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An asteroid impact has to be among the events we should consider as possible threats the survival of civilization in the 21st century. Its severity could be quite high, but its certainty can be classified as comparatively low… [Climate change is] the only item on this list that represents a high certainty of occurring. In fact, it’s already happening. Still unknown is the eventual level of severity. That will depend partly on our actions (or lack thereof) during the next decade or two, partly on the effects of carbon cycle feedbacks that we know too little about, and partly on whatever mitigating or ameliorating impacts we can gain from emerging technologies. Odds are that the severity by the end of this century will be quite high, though probably not threatening to the survival of civilization… We can and should set some priorities on which potential dangers should receive the most emphasis and greater funding. Those priorities should be based not just on the severity of a given threat, but also on its probability of occurring.
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