Our Final Hour Quotes

“It may not be absurd hyperbole—indeed, it may not even be an overstatement—to assert that the most crucial location in space and time (apart from the big bang itself) could be here and now. I think the odds are no better than fifty–fifty that our present civilisation on Earth will survive to the end of the present century. Our choices and actions could ensure the perpetual future of life (not just on Earth, but perhaps far beyond it, too). Or in contrast, through malign intent, or through misadventure, twenty-first century technology could jeopardise life’s potential, foreclosing its human and posthuman future. What happens here on Earth, in this century, could conceivably make the difference between a near eternity filled with ever more complex and subtle forms of life and one filled with nothing but base matter. 2”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning

“Some innovations just don’t attract enough economic or social demand: just as supersonic flight and manned space flight stagnated after the 1970s, today (in 2002) the potentialities of broadband (G3) technology are being taken up rather slowly because few people want to surf the Internet or watch movies from their mobile phones.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning

“The Internet offers access, in principle, to an unprecedented variety of opinions and information. Nonetheless, it could narrow understanding and sympathies rather than broaden them: some people may choose to stay closeted within a cybercommunity of the likeminded.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning

“The other naturally occurring viruses, like ebola, are not durable enough to generate a runaway epidemic.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning

“لەسەر هەزار دۆلار گرەوم کردووە کە لە ساڵی ٢٠٢٠دا هەڵەیەکی بایلۆجی یاخود تیرۆرێکی بایلۆجی دەبێتە هۆی مردنی ملیۆنان کەس.
لەماوەی چەند ساڵی داهاتوودا، نەخشەی بۆماوەی ژمارەیەکی زۆری ڤایرۆس و ئاژەڵان و ڕووەکەکان لە داتابەیسی تاقیگەکاندا ئەرشیف دەکرێت و دەخرێتە ئینتەرنێتەوە. نەخشەی بۆماوەیی ڤایرۆسی ئیبۆلا ئەرشیف کراوە؛ هەزاران کەسی لێهاتوو هەن دەتوانن بە بەکارهێنانی هێڵی دی ئێن ئەیی ئاساندەستکەوتوو ڤایرۆسەکە بەرهەم بهێننەوە.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's warning - How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future in This Century — On Earth and Beyond

“بەدرێژایی مێژووی مرۆڤایەتی خراپترین کارەساتەکان یان ژینگەیی بوون، یانیش پەتا و نەخۆشی گوازراوە بوون. بەڵام بەرپرسیاری گەورەترین کارەساتەکانی سەدەی بیست مرۆڤ بوو.
بەپێی خەمڵاندنێک لە ماوەی دوو جەنگە جیهانییەکەدا، ١٨٧ ملیۆن کەس بەهۆی جەنگ و چەوسانەوە و برسێتییەوە تیاچوون. لەوانەیە سەدەی بیست یەکەمین سەدە بووبێت تیایدا قوربانییانی ڕژێمە دیکتاتۆرەکان زیاتر بووبێت لە قوربانییانی کارەساتە سروشتییەکان.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's warning - How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future in This Century — On Earth and Beyond

“زۆرجار زاناکان بەرامبەر بە دەرئەنجامی دۆزینەوەکانی خۆشیان نابینان.
ئێرنست ڕوسەرفۆرد، گەورە فیزیکزانی ناوکیی سەردەمی خۆی، بەکارهێنانە کردەییەکانی وزەی ناوکیی بە قسەی هیچوپوچ زانیوە.
ڕێبەرانی ڕادیۆ وایەرلێسیان بە جێگرەوەی تێلەگراف زانیوە، نەک بە گەیاندنی بابەتێک لە یەک کەسەوە بۆ ژمارەیەکی زۆری کەس. نە جۆن ڤۆن نیومانی دیزاینەری کۆمپیوتەر و بیرکاریزان، نە تۆماس واتسنی دۆزەرەوەی ئای بی ئێمیش وێنای ئەوەیان نەکردووە لە وڵاتێکدا زیاد لە چەند کۆمپیوتەرێک پێویست بێت.
ئەمڕۆکە لە هەموو جێگایەکدا موبایل و کۆمپیوتەر هەیە.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's warning - How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future in This Century — On Earth and Beyond

“Humanity’s long-term impact on Earth depends both on population and on lifestyle. WWF, a conservation group, has published estimates of the land area, or “footprint,” needed to support each person: it concludes that an area equivalent to “almost three planets” would be required to support the world population with the lifestyle and consumption pattern that it predicts for 2050. This particular calculation is controversial and perhaps somewhat tendentious: for instance, the “footprint” includes the area of forest needed to soak up the carbon dioxide arising from each person’s energy use, making no allowance for a shift to renewable energy sources, nor for the tenable viewpoint that modest rises in carbon dioxide levels are tolerable. Nonetheless, the world plainly could not perpetually support its entire population in the present style of middle-class Europeans and North Americans.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning

“IN HIS BOOK THE FUTURE OF LIFE, E.O. Wilson sets the scene with an image that highlights the complex fragility of “Spaceship Earth”: “The totality of life, known as the biosphere to scientists and creation to the theologians, is a membrane of organisms wrapped around Earth so thin it cannot be seen edgewise from a space shuttle, yet so internally complex that most species composing it remain undiscovered.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning

“dirigiste”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning

“A cosmic perspective actually strengthens our concerns about what happens here and now, because it offers a vision of just how prodigious life’s future potential could be. Earth’s biosphere is the outcome of more than four billion years of Darwinian selection: the stupendous time spans of the evolutionary past are now part of common culture. But life’s future could be more prolonged than its past. In the aeons that lie ahead, even more marvellous diversity could emerge, on and beyond Earth. The unfolding of intelligence and complexity could still be near its cosmic beginnings.”
― Martin J. Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning