Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant’s Guide

Volcanologist McGuire (A Guide to the End of the World) zeroes in on “the core issues at the heart of the climate emergency” in this urgent survey. It is “no longer a matter of what we can do to avoid” climate change, he writes; instead, people should work to better understand what to “expect in the decades to come” and how to take measures (“such as wholesale tree planting”) to adapt and cut carbon nonetheless. Future decades, he suggests, will see a “hothouse Earth” situation, in which lethal heat waves and “baking summers” become the norm. McGuire offers a brief history of the climate crisis, noting that while the Industrial Revolution brought “an immeasurable rise in the quality of life in many countries,” it came at a great cost (namely pollution, carbon emissions, and ecological degradation). Later sections focus on “the current global heating episode,” laying out instances of extreme weather that have already occurred: blistering heat, widespread flooding, deadly wildfires, and so-called fire tornadoes among them. None of it will improve, McGuire insists, unless major adjustments are made: “Fossil fuel corporations have to be brought to heel, and quickly; the wellheads and coal mines shut down as soon as possible.” This blunt and sobering look at climate change packs a punch. (Oct.)