Insurance Challenges and Resilient Futures in Catastrophic Scenarios

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This chapter examines the complexities of insuring against catastrophic global disasters and the role of governments as potential insurers of last resort. The discussion also considers how resilient food systems could help society adapt and thrive after such calamities.

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What kinds of catastrophic risks could drastically impact global food supply or large-scale electricity supply? What kinds of strategies could help mitigate or recover from such outcomes? How can we plan for and incentivize cooperation in catastrophic scenarios? How can catastrophic and existential risks be communicated more effectively to the average person? What factors cause people to cooperate or not in disaster scenarios? Where should we be spending resources right now to prepare for catastrophe? Why does it seem that governments are largely uninterested in these questions?

Dr. David Denkenberger (also known as 3D) received his master's from Princeton in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Building Systems (dissertation on his patented heat exchanger). He is an assistant professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks in Mechanical Engineering. He cofounded and directs the Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED) and donates half his income to it. He received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, is a Penn State distinguished alumnus, and is a registered professional engineer. He has 73 peer reviewed publications and is the third most prolific author in the existential and global catastrophic risk field. His work has been featured in more than 25 countries in over 200 articles, including articles in Science.

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