In this gripping examination, Goodell, a Rolling Stone contributing editor and author of The Water Will Come and Big Coal, demonstrates the deleterious effects of rising temperatures and the frightening possibilities of what lies ahead if we don’t take immediate, globally coordinated action. Rather than simply providing scientific data to support his claims, the author provides an intimate look at the effects of our planet’s warming on individual lives. Among them is the heartbreaking story of Sebastian Perez, a migrant worker from Guatemala who succumbed to heat exhaustion while working in the fields of Willamette Valley, Oregon, a location once considered a refuge from extreme heat. Goodell argues for legislation to protect vulnerable outdoor workers from unsafe conditions; investigates how hotter weather will lead to a decline in food production, which will make feeding the rapidly increasing global population more difficult; and looks at the decrease in mountain snowpack, which is already taking a toll on the water supply of the American Southwest. As the temperature of our planet continues to rise, we also face greater risks related to mosquito-borne and other infectious diseases. Rising temperatures increase the chance of ice-sheet collapse in the polar regions, resulting in rising sea levels and catastrophic damage to low-lying coastal cities. With the extreme weather conditions experienced in recent years throughout the world, including heat waves in Paris, prolonged drought followed by widespread flooding in California, and more frequent ice storms in Texas, climate change denial is no longer an option. “Making the necessary changes will be hard; it will require political leadership and a deeper understanding of our connection with one another and with the world we live in,” writes Goodell. “But it is not beyond our reach.”
Yet another stark, crucial reminder that we are running out of time to save humankind.
Review Publication: Kirkus Reviews