However, with the increased interest in mass extinctions and their causes, catastrophes have re-emerged as valid hypotheses for at least some of the great episodes of change in the Earth's biota, such as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event.
But even if weapons spread, only their use would cause catastrophe.
Financial innovation has the potential to do a tremendous amount of good, but it can also cause catastrophe.
This is not the first time a highly innovative approach to a severe disease has caused catastrophe.
All of these could cause global catastrophes that would wipe out large portions of the planet's life, but, given we have survived for several hundreds of thousands of years while at risk of these, it is unlikely that a natural disaster such as that will cause catastrophe in the next few centuries.
Instead it seems to deploy what I call the providential principle: if there's even a 1% chance that our policy will not cause catastrophe, we'll take it.
What has happened is that a team of researchers, using improved detection techniques, has determined that the number of near-Earth asteroids capable of causing catastrophe is about half that of previous estimates.
Scientists have long known that it plays a role in turning genes on, controlling development, and that its presence at the wrong time can cause catastrophe: Years ago pregnant women using acne creams containing related chemicals saw terrible birth defects.
The Turkish Deputy Prime minister said it would cause catastrophe.
Eisenstein finally wrote, "What caused catastrophe to overtake the picture I had worked on for two years?
