Download or read book Global Catastrophes and Trends written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, the author takes a wide-ranging interdisciplinary look at the catastrophes and trends the next fifty years may bring. The author looks at rare but cataclysmic events, both natural and human-produced, then at trends of global importance: the transition from fossil fuels to other energy sources; demographic and political shifts in Europe, Japan, Russia, China, the United States, and Islamic nations; the battle for global primacy; and growing economic and social inequality. He also considers environmental change and assesses the often misunderstood complexities of global warming.