The Doomsday Book (2005) (edit title/settings)

Organizations edit see section history

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific intergovernmental body first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53. Its mission is to provide comprehensive scientific assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences, and possible options for adapting to these consequences or mitigating the effects.
• WHO (World Health Organization): The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with international public health.
• Health Protection Laboratory, UK: Add a description of this organization.
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
• Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
• World Bank: The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty.
• U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research
• Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research, U.K
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF): The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada, United States and the United Kingdom. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects.
• National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff. Its main responsibility is to provide impartial public service broadcasting.
• Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo, Norway
• International Energy Agency (IEA): The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• DDT: Pesticide. Very harmful to the ecology. Banned in most countries, yet leaching has occurred, and disposal is shoddy.
• Pandemic: A disease which spreads over a very large area and affects a large proportion of the population - an epidemic which spreads across continents.
• H5N1: Avian Flu Strain - 76% mortality rate.
• SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
• RHIC: Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
• WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction
• Persistent Organic Pollutants: Chemicals which do not get broken down easily by natural processes or once ingested. Have a tendency to accumulate in fatty tissues of animals, and have been linked to multiple diseases.
• El Nino: Pacific Weather Phenomenon
• Ecotone: A boundary between two different climatic regimes.
• EU ETS: European Union's Emission Trading Scheme
• Interglacial: A period of high temperatures between Ice Ages, with a rapid initial rise in temperature, and a slow but accelerating cooling trend thereafter.
• Extinction Level Event (ELE): A Cataclysmic geological or astronomical event which is so destructive that it results in mass extinctions.
• Torino Scale: A scale of measurement devised by Richard Binzel of MIT, which takes into account the probability of impact of an extraterrestrial object on Earth, as well as the scale of damage it would cause. A Torino score of 0 would mean that either an impact has virtually no chance of happening, or that it would cause no significant damage. A score of 10 would indicate an impact that is 100 percent certain to happen, and that would devastate life on Earth.
• Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): One of the Best scales for measuring Volcanic Eruptions. It takes into account both the magnitude of the eruption and the intensity of the eruption. The scale is logarithmic, which means every successive number on the scale means a 10 times magnitude and intensity increase.
• Caldera: A large crater caused by the violent explosion of a volcano that collapses into a depression.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Doomsayers - Anybody right yet?: Describe this theme.
• Global Political Unrest & Resultant Dangers
• Climate Collapse
• Inadvertant Negative Externalities of Growth
• Cataclysmic Events & The Chances of their Occurrence
• Short Term vs. Long Term: An Ethical Debate

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Joel Levy (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: GB5005 .L48 2005
• Dewey: 001.9

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Nonfiction › Social Sciences › Emigration & Immigration
• Books › Outdoors & Nature › Conservation › Environmentalism
• Books › Outdoors & Nature › Ecosystems
• Books › Outdoors & Nature › Natural Resources
• Books › Law › Environmental & Natural Resources Law
• Books › Law › Ethics & Professional Responsibility
• Books › Nonfiction › Current Events › Terrorism
• Books › Nonfiction › Philosophy › Good & Evil
• Books › Nonfiction › Urban Planning & Development › Environmental Planning

More Books Like This edit see section history