Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk
Asteroids and comets pose unique policy problems. They are the ultimate example of a low probability, high consequence event: no one in recorded human history is confirmed to have ever died from an asteroid or a comet, but the odds are that at some time in the next several centuries (and conceivably...
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ftcolumbiaunivls:oai:scholarship.law.columbia.edu:faculty_scholarship-1617 2024-01-14T10:11:26+01:00 Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk Gerrard, Michael B. Barber, Anna W. 1997-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/697 https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/context/faculty_scholarship/article/1617/viewcontent/6_N.Y.U._Envtl._L.J._4.pdf unknown Scholarship Archive https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/697 https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/context/faculty_scholarship/article/1617/viewcontent/6_N.Y.U._Envtl._L.J._4.pdf Faculty Scholarship National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) near earth object (NEO) environmental review National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact statement (EIS) defense system New York University Environmental Law Journal NYU Environmental Law Journal Environmental Law International Law Law text 1997 ftcolumbiaunivls 2023-12-16T19:04:55Z Asteroids and comets pose unique policy problems. They are the ultimate example of a low probability, high consequence event: no one in recorded human history is confirmed to have ever died from an asteroid or a comet, but the odds are that at some time in the next several centuries (and conceivably next year) an asteroid or a comet will cause mass localized destruction and that at some time in the coming half million years (and conceivably next year), an asteroid or a comet will kill several billion people. The sudden extinction of the dinosaurs, and most other species 65 million years ago, is now generally attributed to the impact of a 10-kilometer-wide comet or asteroid at Chicxulub in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that left a 110-mile-wide crater. Even our own century has seen smaller-scale impacts. On June 30, 1908, hundreds of square miles of trees were burned and herds of reindeer may have been incinerated in the Tunguska region of Siberia by an explosion with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs, apparently caused by a 60-meter asteroid. Airborne blasts in the kiloton to megaton range were observed in 1930 at the Curuca River in Brazil; in 1947 at Sikhote-Alin, Siberia; in 1965 over Revelstoke, Canada; and over Ontario in 1966 and Alaska in 1969. Most recently, on November 22, 1996, a meteorite crashed into a coffee field in Honduras, leaving a 165-footwide crater. Text Alaska Siberia Columbia Law School: Scholarship Repository Canada Tunguska ENVELOPE(144.784,144.784,59.388,59.388) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Columbia Law School: Scholarship Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftcolumbiaunivls |
language |
unknown |
topic |
National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) near earth object (NEO) environmental review National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact statement (EIS) defense system New York University Environmental Law Journal NYU Environmental Law Journal Environmental Law International Law Law |
spellingShingle |
National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) near earth object (NEO) environmental review National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact statement (EIS) defense system New York University Environmental Law Journal NYU Environmental Law Journal Environmental Law International Law Law Gerrard, Michael B. Barber, Anna W. Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk |
topic_facet |
National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) near earth object (NEO) environmental review National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact statement (EIS) defense system New York University Environmental Law Journal NYU Environmental Law Journal Environmental Law International Law Law |
description |
Asteroids and comets pose unique policy problems. They are the ultimate example of a low probability, high consequence event: no one in recorded human history is confirmed to have ever died from an asteroid or a comet, but the odds are that at some time in the next several centuries (and conceivably next year) an asteroid or a comet will cause mass localized destruction and that at some time in the coming half million years (and conceivably next year), an asteroid or a comet will kill several billion people. The sudden extinction of the dinosaurs, and most other species 65 million years ago, is now generally attributed to the impact of a 10-kilometer-wide comet or asteroid at Chicxulub in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that left a 110-mile-wide crater. Even our own century has seen smaller-scale impacts. On June 30, 1908, hundreds of square miles of trees were burned and herds of reindeer may have been incinerated in the Tunguska region of Siberia by an explosion with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs, apparently caused by a 60-meter asteroid. Airborne blasts in the kiloton to megaton range were observed in 1930 at the Curuca River in Brazil; in 1947 at Sikhote-Alin, Siberia; in 1965 over Revelstoke, Canada; and over Ontario in 1966 and Alaska in 1969. Most recently, on November 22, 1996, a meteorite crashed into a coffee field in Honduras, leaving a 165-footwide crater. |
format |
Text |
author |
Gerrard, Michael B. Barber, Anna W. |
author_facet |
Gerrard, Michael B. Barber, Anna W. |
author_sort |
Gerrard, Michael B. |
title |
Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk |
title_short |
Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk |
title_full |
Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk |
title_fullStr |
Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk |
title_full_unstemmed |
Asteroids and Comets: U.S. and International Law and the Lowest-Probability, Highest Consequence Risk |
title_sort |
asteroids and comets: u.s. and international law and the lowest-probability, highest consequence risk |
publisher |
Scholarship Archive |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/697 https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/context/faculty_scholarship/article/1617/viewcontent/6_N.Y.U._Envtl._L.J._4.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(144.784,144.784,59.388,59.388) |
geographic |
Canada Tunguska |
geographic_facet |
Canada Tunguska |
genre |
Alaska Siberia |
genre_facet |
Alaska Siberia |
op_source |
Faculty Scholarship |
op_relation |
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/697 https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/context/faculty_scholarship/article/1617/viewcontent/6_N.Y.U._Envtl._L.J._4.pdf |
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1788066338141372416 |