informative reflective medium-paced

I have mixed feelings about this book. It does a very good job of listing current scholarship regarding the expected and potential impact of climate change during the 21st century. Not surprisingly, the outlook is grim. Much of what he outlines is relatively common knowledge but he does put some good statistics to flesh out the problems. I did learn a few things, though, e.g. concrete production is the second largest industry in terms of carbon emissions.

However, he does not propose any solutions. There are many Cassandras who publishing dire warnings about the future of the planet. Proposed solutions, though, are rare. Screeds that warn of our doomed future have not seemed to galvanize public action. Pollution in general and carbon emissions in particular are classic examples of negative externalities (aka "the tragedy of the commons"). Market economies can't correct for externalities without government assistance. implementing proper incentives are the key to reducing the negative impact from climate change. Rather than more jeremiads, I would prefer to read books that focus on objective cost/benefit analysis and how we create incentives to move the globe to a better future outcome.

Also, like so many other books about climate change, this book seems to cherry pick its data to present a more alarming forecast in order to galvanize action. The author does a better job of being objective than most other articles and books I have read but I believe he still overstates the case. I think past exaggeration of the impact of climate change has backfired by reducing scientific credibility in the eyes of the general public.

Understanding climate change is a topic I am going to focus on this year. In addition, I am committed to take personal action. In particular, I am going to take action to reduce fossil fuel subsidies and to initiate a national carbon tax.

This was a difficult book to rate. First of all, I have to credit the author for the vast amount of research poured into this book, with 65 pages of notes and sources. It's staggering.

Still, the thought I had at one point when slogging through it was 'this guy must be hell at a party'. Sentences that go on for an entire paragraph, multiple obscure references, some of which I took the time to look up but after a while gave up, six-syllable words when a simpler one would do, all pointed to a general impression of someone who enjoys hearing himself talk.

But all that aside, this book is worth the effort because we have to pay attention to what is happening, and Wallace-Wells has been paying attention for a long time. I'm grateful that he put his thoughts into words. I just wish he had made them a tad more accessible.

Sophie’s final book of the month was The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. It is easily the most terrifying book she has read in a long time, probably ever, a no holds barred look at the realities of climate change. What is likely to happen to our planet, why, and what we need to do to try and slow it down – we’re already far beyond stopping it entirely.

Past the introduction, the book is divided into 12 “Elements of Chaos” with titles that will inspire anxiety in and of themselves. “Hunger”, “Downing”, “Unbreathable Air”, “Dying Oceans” and “Economic Collapse” are among them, each one an eye-opening exploration of just how bad the situation has become while we’ve looked the other way. However bad you think the situation is, you won’t be prepared, and Sophie found herself horrified again and again by the truth of what may happen in the coming decades. The Uninhabitable Earth isn’t 100% doom and gloom though. There are discussions of the ways we can fight back, we just need to get everyone on board. Fast.

The danger with a book like this is that, at a point, the news becomes so depressing, so thoroughly overwhelming, that it is easy to simply shut down. Indeed, Wallace-Wells devotes time to exploring the mental health implications of climate change and the people who have already cut themselves off from society, fearing its imminent collapse, and at one point he even turns to the reader and calls us “brave” for having made it through so far.

Sophie struggled to read The Uninhabitable Earth and had to stop reading at all before bed due to nightmares. She would still recommend you pick it up, however, because only by opening our eyes to reality do we stand a chance at changing the future.

Tbh I only listened to this audiobook with half an ear, cause otherwise I’m not sure I’d have any will to live left. I now know of all the ways global warming might ruin life on Earth as we know it, and while it’s important to be aware of these dangers and act accordingly, this simply left me horrified ...

A good exploration of _current_ effects of human pollution, but jumps around a bit too much and much of the future forecasting seems thinly grounded. The latter chapters seemed even more stream-of-thought random.

This won't change anyones mind, nor will it inspire action, but as a primer or a refresher of what's at stake it will be worth the quick read.

Difficult to read but had great details about the future.

It’s going to get a lot worse, folks.
challenging informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Het slechte nieuws: het is onomkeerbaar, onze planeet wordt onleefbaar. Het goede nieuws: hoe lang dat duurt hebben we enigszins in eigen hand. Af en toe murw gebeukt met het enorme aantal manieren waarop we de lul zijn, maar mooier wordt het gewoon niet. Goede wake-up call.