Book excerpt: Life on earth will come to an end. It's just a matter of when. This book focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet and our species in the future, and looks at both the probability of these events happening and our chances of survival. Coverage extends from discussion of the likely consequences of the current global warming to the inevitable destruction of the Earth in the far future, when it is enveloped by our giant, bloated sun. In between, other end of the world scenarios are examined, including the New Ice Age, asteroid and comet impact, supervolcanoes, and mega-tsunami.