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The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet
The world is waking up to a new wildfires are now seasonal in California, the Northeast is getting less and less snow each winter, and the ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctica are melting fast. Heat is the first order threat that drives all other impacts of the climate crisis. And as the temperature rises, it is revealing fault lines in our governments, our politics, our economy, and our values. The basic science is not Stop burning fossil fuels tomorrow, and the global temperature will stop rising tomorrow. Stop burning fossil fuels in 50 years, and the temperature will keep rising for 50 years, making parts of our planet virtually uninhabitable. It’s up to us. The hotter it gets, the deeper and wider our fault lines will open.
The Heat Will Kill You First is about the extreme ways in which our planet is already changing. It is about why spring is coming a few weeks earlier and fall is coming a few weeks later and the impact that will have on everything from our food supply to disease outbreaks. It is about what will happen to our lives and our communities when typical summer days in Chicago or Boston go from 90° F to 110°F. A heatwave, Goodell explains, is a predatory event— one that culls out the most vulnerable people. But that is changing. As heatwaves become more intense and more common, they will become more democratic.
As an award-winning journalist who has been at the forefront of environmental journalism for decades, Goodell’s new book may be his most provocative yet, explaining how extreme heat will dramatically change the world as we know it. Masterfully reported, mixing the latest scientific insight with on-the-ground storytelling, Jeff Goodell tackles the big questions and uncovers how extreme heat is a force beyond anything we have reckoned with before.
The Heat Will Kill You First is about the extreme ways in which our planet is already changing. It is about why spring is coming a few weeks earlier and fall is coming a few weeks later and the impact that will have on everything from our food supply to disease outbreaks. It is about what will happen to our lives and our communities when typical summer days in Chicago or Boston go from 90° F to 110°F. A heatwave, Goodell explains, is a predatory event— one that culls out the most vulnerable people. But that is changing. As heatwaves become more intense and more common, they will become more democratic.
As an award-winning journalist who has been at the forefront of environmental journalism for decades, Goodell’s new book may be his most provocative yet, explaining how extreme heat will dramatically change the world as we know it. Masterfully reported, mixing the latest scientific insight with on-the-ground storytelling, Jeff Goodell tackles the big questions and uncovers how extreme heat is a force beyond anything we have reckoned with before.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2023
1104 people are currently reading
19587 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Goodell
13 books410 followersJeff Goodell’s latest book is The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet. He is the author of six previous books, including The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, which was a New York Times Critics Top Book of 2017. He has covered climate change for more than two decades at Rolling Stone and discussed climate and energy issues on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He is a Senior Fellow at the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center and a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,220 reviews
June 23, 2024
Full disclosure: I didn't just get an early look at THE HEAT WILL KILL YOU FIRST thanks to NetGalley; I read and bid (a lot) for the proposal when I was an executive editor at Thomas Dunne Books because it was amazing, promising a book as deep and affecting as Goodell's THE WATER WILL COME. Sadly, I lost HEAT at auction, and while that normally makes one bitter and hoping a book will fail, I feel the exact opposite about this one. I was anxious to read the whole thing; heck, that's half the reason I bid on it. And, wow, does it not disappoint.
This is more than just a dry recitation of what the heat from burning fossil fuels is doing to the planet. It's a travelogue of a dying Earth, which makes the statistics and effects of the heat come alive (albeit by killing). For every sublime moment, such as being the first people ever to see the front of an Antarctic glacier before strapping sensors to seals so that what the heat is doing to those glaciers can be measured when the seals swim under them; there's a terrifying moment, such as hungry polar bear stalking the Arctic with no place left to go as the pack ice melts and only the author to eat. The writing is riveting and in its simple, straightforward horror would make Jeff Vandermeer jealous.
What gets me most is this. The whole week the book went to auction, it was well over 100 degrees in the city. Just brutal, baking weather. And only a few years later the heat is worse, with a heat dome smother much of the South and Canadian wildfires choking the north. In a weird coincidence, the family of hikers who die in the first chapter from the heat were mentioned last weekend in a story about another group of hikers who were killed by the heat. It's only getting worse, the heat, and this is the book that will tell everyone not what's coming, but what's already here.
And the only way to stop it is to stop burning fossil fuels. Yes, alternate power (solar, wind) is being adopted faster than most thought, so there's some hope, but clearly tens, if not hundreds of millions will die. With luck, some of them can be saved if this book, well, lights a fire under the right people.
This is more than just a dry recitation of what the heat from burning fossil fuels is doing to the planet. It's a travelogue of a dying Earth, which makes the statistics and effects of the heat come alive (albeit by killing). For every sublime moment, such as being the first people ever to see the front of an Antarctic glacier before strapping sensors to seals so that what the heat is doing to those glaciers can be measured when the seals swim under them; there's a terrifying moment, such as hungry polar bear stalking the Arctic with no place left to go as the pack ice melts and only the author to eat. The writing is riveting and in its simple, straightforward horror would make Jeff Vandermeer jealous.
What gets me most is this. The whole week the book went to auction, it was well over 100 degrees in the city. Just brutal, baking weather. And only a few years later the heat is worse, with a heat dome smother much of the South and Canadian wildfires choking the north. In a weird coincidence, the family of hikers who die in the first chapter from the heat were mentioned last weekend in a story about another group of hikers who were killed by the heat. It's only getting worse, the heat, and this is the book that will tell everyone not what's coming, but what's already here.
And the only way to stop it is to stop burning fossil fuels. Yes, alternate power (solar, wind) is being adopted faster than most thought, so there's some hope, but clearly tens, if not hundreds of millions will die. With luck, some of them can be saved if this book, well, lights a fire under the right people.
August 24, 2023
Exceptional. Incredible writing for both the narratives and dispensing critical science information. An absolute must read
September 4, 2023
Terrifying in the extreme......
August 9, 2023
Here in Tampa, Florida we’re already realizing that this enduring and record breaking Summer heat may well be the coolest Summer that will ever be. Heat and humidity combined have pushed the heat index into breathtaking (literally) territory, and I have lived here since the late 1970s and lived without air conditioning until the early 1990s.
Sadly, this book did not offer much hope for the planet.
The possibility of atmospheric and oceanic heating have been predicted as early as 1856, and was taken to the US Federal government by scientists in the 1950s. Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House during his tenure, and Ronald Reagan promptly removed them. Once again scientists insistently presented evidence for the need for the government to act during the 1980s.
And here we are.
Paris, meanwhile, has been remodeling the city by introducing no car zones, planting trees, extending the metro system to move people in and out of the city without automobiles, and examining redesigning beautiful old buildings in ways that will allow air flow and reduce the need for grid breaking electricity. This information about Paris surprised and impressed me, and provides a little bit of hope that some communities will be able to extend their stay.
Florida will be underwater and that will end a useless political folly that has stubbornly refused to address anything except money making destruction.
I step down from my soapbox and wish us all well, not knowing what will come next.
Sadly, this book did not offer much hope for the planet.
The possibility of atmospheric and oceanic heating have been predicted as early as 1856, and was taken to the US Federal government by scientists in the 1950s. Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House during his tenure, and Ronald Reagan promptly removed them. Once again scientists insistently presented evidence for the need for the government to act during the 1980s.
And here we are.
Paris, meanwhile, has been remodeling the city by introducing no car zones, planting trees, extending the metro system to move people in and out of the city without automobiles, and examining redesigning beautiful old buildings in ways that will allow air flow and reduce the need for grid breaking electricity. This information about Paris surprised and impressed me, and provides a little bit of hope that some communities will be able to extend their stay.
Florida will be underwater and that will end a useless political folly that has stubbornly refused to address anything except money making destruction.
I step down from my soapbox and wish us all well, not knowing what will come next.
August 30, 2023
I’m going to create a new shelf, called “climate change voyeurism” where books like this, that essentially profit and benefit from expressing outrage at “climate change“ without actually doing anything, pushing the discussion forward, or generally having a coherent opinion other than “climate change is bad, here look” will go. Unfortunately, this might book might be the only one on that shelf because reading anything else like this might give me an aneurysm.
Topics covered are fascinating and impactful at a high level. They are presented poorly and without context or nuance. Best use of this book is to skim the title chapters, pop open a few browser tabs and then do your own research.
I will say if you’re reading this review and genuinely curious about these topics, Vaclav Smil does a great job (with unfortunately fairly academic prose), breaking out actual core contributors to climate change around agriculture, concrete production, industrial manufacturing, smelting that type of thing. one of the takeaways from that book was that eating beef is a huge driver of greenhouse gas, methane, production. To the extent that eating 20% less beef, say, skipping a day a week, is it equivalent of doubling the gas mileage on your car on an emitted CO2 basis. Unfortunately cow emissions is less sexy then pointing at a glacier and making a crying face emoji😢 and as such does not make an appearance in this book.
Writer is annoying. There is kind of a meandering writing style with interjected opinion on everything. At one point he’s talking about how he’s excited to go on a boat, and there are mechanical issues holding them up. Pages are spent on this, which didn’t seem relevant at all to the discussion of Antarctic glaciers, other than the fact that people take boats to go to the glaciers. Like thanks? I’m glad your propeller got fixed or whatever.
Much of what is presented is presented without nuance or even factual basis. The author asserts at one point that “high heats are bad” and that “cell membranes break down at 107 F.” Which like, agreed that high temps suck, but also no cells universally don’t. A simple google search shows hundreds of papers diving into the whole spectrum of proteins and various other squiggly bits that make up cells and how they are impacted by various temperatures from 100-200F. Also if you just like think for a second about the fact that it’s been over 107°, and you haven’t melted into a puddle of amino acids…. This is like the overconfident debate kid in your HS spewing absolute BS on a topic he only looked up on a Wikipedia page earlier that day.
We’re airdropped into a variety of topics that loosely have the theme of “heat“ but they don’t really go together in any sort of reasonable way. This isn’t telling a story. This is a collection of vignettes about things this guy thought was interesting while he travels to cool places and nods thoughtfully. This reads like somebody wasting a book advance on travel. And the result is like a painting with 14 different styles. A collage your nephew made for a school project. Like, wow lil buddy, it’s neat how you put the dying polar bear next to the camel.
Later, in the “what can we do” portion of the book, There is this half chapter long, love letter to a person who decided to “name heat waves.”
that’s their contribution to climate change discourse.
they’re going to put names on heat waves.
and we’re gonna spend the majority of a chapter praising them.
Not that they are going to research something. Not that they have accomplished something new on communicating about heat waves, an updated text alert or other bulletin, or maybe even that they chose to spend a Saturday at the dog park giving out cold water to panting dogs. No. They’re gonna pull some names out of a hat and call the heat waves whatever’s written down.
"oh boy, we're going to call this one Titan on account of it being big."
For this, the person was labeled as “brave and misunderstood.” Bro.... It’s not brave to call something a name. (What is in a name? For by any other name this idea would be just as dumb) It’s not “misunderstood” if everyone understands the concept and is mocking you. If everyone’s calling your idea stupid, maybe consider that it could be stupid.
And the infuriating part of all of this is that this is contrasted with what I consider to be important topics around climate change. There's a need for a book that isn't Vollmann's impenetrable, meandering and depressing prose, or Bill Gates moralizing as he transcribes whatever savior-complex nonsense he's musing about while he putputs around on his private jet.
This book is just annoying. It doesn’t really assist the discussion. It’s just another person lamenting about how climate change is bad, like thanks bro I didn’t know that before. And maybe doubly so the reason I find myself so frustrated, there are some interesting tidbits buried in here around research and obscure projects that if better done, could’ve drawn together into a more interesting and productive book. The discussion of the acceleration around melting glaciers was fantastic. But in whole I feel like I wasted my time reading this. Oh well, at least someone is naming the heat waves.
Topics covered are fascinating and impactful at a high level. They are presented poorly and without context or nuance. Best use of this book is to skim the title chapters, pop open a few browser tabs and then do your own research.
I will say if you’re reading this review and genuinely curious about these topics, Vaclav Smil does a great job (with unfortunately fairly academic prose), breaking out actual core contributors to climate change around agriculture, concrete production, industrial manufacturing, smelting that type of thing. one of the takeaways from that book was that eating beef is a huge driver of greenhouse gas, methane, production. To the extent that eating 20% less beef, say, skipping a day a week, is it equivalent of doubling the gas mileage on your car on an emitted CO2 basis. Unfortunately cow emissions is less sexy then pointing at a glacier and making a crying face emoji😢 and as such does not make an appearance in this book.
Writer is annoying. There is kind of a meandering writing style with interjected opinion on everything. At one point he’s talking about how he’s excited to go on a boat, and there are mechanical issues holding them up. Pages are spent on this, which didn’t seem relevant at all to the discussion of Antarctic glaciers, other than the fact that people take boats to go to the glaciers. Like thanks? I’m glad your propeller got fixed or whatever.
Much of what is presented is presented without nuance or even factual basis. The author asserts at one point that “high heats are bad” and that “cell membranes break down at 107 F.” Which like, agreed that high temps suck, but also no cells universally don’t. A simple google search shows hundreds of papers diving into the whole spectrum of proteins and various other squiggly bits that make up cells and how they are impacted by various temperatures from 100-200F. Also if you just like think for a second about the fact that it’s been over 107°, and you haven’t melted into a puddle of amino acids…. This is like the overconfident debate kid in your HS spewing absolute BS on a topic he only looked up on a Wikipedia page earlier that day.
We’re airdropped into a variety of topics that loosely have the theme of “heat“ but they don’t really go together in any sort of reasonable way. This isn’t telling a story. This is a collection of vignettes about things this guy thought was interesting while he travels to cool places and nods thoughtfully. This reads like somebody wasting a book advance on travel. And the result is like a painting with 14 different styles. A collage your nephew made for a school project. Like, wow lil buddy, it’s neat how you put the dying polar bear next to the camel.
Later, in the “what can we do” portion of the book, There is this half chapter long, love letter to a person who decided to “name heat waves.”
that’s their contribution to climate change discourse.
they’re going to put names on heat waves.
and we’re gonna spend the majority of a chapter praising them.
Not that they are going to research something. Not that they have accomplished something new on communicating about heat waves, an updated text alert or other bulletin, or maybe even that they chose to spend a Saturday at the dog park giving out cold water to panting dogs. No. They’re gonna pull some names out of a hat and call the heat waves whatever’s written down.
"oh boy, we're going to call this one Titan on account of it being big."
For this, the person was labeled as “brave and misunderstood.” Bro.... It’s not brave to call something a name. (What is in a name? For by any other name this idea would be just as dumb) It’s not “misunderstood” if everyone understands the concept and is mocking you. If everyone’s calling your idea stupid, maybe consider that it could be stupid.
And the infuriating part of all of this is that this is contrasted with what I consider to be important topics around climate change. There's a need for a book that isn't Vollmann's impenetrable, meandering and depressing prose, or Bill Gates moralizing as he transcribes whatever savior-complex nonsense he's musing about while he putputs around on his private jet.
This book is just annoying. It doesn’t really assist the discussion. It’s just another person lamenting about how climate change is bad, like thanks bro I didn’t know that before. And maybe doubly so the reason I find myself so frustrated, there are some interesting tidbits buried in here around research and obscure projects that if better done, could’ve drawn together into a more interesting and productive book. The discussion of the acceleration around melting glaciers was fantastic. But in whole I feel like I wasted my time reading this. Oh well, at least someone is naming the heat waves.
June 7, 2023
Wow. This book makes me optimistically depressed. Is that a thing? Jeff Goodell’s The Heat Will Kill You First is a very readable book about one of the largest consequences of climate change, heat, and the consequences of the heat. He avoids being highly scientific and data driven, incorporating this information into a book that is more readable for the average reader. He does a great job of mixing in stories of real people and real communities impacted by the rising temperatures, ranging from a family on the outskirts of Silicon Valley to the deadly heat wave in Paris in 2003 - and how history, culture and politics can make it so difficult to adapt. With the highs of knowing the things we can do to naturally stay cooler and avoid the energy suck of air conditioning to the lows of actually making changes, Goodell leaves the reader with hope for practical solutions and frustrated with everything impeding those solutions. He brings awareness to just how deadly heat can be to the human body, sometimes unexpectedly. He reminds the reader of the many different ways trees are a difference maker, while pointing out how hard it seems to be for us to appreciate their value. And he makes me never want to spend time around standing water (and the mosquitoes that breed in it) during the heat of summer. This is really well done, connecting an impending crisis in deeply personal ways without ever coming across as overly preachy or angry. A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 2, 2024
Так ніби нам замало того Апокаліпсису, який тут, в Україні, влаштували росіяни, наближення кліматичної катастрофи ми також можемо відчути на собі. За словами автора книги "Палюче тепло вб'є нас найперше" Джеффа Ґуделла 2023 рік став найтеплішим за всю історію спостережень та замірів температури. Але вже влітку 2024 році українці просмажилися до стану картоплі по-уланівськи, коли температурні показники сягнули 39°С.
Джефф Ґуделл підійшов до вивчення та опису питання потепління планети комплексно: поміркував про смертоносні теплові теплові хвилі, велетенські пожежі та суспільну нерівність перед спекою, оцінив масштаби танення льодовиків Гренландії та Антарктиди та шанси індустрії з виготовлення кондиціонерів зберегти для людства таку-сяку зону комфорту, розповів про міграції рослин, тварин і комах до прохолодніших місць, налякав неминучим підняття рівня світового океану на 1,5-3 м (в кращому разі, якщо нам дуже пощастить, але це навряд чи), згадав про поширення смертельних хвороб, загрози посухи, голоду і навіть потенційного вимирання більшості живих істот (що буде не вперше в історії Землі), поділився досвідом власних мандрівок Арктикою і Антарктикою, переповів історії про зустрічі з полярними ведмедями та посміхнув стриманим оптимізмом щодо нашого спільного майбутнього.
Не певен, що українцям варто аж надто переймати��я тим, що палюче тепло мало би вбити нас найпершим, адже, швидше за все, росіяни зроблять це набагато швидше.
Шкода, звісно, що великі і красиві міста будуть затоплені через танення титанічних крижаних запасів прісної води, сотні мільйонів людей страждатимуть від старих і нових хвороб, бо нам бракуватиме і питної води, і їжі, яку стане складніше вирощувати, і комфортних затінених просторів у наших розпечених містах.
Ми могли б поспівчувати людству, яке залишиться на самоті супроти цієї непересічної катастрофи, але чомусь я дуже боюся, що до того часу нас вже майже не буде.
Джефф Ґуделл підійшов до вивчення та опису питання потепління планети комплексно: поміркував про смертоносні теплові теплові хвилі, велетенські пожежі та суспільну нерівність перед спекою, оцінив масштаби танення льодовиків Гренландії та Антарктиди та шанси індустрії з виготовлення кондиціонерів зберегти для людства таку-сяку зону комфорту, розповів про міграції рослин, тварин і комах до прохолодніших місць, налякав неминучим підняття рівня світового океану на 1,5-3 м (в кращому разі, якщо нам дуже пощастить, але це навряд чи), згадав про поширення смертельних хвороб, загрози посухи, голоду і навіть потенційного вимирання більшості живих істот (що буде не вперше в історії Землі), поділився досвідом власних мандрівок Арктикою і Антарктикою, переповів історії про зустрічі з полярними ведмедями та посміхнув стриманим оптимізмом щодо нашого спільного майбутнього.
Не певен, що українцям варто аж надто переймати��я тим, що палюче тепло мало би вбити нас найпершим, адже, швидше за все, росіяни зроблять це набагато швидше.
Шкода, звісно, що великі і красиві міста будуть затоплені через танення титанічних крижаних запасів прісної води, сотні мільйонів людей страждатимуть від старих і нових хвороб, бо нам бракуватиме і питної води, і їжі, яку стане складніше вирощувати, і комфортних затінених просторів у наших розпечених містах.
Ми могли б поспівчувати людству, яке залишиться на самоті супроти цієї непересічної катастрофи, але чомусь я дуже боюся, що до того часу нас вже майже не буде.
July 1, 2023
Reading about the heat in June seemed very appropriate - temperatures in the northern hemisphere were already soaring and many people were bracing themselves for another scorching summer. But this book is worth reading at any time, because even on colder days we should not forget that the heat is here to stay.
As many authors and experts have noted, the climate crisis is hard to define and comprehend, but easy to ignore. And denial is the worst possible strategy for humanity right now. So in trying to get people to act, it is good to focus not on the complicated and sometimes ambiguous science, but on the very real and tangible consequences. And that is exactly what Jeff Goodell has done in this gripping book.
Of course, heat itself can be misunderstood too - after all, as the author points out, who doesn't dream of lying in the hot sun? But more and more often, this so-called beautiful weather can turn deadly. And Goodell presents us with vivid stories of real people who underestimated the risk of heat and paid the ultimate price. It really makes you think. He also writes about possible strategies and solutions - not to fight global warming, it's too late for that, but to cope with it and make our future more bearable.
Thanks to the publisher, Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
As many authors and experts have noted, the climate crisis is hard to define and comprehend, but easy to ignore. And denial is the worst possible strategy for humanity right now. So in trying to get people to act, it is good to focus not on the complicated and sometimes ambiguous science, but on the very real and tangible consequences. And that is exactly what Jeff Goodell has done in this gripping book.
Of course, heat itself can be misunderstood too - after all, as the author points out, who doesn't dream of lying in the hot sun? But more and more often, this so-called beautiful weather can turn deadly. And Goodell presents us with vivid stories of real people who underestimated the risk of heat and paid the ultimate price. It really makes you think. He also writes about possible strategies and solutions - not to fight global warming, it's too late for that, but to cope with it and make our future more bearable.
Thanks to the publisher, Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
August 5, 2023
There are some very interesting parts of the book - but there are too many tedious vignettes (the kind you see in long form news articles where they introduce a person, describe their craggy appearance and their favorite dog, Bif, and then go on to describe the problems they're facing), too much about his personal world travel, and endless fear porn.
Good parts:
The unique role of sweat production and temperature regulation among humans and the generally underappreciated danger of heat itself in the coming climate catastrophe.
Seriously, though, he almost seems to be bragging about how he went to the Arctic and Antarctic and everywhere else for little to no reason. Um...you ARE the problem?
I think it could have been a good book. If it had kept the good parts, maybe focused more on the solutions being explored (I kept comparing it with "The Big Thirst" by Charles Fishman where I came away impressed that so many smart people are working so hard on solutions to these problems). And downplay his life of exotic travel.
Good parts:
The unique role of sweat production and temperature regulation among humans and the generally underappreciated danger of heat itself in the coming climate catastrophe.
Seriously, though, he almost seems to be bragging about how he went to the Arctic and Antarctic and everywhere else for little to no reason. Um...you ARE the problem?
I think it could have been a good book. If it had kept the good parts, maybe focused more on the solutions being explored (I kept comparing it with "The Big Thirst" by Charles Fishman where I came away impressed that so many smart people are working so hard on solutions to these problems). And downplay his life of exotic travel.
August 2, 2023
This book is very comprehensive and informative. It not only addresses the causes of global warming but it also presents some of the solutions that are currently being tried (or should be tried). It also presents some really tragic examples of people who have already been killed by the heat, that just keeps rising. Unfortunately, climate change deniers and others who value money over the life of the planet are not going to read this book.
July 13, 2024
An interesting book detailing how the rising temperature affects life on earth today and the trajectory in the future. Each chapter takes on a different aspect on how heat affects us: physical effects on our body, affects on insect species, viruses, animals, hot spots on the globe, agriculture/plant life, the arctic, impacts of the warming due to climate change on city living, how AC impacts global warming. The book covers a lot of aspects in a conversational manner with just enough science, and history and anecdotes to keep the reader engaged and riveted. Important book that covers important and complex material and ideas in a way that doesn't turn off readers. Highly recommended though scary reading. An excellent and worthwhile read!
4.5 Stars
Listened to the audio book. L. J. Gasner was an excellent narrator.
4.5 Stars
Listened to the audio book. L. J. Gasner was an excellent narrator.
July 18, 2023
Jeff Goodell’s last book, The Water Will Come, was pretty alarming–but living in the Midwest, it wasn’t personal. The Great Lakes are not going to flood Michigan. But, The Heat Will Kill You First is downright frightening.
Especially this year when Canadian forests are burning. The smoke kept us indoors for the first days of our vacation, masked when outside–while back home, Detroit had the worst air quality in the world.
Is this the future? Uncontrolled burning of the forests, sunlight blocked, the air too polluted to breath? Grey skies that the sun can’t penetrate?
But the real threat of a hotter world is broader and more devastating. And Goodell serves it all up in a book that will raise the hair on your neck better than any suspense thriller you could read.
In the news today we read about temperatures higher than ever recorded. Our bodies, Goodell tells us, were developed for the climate of East Africa: dry and 72 degrees. What happens when our body temperature rises isn’t pretty.
Last May, I experienced early heat stoke while at a local garden center. It was in the 90s outside, the sun relentless outdoors and the greenhouses stuffy and airless. I didn’t feel well. My fitness watch showed my body temperature had risen two degrees! I fled to the air conditioned car, and hubby drove us home, where I cooled in air conditioning with an icy glass of water.
What first world, middle class luxury. Air conditioning.
It is the poor of the world who really suffer, and those who must work outdoors, and even those living in housing built for the moderate climate of the past. And that, my friends, is most of the world.
Climate refugees are already part of dystopian fiction, and will too soon become reality. As will the impact on agriculture resulting in crop loss, the migration of species bringing new diseases North, the destruction of ocean life because of warming waters…
If you aren’t alarmed, you aren’t listening.
And yet….and yet…Goodell holds on to hope that we CAN build a better world. There are people imagining better ways to live and perhaps answers to be discovered.
We are all on this journey together, he ends, humans and animals and plants and trees.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
Especially this year when Canadian forests are burning. The smoke kept us indoors for the first days of our vacation, masked when outside–while back home, Detroit had the worst air quality in the world.
Is this the future? Uncontrolled burning of the forests, sunlight blocked, the air too polluted to breath? Grey skies that the sun can’t penetrate?
But the real threat of a hotter world is broader and more devastating. And Goodell serves it all up in a book that will raise the hair on your neck better than any suspense thriller you could read.
In the news today we read about temperatures higher than ever recorded. Our bodies, Goodell tells us, were developed for the climate of East Africa: dry and 72 degrees. What happens when our body temperature rises isn’t pretty.
Last May, I experienced early heat stoke while at a local garden center. It was in the 90s outside, the sun relentless outdoors and the greenhouses stuffy and airless. I didn’t feel well. My fitness watch showed my body temperature had risen two degrees! I fled to the air conditioned car, and hubby drove us home, where I cooled in air conditioning with an icy glass of water.
What first world, middle class luxury. Air conditioning.
It is the poor of the world who really suffer, and those who must work outdoors, and even those living in housing built for the moderate climate of the past. And that, my friends, is most of the world.
Climate refugees are already part of dystopian fiction, and will too soon become reality. As will the impact on agriculture resulting in crop loss, the migration of species bringing new diseases North, the destruction of ocean life because of warming waters…
If you aren’t alarmed, you aren’t listening.
And yet….and yet…Goodell holds on to hope that we CAN build a better world. There are people imagining better ways to live and perhaps answers to be discovered.
We are all on this journey together, he ends, humans and animals and plants and trees.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
September 6, 2023
The topic is important, so it's good this book is getting attention. But it's not a well written book.
Most of the first few chapters are pretty solid, but it's abundantly clear that about half the page count is just hastily written filler. Lengthy biographies of random side characters, unnecessary descriptions, barely-edited diary entries about his journalistic travels. The author needed to make it book-length to get published, so he did what all lazy college students do: throw random shit at the page til you hit the quota.
Maybe read chapters selectively- they're basically stand alone essays anyways. A few are good, but many just aren't worth your time.
Most of the first few chapters are pretty solid, but it's abundantly clear that about half the page count is just hastily written filler. Lengthy biographies of random side characters, unnecessary descriptions, barely-edited diary entries about his journalistic travels. The author needed to make it book-length to get published, so he did what all lazy college students do: throw random shit at the page til you hit the quota.
Maybe read chapters selectively- they're basically stand alone essays anyways. A few are good, but many just aren't worth your time.
September 3, 2023
I found this book fascinating and it kept me up reading through the night. The author discusses the immediate dangers and multi faceted urgent effects of global warming, especially heat waves on the world’s population. He cites examples of outside workers suffering heat stress and dying from heatstroke because, being I used to such heat, they don’t take precautions or recognize the symptoms.
As new areas warm up disease vectors like mosquitoes and ticks extend their range and spread disease to new areas opening up the potential for new deadly pandemics;
The ice caps of Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean are rapidly melting and the prediction is that the resultant sea level rise will inundate coastal areas and cities such as Miami and New York.
Heat waves accompanied by drought are accompanied by forest fires as we have seen in California, Europe and Canada leaving death and destruction in their wake.
Cities are unprepared, where heat waves are a new phenomenon, such as has happened recently in Paris. Several thousand people died of heat related causes. The old houses with small garrets under super heated tin roofs became super hot death traps . Cities with extensive asphalt and cement and little shade and few trees become unbearably hot. Looking forward cities have to replant with shade trees and paint with light reflecting colors to mitigate the effect of heat.
As new areas warm up disease vectors like mosquitoes and ticks extend their range and spread disease to new areas opening up the potential for new deadly pandemics;
The ice caps of Antarctica and the Arctic Ocean are rapidly melting and the prediction is that the resultant sea level rise will inundate coastal areas and cities such as Miami and New York.
Heat waves accompanied by drought are accompanied by forest fires as we have seen in California, Europe and Canada leaving death and destruction in their wake.
Cities are unprepared, where heat waves are a new phenomenon, such as has happened recently in Paris. Several thousand people died of heat related causes. The old houses with small garrets under super heated tin roofs became super hot death traps . Cities with extensive asphalt and cement and little shade and few trees become unbearably hot. Looking forward cities have to replant with shade trees and paint with light reflecting colors to mitigate the effect of heat.
October 17, 2024
4,5⭐️
Спека точно нікуди не дінеться, і дуже легко та швидко може нас знищити. Цікаво і пізнавально написано, реальні події, багато історичних моментів, одним словом - топчик.
Спека точно нікуди не дінеться, і дуже легко та швидко може нас знищити. Цікаво і пізнавально написано, реальні події, багато історичних моментів, одним словом - топчик.
September 16, 2023
Powerful stuff.
Terrifying? Indeed.
Depressing? You betcha.
Worth reading (and recommending)? Absolutely.
Will it make a difference? I doubt it, but hope springs eternal.
And yet.... Part of me asks why I bought and read this. OK, it was highly recommended (OK, OK, I read about in the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/bo... ... and almost immediately bought it, and it didn't take long to reach the top of the stack), ... and I can see why it generates so much buzz. But did I learn anything new? Did it persuade me to recommit to a cause I'm already committed to? No, not really.
And I'll be curious to see how often I return to it. I've dog-eared some pages (which I'm entitled to do, because I bought the book, LoL), and, between the index and the notes, I'm confident I'll reach for it doing research or preparing a speech/talk/presentation in the future.
Still, all in all, I'm busy and stressed enough that reading to get more depressed seems like a fool's errand. At the same time, well, it's like watching a horrific accident, and I can't look away, ... while at the same time, I can't understand, for the life of me, how others can. And here, I'm not even talking about the willfully ignorant or the denial community, because that's a horse of a different color.
Then again, I'm obsessed with finding more creative and persuasive and efficient ways to convince others to take climate change seriously, I don't see myself losing interest in the topic any time soon, I'm always looking for books to recommend, particularly to students, and (forgive me for I am weak, but) I enjoy supporting authors doing the difficult and thankless, but critically important work in the field.
So, in the end, no, I have no regrets whatsoever that I bought, read, or am recommending the book.
Terrifying? Indeed.
Depressing? You betcha.
Worth reading (and recommending)? Absolutely.
Will it make a difference? I doubt it, but hope springs eternal.
And yet.... Part of me asks why I bought and read this. OK, it was highly recommended (OK, OK, I read about in the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/bo... ... and almost immediately bought it, and it didn't take long to reach the top of the stack), ... and I can see why it generates so much buzz. But did I learn anything new? Did it persuade me to recommit to a cause I'm already committed to? No, not really.
And I'll be curious to see how often I return to it. I've dog-eared some pages (which I'm entitled to do, because I bought the book, LoL), and, between the index and the notes, I'm confident I'll reach for it doing research or preparing a speech/talk/presentation in the future.
Still, all in all, I'm busy and stressed enough that reading to get more depressed seems like a fool's errand. At the same time, well, it's like watching a horrific accident, and I can't look away, ... while at the same time, I can't understand, for the life of me, how others can. And here, I'm not even talking about the willfully ignorant or the denial community, because that's a horse of a different color.
Then again, I'm obsessed with finding more creative and persuasive and efficient ways to convince others to take climate change seriously, I don't see myself losing interest in the topic any time soon, I'm always looking for books to recommend, particularly to students, and (forgive me for I am weak, but) I enjoy supporting authors doing the difficult and thankless, but critically important work in the field.
So, in the end, no, I have no regrets whatsoever that I bought, read, or am recommending the book.
September 11, 2023
This book isn’t about a dystopian future. It actually describes the here and now, and it is terrifying. We can all pretend that it’s not getting hotter, drier with more wild fires every year if we live in a clement climate. In other parts of the world, the risk of this and if dying of heat stroke increases.
I don’t want to travel to the Mediterranean in summer anymore, because of heat and fires. Even though I am safe in the Nordics, I often have to go running alone in summer. It gets too hot for the dogs. It’s a sickening privilege.
I don’t want to travel to the Mediterranean in summer anymore, because of heat and fires. Even though I am safe in the Nordics, I often have to go running alone in summer. It gets too hot for the dogs. It’s a sickening privilege.
August 5, 2024
Jeff Goodell - O Calor é que te vai Matar
E tudo resulta num aumento da temperatura no planeta. Coloquem as variáveis que entenderem, deem às constantes o significado e valor que quiserem que a solução da equação, o futuro da humanidade será sempre com um aumento da temperatura no planeta. Neste livro Jeff Goodell discorre sobre as causas do aumento da temperatura média do planeta (como se muitas houvessem), sobre os vários cenários possíveis resultantes da subida, mas também sobre as consequências e inevitabilidades que estas alterações vai ter no nosso modo de vida. É uma equação com um resultado sempre negativo. Atribua a importância e valor que quiser aos vários mecanismos de regulação ou de feedback que o resultado final será sempre negativo.
O nosso modo de vida, o bem-estar e crescimento económico e social que atingimos com a utilização da energia que retiramos dos combustíveis fósseis colocam-nos hoje num dilema de solução impossível. A utilização massiva dos combustíveis fósseis permitiu um crescimento económico e populacional que hoje sabemos ser insustentável. Todo o crescimento ocorrido após a revolução industrial converge para uma consequência comum, um aumento dos níveis de CO2 e com este, num aumento da temperatura média do planeta e nas variações extremas que este se faz acompanhar. A nossa civilização, o nosso modo de vida, o nosso crescimento e méritos tecnológicos, as nossas políticas, a nossa democracia e demografia assenta na forma como utilizamos a energia. Todas estas causas e consequências estão de tal forma interligadas que não é possível interferir numa sem desmoronar as restantes. É por isso que vemos muitos activistas climáticos a tomarem atitudes que nos parecem ridículas e despropositadas, mas a análise que fazem da realidade não está muito longe da verdade. E custa reconhecê-lo! Atitudes como as assumidas por organizações como Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, Greenpeace, Earth Liberation Front, etc, podem-nos parecer demasiado radicais, mas temos de reconhecer que todas esta “tretas” da “sustentabilidade” sāo apenas manifestações de “greenwashing” que outro efeito não têm que aligeirar as culpas do produtivismo e prodagalização. A nossa sociedade assenta em pressupostos sem sustentabilidade e quanto mais depressa ruir, mais chance temos de nos erguer. É isso que estes activistas acreditam e por isso que lutam.
Uma sociedade que mais depressa queima livros enquanto continua tolerante com a queima de combustíveis fósseis, é uma sociedade que continua doente, mesmo quando aparenta pretender alguma regeneração.
Neste livro, Jeff Goodell diz-nos que o nosso actual modo de vida não é sustentável, e já a curto prazo. Em 2023, tivemos uma sucessão de anos progressivamente, os mais quentes de sempre e que culminaram num 2023, que bateu todos os records com uma temperatura média 1,48ºc acima da linha pré industrial e uma concentração de CO2 de 428 ppm, bem acima dos 350 ppm considerados de risco calculado. Se nos fixarmos no período Permiano, um período geológico que durou cerca de 50 milhões de anos e que pela violenta actividade vulcânica levou à extinção de mais de 80% da vida na terra num período onde as temperaturas médias subiram cerca de 15ºC e a temperatura da água atingiu os 40ºC, foi um período cuja extinção decorreu ao longo de 16 mil anos e o planeta levou dez milhões de anos a recuperar. Nada acontece à nossa escala temporal e é por isso que temos tanta dificuldade em acordar para a realidade. As alterações vão tendo surtos, pontos de agravamento, mas serão fenómenos que nos vamos habituar com já nos habituamos às ondas de calor, à morte antecipada dos mais frágeis, aos êxodos de humanos, às extinções em massa, à perda de biodiversidade, às guerras e as pragas. Vemo-las como agressividades e desastres distantes, que, para já não nos afetam! Mas será assim, e por quanto tempo? Até quando a nossa zona de “Goldilocks” é uma zona de conforto separada por uma linha imaginária de desigualdade térmica que separa os em conforto dos que sofrem, os felizardos dos amaldiçoados, até quando essa zona se manterá?
Mas enquanto a transição é gradual e não nos assusta, estamos como numa casa a arder mas em que o incendio ainda parece distante. Entretanto nada fazemos, continuamos o consumo de combustíveis fósseis e para já fazemos recair sobre os menos responsáveis as consequências das nossas opções. Lentamente vamos caminhando para um abismo, lentamente vamos transformando a nossa casa num lugar tão inóspito como vénus.
A catástrofe parece avizinhar-se e já há consequências que hoje vivemos e são atribuíveis ao aumento da temperatura do planeta.
Goodell explica-nos os mecanismos meteorológicos subjacentes aos desvios climáticos que entraram no léxico como “alterações climáticas” e para as quais têm o descaramento de dizer que nos devemos prepara. Como é que alguém se prepara para a morte quando não faz o que seguramente a poderia evitar. É só hipocrisia. Bom, mas regressemos ao livro, Jeff Goodell diz-nos que cada vez mais vamos estar sujeitos a alterações climáticas extremas eminentemente aleatórias e imprevisíveis, e de que forma estes eventos podem ter impacto em latitudes que considerávamos seguras e improváveis. A observação destas consequências não são o resultado de uma previsão ficcionada, mas o relato de muitas catástrofes que ocorreram com frequência assustadoramente crescente desde que virámos o marco deste milénio.
Numa prosa jornalística, o autor relata-nos inúmeras vivências e personagens vítimas da vertigem do crescimento e “da vida melhor”, e aponta-nos para todo um conjunto de consequências (subida dos níveis das águas; perda de biodiversidade; esterilização dos oceanos; redução das produções agrícolas; aumento do território desértico; migrações de humanos; migrações de espécies; catástrofes meteorológicas; doenças; territórios impróprios para a vida humana, etc) cuja combinação se resume a uma equação cuja única solução possível se encontra expressa no título do livro – O Calor é que te vai matar.
E tudo resulta num aumento da temperatura no planeta. Coloquem as variáveis que entenderem, deem às constantes o significado e valor que quiserem que a solução da equação, o futuro da humanidade será sempre com um aumento da temperatura no planeta. Neste livro Jeff Goodell discorre sobre as causas do aumento da temperatura média do planeta (como se muitas houvessem), sobre os vários cenários possíveis resultantes da subida, mas também sobre as consequências e inevitabilidades que estas alterações vai ter no nosso modo de vida. É uma equação com um resultado sempre negativo. Atribua a importância e valor que quiser aos vários mecanismos de regulação ou de feedback que o resultado final será sempre negativo.
O nosso modo de vida, o bem-estar e crescimento económico e social que atingimos com a utilização da energia que retiramos dos combustíveis fósseis colocam-nos hoje num dilema de solução impossível. A utilização massiva dos combustíveis fósseis permitiu um crescimento económico e populacional que hoje sabemos ser insustentável. Todo o crescimento ocorrido após a revolução industrial converge para uma consequência comum, um aumento dos níveis de CO2 e com este, num aumento da temperatura média do planeta e nas variações extremas que este se faz acompanhar. A nossa civilização, o nosso modo de vida, o nosso crescimento e méritos tecnológicos, as nossas políticas, a nossa democracia e demografia assenta na forma como utilizamos a energia. Todas estas causas e consequências estão de tal forma interligadas que não é possível interferir numa sem desmoronar as restantes. É por isso que vemos muitos activistas climáticos a tomarem atitudes que nos parecem ridículas e despropositadas, mas a análise que fazem da realidade não está muito longe da verdade. E custa reconhecê-lo! Atitudes como as assumidas por organizações como Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, Greenpeace, Earth Liberation Front, etc, podem-nos parecer demasiado radicais, mas temos de reconhecer que todas esta “tretas” da “sustentabilidade” sāo apenas manifestações de “greenwashing” que outro efeito não têm que aligeirar as culpas do produtivismo e prodagalização. A nossa sociedade assenta em pressupostos sem sustentabilidade e quanto mais depressa ruir, mais chance temos de nos erguer. É isso que estes activistas acreditam e por isso que lutam.
Uma sociedade que mais depressa queima livros enquanto continua tolerante com a queima de combustíveis fósseis, é uma sociedade que continua doente, mesmo quando aparenta pretender alguma regeneração.
Neste livro, Jeff Goodell diz-nos que o nosso actual modo de vida não é sustentável, e já a curto prazo. Em 2023, tivemos uma sucessão de anos progressivamente, os mais quentes de sempre e que culminaram num 2023, que bateu todos os records com uma temperatura média 1,48ºc acima da linha pré industrial e uma concentração de CO2 de 428 ppm, bem acima dos 350 ppm considerados de risco calculado. Se nos fixarmos no período Permiano, um período geológico que durou cerca de 50 milhões de anos e que pela violenta actividade vulcânica levou à extinção de mais de 80% da vida na terra num período onde as temperaturas médias subiram cerca de 15ºC e a temperatura da água atingiu os 40ºC, foi um período cuja extinção decorreu ao longo de 16 mil anos e o planeta levou dez milhões de anos a recuperar. Nada acontece à nossa escala temporal e é por isso que temos tanta dificuldade em acordar para a realidade. As alterações vão tendo surtos, pontos de agravamento, mas serão fenómenos que nos vamos habituar com já nos habituamos às ondas de calor, à morte antecipada dos mais frágeis, aos êxodos de humanos, às extinções em massa, à perda de biodiversidade, às guerras e as pragas. Vemo-las como agressividades e desastres distantes, que, para já não nos afetam! Mas será assim, e por quanto tempo? Até quando a nossa zona de “Goldilocks” é uma zona de conforto separada por uma linha imaginária de desigualdade térmica que separa os em conforto dos que sofrem, os felizardos dos amaldiçoados, até quando essa zona se manterá?
Mas enquanto a transição é gradual e não nos assusta, estamos como numa casa a arder mas em que o incendio ainda parece distante. Entretanto nada fazemos, continuamos o consumo de combustíveis fósseis e para já fazemos recair sobre os menos responsáveis as consequências das nossas opções. Lentamente vamos caminhando para um abismo, lentamente vamos transformando a nossa casa num lugar tão inóspito como vénus.
A catástrofe parece avizinhar-se e já há consequências que hoje vivemos e são atribuíveis ao aumento da temperatura do planeta.
Goodell explica-nos os mecanismos meteorológicos subjacentes aos desvios climáticos que entraram no léxico como “alterações climáticas” e para as quais têm o descaramento de dizer que nos devemos prepara. Como é que alguém se prepara para a morte quando não faz o que seguramente a poderia evitar. É só hipocrisia. Bom, mas regressemos ao livro, Jeff Goodell diz-nos que cada vez mais vamos estar sujeitos a alterações climáticas extremas eminentemente aleatórias e imprevisíveis, e de que forma estes eventos podem ter impacto em latitudes que considerávamos seguras e improváveis. A observação destas consequências não são o resultado de uma previsão ficcionada, mas o relato de muitas catástrofes que ocorreram com frequência assustadoramente crescente desde que virámos o marco deste milénio.
Numa prosa jornalística, o autor relata-nos inúmeras vivências e personagens vítimas da vertigem do crescimento e “da vida melhor”, e aponta-nos para todo um conjunto de consequências (subida dos níveis das águas; perda de biodiversidade; esterilização dos oceanos; redução das produções agrícolas; aumento do território desértico; migrações de humanos; migrações de espécies; catástrofes meteorológicas; doenças; territórios impróprios para a vida humana, etc) cuja combinação se resume a uma equação cuja única solução possível se encontra expressa no título do livro – O Calor é que te vai matar.
September 13, 2024
It's getting hot out there. It's starting to feel, more and more, like it's always been hot.
Chalk me up as one of the few that isn't big on heat. I've never really liked it. Even today, I'd rather be cold than hot, my logic being that, while you can always put more clothes on, there's only so much you can take off.
The heat also has a tendency to make people irritable. We're all slightly more on edge when it's really hot out. Uncomfortable, more liable to lash out. I remember reading an article about a heat wave that was going through Moscow in 2010 (probably an average summer these days), and it was saying how car accidents were up, fistfights and general acts of aggression were up ... I can understand that. I'm a less happy, less patient, more irritable person when it's really hot out.
Well, bad news for me (for most of us, I'd say) — things are only going to get hotter.
Reading "The Heat Will Kill You First" (pause for a moment to admire that title if you would) I was reminded of the terrifying ramifications a hotter world has on, well, everything.
It's not just melting icebergs, though I feel like that's the first thing our minds jump to when the topic of climate change-induced heat comes to mind today. There's also, and perhaps more disturbingly, the effect that increased heat has on insects, like ticks and mosquitos.
There's an entire chapter here that talks about why a hotter world is also a sicker world, a more diseased world, and much of that is to do with the types of mosquitos that carry particularly nasty diseases, like dengue fever and, worse yet, malaria — the planet's greatest killer — and how those mosquitos, which to this point have mostly resided in the tropics, are moving steadily north (and south) as the planet heats up.
Yeah, there's something to look forward to. The thing is, once news of the first malaria cases in Canada, in northern Europe, get broadcast across our televisions, much of the world will be in the midst of serious drought. Oh, and the fires ... yeah, I'll save the fires for my later review of "Fire Weather" at the risk of covering similar terrain here. Let's just say what we're seeing now is nothing compared to what's coming.
Yeah, see, I was feeling a tad bit too upbeat a couple weeks ago. I was like, "hmm, at the risk of seeming overly cheerful, let's pick up a couple of climate books to moderate my mood some." well, mission accomplished!
As always, there's the terribly unfairness of it all too. The fact that heat, like fire, has far dire implications on the poorest members of our society. Who can afford air conditioning, who can escape town when a heat wave descends, who can rebuild after a fire's destroyed their home ... the richest among us, of course. The poor, well, they're pretty much left out on their own.
But don't let me get you down. This is a fantastic, incredibly brilliant and well-written book that deserves as wide an audience as it can possibly get. The main reason being because informing people about what's coming, and how to mitigate it as much as possible, is key to the survival of us all.
Chalk me up as one of the few that isn't big on heat. I've never really liked it. Even today, I'd rather be cold than hot, my logic being that, while you can always put more clothes on, there's only so much you can take off.
The heat also has a tendency to make people irritable. We're all slightly more on edge when it's really hot out. Uncomfortable, more liable to lash out. I remember reading an article about a heat wave that was going through Moscow in 2010 (probably an average summer these days), and it was saying how car accidents were up, fistfights and general acts of aggression were up ... I can understand that. I'm a less happy, less patient, more irritable person when it's really hot out.
Well, bad news for me (for most of us, I'd say) — things are only going to get hotter.
Reading "The Heat Will Kill You First" (pause for a moment to admire that title if you would) I was reminded of the terrifying ramifications a hotter world has on, well, everything.
It's not just melting icebergs, though I feel like that's the first thing our minds jump to when the topic of climate change-induced heat comes to mind today. There's also, and perhaps more disturbingly, the effect that increased heat has on insects, like ticks and mosquitos.
There's an entire chapter here that talks about why a hotter world is also a sicker world, a more diseased world, and much of that is to do with the types of mosquitos that carry particularly nasty diseases, like dengue fever and, worse yet, malaria — the planet's greatest killer — and how those mosquitos, which to this point have mostly resided in the tropics, are moving steadily north (and south) as the planet heats up.
Yeah, there's something to look forward to. The thing is, once news of the first malaria cases in Canada, in northern Europe, get broadcast across our televisions, much of the world will be in the midst of serious drought. Oh, and the fires ... yeah, I'll save the fires for my later review of "Fire Weather" at the risk of covering similar terrain here. Let's just say what we're seeing now is nothing compared to what's coming.
Yeah, see, I was feeling a tad bit too upbeat a couple weeks ago. I was like, "hmm, at the risk of seeming overly cheerful, let's pick up a couple of climate books to moderate my mood some." well, mission accomplished!
As always, there's the terribly unfairness of it all too. The fact that heat, like fire, has far dire implications on the poorest members of our society. Who can afford air conditioning, who can escape town when a heat wave descends, who can rebuild after a fire's destroyed their home ... the richest among us, of course. The poor, well, they're pretty much left out on their own.
But don't let me get you down. This is a fantastic, incredibly brilliant and well-written book that deserves as wide an audience as it can possibly get. The main reason being because informing people about what's coming, and how to mitigate it as much as possible, is key to the survival of us all.
September 11, 2024
Книжку варто прочитати кожному хто живе на цій планеті і кому не байдужа доля живих істот. Інколи неможливо читати без сліз, але знати правду важливо.
Варто читати, щоб цінувати те, що є зараз, бо завтра чи через рік це може зникнути або просто спектись.
Варто читати, щоб знати до яких вірусів бути готовими та як важливо не ігнорувати спеку, оскільки вона стає вже смертельною.
Варто читати, щоб знати наскільки людина егоїстична не лише по відношенню до планети та тварин, але і до бідніших людей, людей зі спекотніших країн та до власних внуків.
Варто, щоб не бути ще однією людиною як ігнорує проблему.
Варто читати, щоб цінувати те, що є зараз, бо завтра чи через рік це може зникнути або просто спектись.
Варто читати, щоб знати до яких вірусів бути готовими та як важливо не ігнорувати спеку, оскільки вона стає вже смертельною.
Варто читати, щоб знати наскільки людина егоїстична не лише по відношенню до планети та тварин, але і до бідніших людей, людей зі спекотніших країн та до власних внуків.
Варто, щоб не бути ще однією людиною як ігнорує проблему.
December 28, 2023
This was terrifying and left me without much hope for our future.
September 30, 2023
I think a fair amount about the environment: recycling for more than 50 years, keeping our house set at 60 in the winter, not using air conditioning, walking as much as I can (putting 50k on my 8-year-old car, much of this work-related travel), etc. And, yet, despite being part of the choir, there was a fair amount in Jeff Goodell's The Heat Will Kill You First that I didn't know.
Cool graphic from video of climate changes across time, NASA. Link: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5057
One of the things that I found interesting was how everything is connected. Increases in heat cause greater mortality, especially affecting children and the elderly; more frequent and severe hurricanes; melt of the polar caps, likely leading to low-lying cities and islands to go under water; changes in plants that can grow and thrive under current conditions; polar bear deaths, impacting the numbers of other species; and viruses that have been frozen and quiescent for millennia will be released. People who are financially challenged will be impacted to a greater degree than those who are not.
What can we do? Goodell has many recommendations, but concluded:
Cities need to be denser. Cars need to be replaced with bikes and public transit. New buildings need to be not only efficient and built of sustainable materials, but also safe for people during increasingly intense heat waves. That means more green space, more trees, more water, more shade, more thermally intelligent urban design. (pp. 250-251)
But, this is a more complicated issue for already existing cities that face other kinds of political pressures such as cost and historical designations. How can we make these changes equitable (e.g., planting trees in both wealthy and financially-disadvantaged ones).
And, I wonder whether we should be thinking about getting an air conditioner or a heat pump.
Cool graphic from video of climate changes across time, NASA. Link: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5057
One of the things that I found interesting was how everything is connected. Increases in heat cause greater mortality, especially affecting children and the elderly; more frequent and severe hurricanes; melt of the polar caps, likely leading to low-lying cities and islands to go under water; changes in plants that can grow and thrive under current conditions; polar bear deaths, impacting the numbers of other species; and viruses that have been frozen and quiescent for millennia will be released. People who are financially challenged will be impacted to a greater degree than those who are not.
What can we do? Goodell has many recommendations, but concluded:
Cities need to be denser. Cars need to be replaced with bikes and public transit. New buildings need to be not only efficient and built of sustainable materials, but also safe for people during increasingly intense heat waves. That means more green space, more trees, more water, more shade, more thermally intelligent urban design. (pp. 250-251)
But, this is a more complicated issue for already existing cities that face other kinds of political pressures such as cost and historical designations. How can we make these changes equitable (e.g., planting trees in both wealthy and financially-disadvantaged ones).
And, I wonder whether we should be thinking about getting an air conditioner or a heat pump.
December 23, 2024
I read this back in August, during the hottest part of the year. Probably not my smartest moment. Listening to how the world will change if we don't do something to address climate change, and like... YESTERDAY... was truly horrifying.
And then Trump was re-elected. So I'm guessing that's gonna be a "no".
I grew up in Florida, and the heat there was no joke. The humidity would literally take my breath away at times. Like drowning on land. That was 30 years ago (give or take mumble mumble), and now it's seriously a toss-up which catastrophe will make the state uninhabitable first - Heat/humidity? Flooding due to rising sea levels? Ever stronger hurricanes due to warmer ocean water? Red tides? Mosquitos carrying all sorts of diseases? Mar-A-Lago toxicity? (That last one is only partially a joke.)
Now I live in the northeast, where it's much more temperate. Or used to be. 100F days are getting more and more common. Winters are getting milder. Last year we had ZERO days in December where the high temp was below freezing (32F), and TWELVE days when it was over 50F. This year is a little better, with 6 days below freezing and 4 over 50F. But this is not good for too many reasons to count.
Books like this make me feel incredibly helpless and powerless and immensely sad. I don't have kids (you're welcome) but I do have a nephew that I love immensely, and would like for him to have a future on a hospitable planet. But we seem to be going to exact opposite direction.
Sigh.
Anyway, this review took a hard turn, but honestly, this book was incredible, despite leaving me feeling really heartbroken by humanity and our seeming complete disregard for each other and future generations. I do highly recommend it.
And then Trump was re-elected. So I'm guessing that's gonna be a "no".
I grew up in Florida, and the heat there was no joke. The humidity would literally take my breath away at times. Like drowning on land. That was 30 years ago (give or take mumble mumble), and now it's seriously a toss-up which catastrophe will make the state uninhabitable first - Heat/humidity? Flooding due to rising sea levels? Ever stronger hurricanes due to warmer ocean water? Red tides? Mosquitos carrying all sorts of diseases? Mar-A-Lago toxicity? (That last one is only partially a joke.)
Now I live in the northeast, where it's much more temperate. Or used to be. 100F days are getting more and more common. Winters are getting milder. Last year we had ZERO days in December where the high temp was below freezing (32F), and TWELVE days when it was over 50F. This year is a little better, with 6 days below freezing and 4 over 50F. But this is not good for too many reasons to count.
Books like this make me feel incredibly helpless and powerless and immensely sad. I don't have kids (you're welcome) but I do have a nephew that I love immensely, and would like for him to have a future on a hospitable planet. But we seem to be going to exact opposite direction.
Sigh.
Anyway, this review took a hard turn, but honestly, this book was incredible, despite leaving me feeling really heartbroken by humanity and our seeming complete disregard for each other and future generations. I do highly recommend it.
December 13, 2023
Okay, yeah, I finished this two months or so ago.
I had very high hopes, but I now realize I’m really expecting too much, and was accumulating links to ongoing news to illustrate what I’d expected to be the book’s most important points.
But while the book was good, it didn’t make some very important points:
• Even as the prices of carbon-free energy are plummeting, we are using more dirty energy each year, and the fossil fuel industry is betting very big that’ll continue!
• High-carbon countries (like the U.S. and Europe) aren’t being hit hard (yet) and being inundated with feel-good messaging, while the rest of the world is already suffering — but nowhere near as much as they will be — but can’t scream loudly enough to be heard over that messaging.
• We’re doing so incredibly well at pretending this doom won’t come after us, personally, that we’re moving to and buying property in places more likely the burn and more likely to flood. In another decade (or maybe just a few years? or two decades? not knowing is a big part of the problem) when the inevitable becomes apparent, there’ll be a panic, which will probably cause property values to collapse. Of course, the rest of that country will glance away and shrug, until it’s their turn.
• There are feedback loops within climate change that most folks haven’t spent the energy to learn about. Guess what? There are also feedback loops between climate change and the collapse of democracies that almost no one seems to be studying (here’s a rare counterexample).
I expect to be dead before things get really bad, but I’m pretty sure most of those reading this will have their lives pretty much ruined as civilization comes crashing down, with life expectancy dropping by decades for billions, and not just in poor countries.
— — — — — — — — —
Here are some of the links I’d accumulated, before I started saving them in an off-line text file…
Not yet finished; accumulating data.
• Taxpayers are subsidizing fossil fuels more than ever — from NY Time's Climate Forward newsletter.
• Can a New Genre of Eco-Thrillers Inspire Climate Action? — from NY Time's Style Magazine (the answer to the title question is: No.)
• Dave's review of Our Final Warning; specifically “Climate denialists will have to move inland just like everyone else that can, but will there be fresh water there?”
• The Economist on El Niño and ENSO. Specifically the Babbage podcast, their briefing article (paywall'd), and their video tutorial.
• From The Guardian: ‘Off-the-charts records’: has humanity finally broken the climate?
• Bloomberg: Exxon Sees CO2 Emissions in 2050 More Than Twice Paris Goal
• Treehugger: Life Cycle Analysis of E-Pickups Shows They're Worse than Small ICE Cars
• See the first chart in this about heat waves: Are heatwaves evidence that climate change is speeding up? All sorts of records are being broken in all sorts of places and contrast with the chart here, about sea ice: Antarctic Sea Ice Is at a ‘Very Concerning’ Record Low
• Why this book is misguided [probably — I haven't read it] and this article is even more true four years after Jonathan Franzen wrote it.
I had very high hopes, but I now realize I’m really expecting too much, and was accumulating links to ongoing news to illustrate what I’d expected to be the book’s most important points.
But while the book was good, it didn’t make some very important points:
• Even as the prices of carbon-free energy are plummeting, we are using more dirty energy each year, and the fossil fuel industry is betting very big that’ll continue!
• High-carbon countries (like the U.S. and Europe) aren’t being hit hard (yet) and being inundated with feel-good messaging, while the rest of the world is already suffering — but nowhere near as much as they will be — but can’t scream loudly enough to be heard over that messaging.
• We’re doing so incredibly well at pretending this doom won’t come after us, personally, that we’re moving to and buying property in places more likely the burn and more likely to flood. In another decade (or maybe just a few years? or two decades? not knowing is a big part of the problem) when the inevitable becomes apparent, there’ll be a panic, which will probably cause property values to collapse. Of course, the rest of that country will glance away and shrug, until it’s their turn.
• There are feedback loops within climate change that most folks haven’t spent the energy to learn about. Guess what? There are also feedback loops between climate change and the collapse of democracies that almost no one seems to be studying (here’s a rare counterexample).
I expect to be dead before things get really bad, but I’m pretty sure most of those reading this will have their lives pretty much ruined as civilization comes crashing down, with life expectancy dropping by decades for billions, and not just in poor countries.
— — — — — — — — —
Here are some of the links I’d accumulated, before I started saving them in an off-line text file…
Not yet finished; accumulating data.
• Taxpayers are subsidizing fossil fuels more than ever — from NY Time's Climate Forward newsletter.
• Can a New Genre of Eco-Thrillers Inspire Climate Action? — from NY Time's Style Magazine (the answer to the title question is: No.)
• Dave's review of Our Final Warning; specifically “Climate denialists will have to move inland just like everyone else that can, but will there be fresh water there?”
• The Economist on El Niño and ENSO. Specifically the Babbage podcast, their briefing article (paywall'd), and their video tutorial.
• From The Guardian: ‘Off-the-charts records’: has humanity finally broken the climate?
• Bloomberg: Exxon Sees CO2 Emissions in 2050 More Than Twice Paris Goal
• Treehugger: Life Cycle Analysis of E-Pickups Shows They're Worse than Small ICE Cars
• See the first chart in this about heat waves: Are heatwaves evidence that climate change is speeding up? All sorts of records are being broken in all sorts of places and contrast with the chart here, about sea ice: Antarctic Sea Ice Is at a ‘Very Concerning’ Record Low
• Why this book is misguided [probably — I haven't read it] and this article is even more true four years after Jonathan Franzen wrote it.
August 3, 2023
This book is an absolute must read for everyone. Our climate crisis is now. It is happening all around us in small and big ways. Goodell deftly and brilliantly covers all the ways our heating planet is causing deathly problems for the way we live. His writing is extremely accessible and understandable. It is also wide ranging - he covers the class divide in repercussions of rising temps - not everyone can afford air conditioning, and those who can't are left to literally be cooked in their homes. But even ac won't solve for the rich - the grid can only sustain so much and if we're cooling our homes to 72 and it's 120 outside, there will be brownouts and people will die. He also covers the racism of who is affected by heat - discussing back to enslaved people being deemed by Southerners as better able to be in the heat due to their dark skin and how today in our heating world middle and upper class people are sitting pretty inside with air conditioning while we have Latin American workers in the fields and on our roofs working in heat (where we have no OSHA regulations regarding heat) and they are dying. There's coverage of plants and animals and their migration and how they can only adapt so fast. We will have famine. There's also a lovely chapter on mosquitos and how they love heat and they can keep moving further north, with their disease carrying selves, as the world warms and they can kill more of us. It's all a must read. We need to demand changes for how we live and how we use energy now. It's been yet another recordbreaking heat wave summer. And we will not survive this. The time for action is now.
instagram.com/encyclopedia_britanika
instagram.com/encyclopedia_britanika
July 22, 2023
Another overheated, emotionally driven pop book by an "environmental journalist." Goodell is making a fine living with these ridiculous screeds that pander to current fears. The number of maior forest fires in the U.S. has dropped greatly in the last 100 years when in the past the skies would be dark from huge fires out West, every year! Goodell uses "intimate" and "heartbreaking" personal stories to emotionally supercharge his works. He is not a scientist. He is the equivalent of a dishonest muck racker.
There are much more balanced, sober-minded and ultimately honest books available from Richard Muller and Steven Koonin that are much better and do not fear monger.
There are much more balanced, sober-minded and ultimately honest books available from Richard Muller and Steven Koonin that are much better and do not fear monger.
January 3, 2025
[ audio ]
Fascinating. Horrifying.
I live in Maine, US. I often entertain the idea of moving to some other place for a change. I learned about the heatwaves effecting other parts of the country and western Canada, that will likely get worse. I’m no longer entertaining ideas of leaving my lovely pine tree state, at least not permanently. It’s getting warmer and warmer here as it is. We barely had any snow this past winter. Ticks and Lyme disease are going to be far more prevalent. In fact, they’re already out! (It’s March!).
Great narration.
Fascinating. Horrifying.
I live in Maine, US. I often entertain the idea of moving to some other place for a change. I learned about the heatwaves effecting other parts of the country and western Canada, that will likely get worse. I’m no longer entertaining ideas of leaving my lovely pine tree state, at least not permanently. It’s getting warmer and warmer here as it is. We barely had any snow this past winter. Ticks and Lyme disease are going to be far more prevalent. In fact, they’re already out! (It’s March!).
Great narration.
December 17, 2023
This one was a hard book to rate as I really enjoyed the entire book but one chapter was so intellectually offensive to me that I am forced to take down what I think is a 4-5 star book to 2 stars. However, I really enjoyed this read. There is a lot of science told in a way that cuts through technical jargon making it easier to grasp and understand its implications. The book is about the 2nd and third, 4th etc etc order impacts of extreme heat. How this impacts our ecosystem, the non linearities it causes, how quickly climate is evolving and how organisms built for one climate cannot keep up with the shifting changes in heat. While organisms that thrive in the heat and welcome it are a lot of insects that damage the environment. Creating a cycle of hotter temperatures -> creating insects that destroys trees, crops and vegetation -> Leading to more resources needed to make up for the loss which causes higher energy demands -> which cause higher temperatures from the emissions.
There is a chapter on "Game of function research" (The author does not directly use this term but that is what he is referring to). For those of you who're unfamiliar with this term, GOF is research virologists do to make diseases stronger by running experiments with the DNA. They often times create deadly diseases as a means to understand them at a deeper level. This research was so dangerous that the Obama administration banned it but it was revived by the Trump administration. The logic is this research will help fight against upcoming diseases that spread through the globe like covid-19. This sounds good in theory but think about if this disease actually gets out of the laboratory confinement's. Bingo, we're in conspiracy territory. Any discussion about the lab leak theory in the days of the pandemic were met with account bans on social media. Over time this has been the most plausible cause of the virus and its something that comes with immense taboo to bring up, you can be labeled as anti-vax or anti-science etc. I got vaccinated myself, I have to make these statements so the reader does not automatically think this is some rant by some anti-science nut job.
The author states "Most scientists discredit the lab leak theory", this is simply not true. The former head of the CDC has stated that the virus is most likely man made, the top virologist in the world who were saying publicly that it came from a bat but privately it seems man made in leaked emails. Remember, their entire life's work is in this research so if a global pandemic is brought on by this than it gets impossible to fund their research. We have a literal lab called the "Wuhan Institute of Virology" which has been criticized for not following protocols in the past. The virus emanated from this part of the world and we're suppose to think its a coincidence? The author seems to be getting his information from the very people who have everything to lose if that claim turns out to be true but I also wondered, has the writer taken any grants from any institutions that benefit from the lab leak being discredited? I thought about the gates foundation as a possible donator to this writer and sure enough the writer does interview Gates who is a believer in GOF research. I would be interested to know if this author has accepted any payments from any organization with incentives to GOF research.
I think this is a very important book and its worth the read if you can overlook this one chapter, I still had a lot of fun with this book but I can't overlook that one chapter.
There is a chapter on "Game of function research" (The author does not directly use this term but that is what he is referring to). For those of you who're unfamiliar with this term, GOF is research virologists do to make diseases stronger by running experiments with the DNA. They often times create deadly diseases as a means to understand them at a deeper level. This research was so dangerous that the Obama administration banned it but it was revived by the Trump administration. The logic is this research will help fight against upcoming diseases that spread through the globe like covid-19. This sounds good in theory but think about if this disease actually gets out of the laboratory confinement's. Bingo, we're in conspiracy territory. Any discussion about the lab leak theory in the days of the pandemic were met with account bans on social media. Over time this has been the most plausible cause of the virus and its something that comes with immense taboo to bring up, you can be labeled as anti-vax or anti-science etc. I got vaccinated myself, I have to make these statements so the reader does not automatically think this is some rant by some anti-science nut job.
The author states "Most scientists discredit the lab leak theory", this is simply not true. The former head of the CDC has stated that the virus is most likely man made, the top virologist in the world who were saying publicly that it came from a bat but privately it seems man made in leaked emails. Remember, their entire life's work is in this research so if a global pandemic is brought on by this than it gets impossible to fund their research. We have a literal lab called the "Wuhan Institute of Virology" which has been criticized for not following protocols in the past. The virus emanated from this part of the world and we're suppose to think its a coincidence? The author seems to be getting his information from the very people who have everything to lose if that claim turns out to be true but I also wondered, has the writer taken any grants from any institutions that benefit from the lab leak being discredited? I thought about the gates foundation as a possible donator to this writer and sure enough the writer does interview Gates who is a believer in GOF research. I would be interested to know if this author has accepted any payments from any organization with incentives to GOF research.
I think this is a very important book and its worth the read if you can overlook this one chapter, I still had a lot of fun with this book but I can't overlook that one chapter.
October 6, 2023
I struggled with a rating for this book and settled on 3.5 stars. There is much information in this book which was fascinating such as the first chapters on how extreme heat affects the body and the risk of spillover zoonotic diseases. However other chapters were incredibly dull, such as the one describing the development and marketing of air conditioners.
February 25, 2024
Starts off engaging, becomes boring quick and turns absolutely tone-deaf by the end.
Very early own you realize that the author is high on his own fumes, but you put up with it, because the topic is so important. Around the half-way mark the writing veered off into platitudes and I couldn't keep focused on the text. Nothing new, only buzzfeed-style nod-along chapters.
The last chapter though - what a kicker! So up to this point you have read a book about climate change, heat death, dengue fever and famine. How the author decided that the last 10% of this book were a good fit for his personal travel log is beyond me. Not only does he describe his month long Arctic ski trekking trip that required personal aviation to get there with zero self-awareness. He ends his personal adventure story with an anecdote about how they almost had to kill an icebear and her cubs, after they had foolishly invaded their hunting ground. The best part was that this trip has zero scientific purpose - just three rich dudes harassing the local fauna for fun.
God help us if we have to rely on people like Goodell to shape public opinion to combat climate change.
Very early own you realize that the author is high on his own fumes, but you put up with it, because the topic is so important. Around the half-way mark the writing veered off into platitudes and I couldn't keep focused on the text. Nothing new, only buzzfeed-style nod-along chapters.
The last chapter though - what a kicker! So up to this point you have read a book about climate change, heat death, dengue fever and famine. How the author decided that the last 10% of this book were a good fit for his personal travel log is beyond me. Not only does he describe his month long Arctic ski trekking trip that required personal aviation to get there with zero self-awareness. He ends his personal adventure story with an anecdote about how they almost had to kill an icebear and her cubs, after they had foolishly invaded their hunting ground. The best part was that this trip has zero scientific purpose - just three rich dudes harassing the local fauna for fun.
God help us if we have to rely on people like Goodell to shape public opinion to combat climate change.
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