Speaker
Description
It's Saturday, April 14, 2029. The day before, the Apophis asteroid passed within 40,000 kilometers of the Earth. The time has come to draw lessons from the few months that preceded this unique event in the history of mankind: the information campaign by the scientific community, the exceptional media coverage, the flowering of conspiracy sites of both religious and non-religious obedience, the various social movements, the clumsy political declarations, etc. Beyond the renewed interest in astronomical sciences and the interest of political powers in planetary defense, the confirmation of Jean-Pierre Dupuy's theory of enlightened catastrophism leads us to wonder about the imperative need to establish a truly global alliance, under the aegis of the United Nations, to take the NEO phenomenon seriously, one of the rare natural phenomena that can present a real danger to the Earth without humanity bearing the slightest responsibility. While scientific input is essential, it is not enough to contribute to the political decisions that may be required. What is needed is a real contribution from the human sciences, in a truly plural approach that takes into account the ideologies, philosophies and religions specific to our species. The threat of an asteroid could constitute a new and important stage in the globalization process in which humanity is engaged.