 06, 2023
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View the article “New York’s Housing Plans Must Address Affordability—& Climate Change”.

New York City is one of the most energy-efficient places in the United States, thanks to its high population density and excellent (by US standards) transit. However, it is also one of the most expensive places, thanks to its extremely high cost of housing. This article calls for an ambitious increase in the local housing supply to address both affordability and climate change. It is published in City Limits, a news publication …

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December Newsletter: Year in Review

Post Date December 19, 2022
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Dear friends,This year has been an important year for global catastrophic risk. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, a multitude of extreme weather events, the release of new AI systems, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have either threatened global catastrophe or raised issues related to global catastrophic risk. Additionally, the recent collapse of the cryptocurrency company FTX has brought disruption and scrutiny to the field global catastrophic risk due to FTX’s philanthropic connections to the field.As explained in this year’s Annual Report, these events have prompted …

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2022 Annual Report

Post Date December 16, 2022
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Our work in 2022 has taken an unexpected turn. We began the year focused on a series of research projects. Then, in late February, Russia invaded Ukraine, creating a historic nuclear crisis. This began a series of events that put global catastrophic risk into the news. The northern summer saw major extreme weather events in many locations, thrusting climate change to the forefront. Most recently, the dramatic collapse of the cryptocurrency company FTX brought a different sort of news coverage. The philanthropic arm of FTX …

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November Newsletter: Giving Tuesday

Post Date November 22, 2022
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Dear friends,

GCRI would like to take the time to thank you for your continued support throughout 2022. Because of your help, we have been able to accomplish much throughout the year including publishing research, hosting another successful Advising and Collaboration Program, and much more (you’ll find our summary of 2022 accomplishments in the upcoming December newsletter). Whether you subscribe to our newsletter, participate in our annual Advising and Collaboration Program, or have the means to donate, we are grateful for your generosity. To continue supporting …

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Assessing Natural Global Catastrophic Risks

Post Date October 14, 2022
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View the paper “Assessing Natural Global Catastrophic Risks”

Humanity today faces a wide range of threats. Some, such as nuclear war, are of human origin. Others, such as volcano eruptions, are not. The relative importance of these two categories of risk is a matter of ongoing debate. This paper argues that prior theoretical research has understated the risk from natural threats. It presents analysis of six natural global catastrophic risks, finding potential for several to pose a high ongoing risk to humanity.

Prior research has posed a …

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Doing Better on Climate Change

Post Date October 07, 2022
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View the article “Doing Better on Climate Change”.

This article, published in the Effective Altruism Forum, presents a wide-ranging discussion of how to factor climate change into efforts to make the world a better place. The article relates climate change to other global catastrophic risks and related issues. It emphasizes the value of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and explains which activities are effective at reducing emissions.

The article begins as follows:

Summary: How to factor climate change into our efforts to make the world a better place. For …

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Book Review: The Precipice

Post Date May 09, 2022
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Book review of The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity, by Toby Ord, Hachette Books, 2020.

The new book The Precipice by Toby Ord provides a wide-ranging survey of topics related to global catastrophic risk. Compared to other books on global catastrophic risk, The Precipice stands out for its depth of discussion, its quality of scholarship, and its readability. However, the book errs in its emphasis on only the most extreme global catastrophe scenarios, its strong belief in the resilience of civilization, and …

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Pandemic Refuges: Lessons from Two Years of COVID-19

Post Date May 06, 2022
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Category infectious disease, publications

View the paper “Pandemic Refuges: Lessons from Two Years of COVID-19”

Refuges have been proposed as a means of ensuring that at least some people survive a global catastrophe. While it would be better to avoid the catastrophe in the first place, if a catastrophe is to occur, a refuge could be a real difference-maker in terms of the long-term effects on human civilization. Prior refuges research emphasizes highly isolated locations such as underground, underwater, or in outer space. These exotic concepts may seem far removed …

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Early Reflections and Resources on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Post Date March 18, 2022
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Category nuclear war

View the article “Early Reflections and Resources on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine”.

This article, published in the Effective Altruism Forum, presents analysis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine written for a global catastrophic risk audience. The article discusses nuclear war risk, the changing geopolitical landscape, and recommendations for personal preparedness and philanthropy. It also describes the author’s own activities in addressing the immediate risk and presents a compilation of resources for learning more about the war.

See also the GCRI Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

The …

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How to Evaluate the Risk of Nuclear War

Post Date March 18, 2022
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View the article “How to evaluate the risk of nuclear war”.

This article, published in BBC Future, discusses the quantitative analysis of nuclear war risk. It is written in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and also discusses more general analytical issues, such as found in GCRI’s nuclear war research.

See also the GCRI Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

The article begins as follows:

One day last week, I woke up in the morning and looked out the window to see the Sun was shining. My neighbourhood …

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