Takeaways from David Wallace-Wells’ The Uninhabitable Earth by Peter Lorange

For some time now, I have been inundated with extraordinarily negative environmental news – floods, draughts, storms, wildfires, … Also, last summer I faced a stark reality— the ocean waters near Lofoten, Norway are becoming too warm. There was a sharp spike of cod fish in the traditional fishing grounds outside Lofoten. The cod’s liver can be used for obtaining Omega-3, and for a leading European distributor of this supplement, where I have invested, this is also the case. The cod seemed to migrate to grounds further north where the water temperature was colder. The effects of global warming have serious consequences, all over the world.

These events led me to re-read David Wallace-Wells’ book, The Uninhabitable Earth, which was first published in 2019. Perhaps not too surprisingly, much of what he predicted then now seems to have become a reality. The climate crisis that Wallace-Wells was warning about now as certainly arrived!

The book

The first part of this extraordinary book discusses 12 factors that are impacted by global warming. Then, in the second part of the book there are six chapters with syntheses – what might global warming actually lead to? Let us now review all of this, starting with the 12 problem areas.

Heat Death. The author discusses the fact that with all temperature increases even of only 3-5 degrees Celsius, large parts of our earth are no longer inhabitable for humans. Therefore the so-called heat stress comes to us much sooner. This is followed by heat exhaustion. Finally, an excessive wave of lethal heat attacks may occur. This grim scenario is all a consequence of excessive global warming. Apparently, we are already experiencing this.

Hunger. With increased heat there seems to be significant loss of productivity in the agricultural sector in many of the leading growth regions. And draught may be an even bigger problem for food production than heat. The problem has become worse as CO₂ concentrations have increased.

Drowning. With the smelting of the large ice caps, particularly in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of our earth, we could see at least four feet of sea-level rise by the end of this century. Some researchers actually predict this to go up to eight feet. So, many of the world’s leading cities will become flooded. And we already see that low-lying regions, even countries are disappearing!

On top of this, considerable amounts of CO₂ are released when the ice melts. This added emission of CO₂further adds to global warming, a cascading effect as the author calls it.

Wildfire. With the draught effects from temperature rise, it is expected that wildfires will become the new normal. We do indeed see wildfires rage in large parts of Europe (France, Spain, Greece, …) as well as in North America (California, Vancouver, …). Sadly, animal as well as plant life suffer. Perhaps even worse, the reduction in forested areas imply that less CO₂ will be absorbed since forests are now gone. Again, we see an increase in emissions, i.e., even more global warming. The good old days are not likely to come back!

Freshwater Drain. With added heat typically accompanied by more draught, we see that many water reservoirs, as well as lakes and rivers are drying up. Much of the resulting shortage of water might have political causes, governmental neglect and indifference, bad infrastructure and contamination, careless urbanization and development.

Dying Oceans. Oceans are critical for several reasons. First, oceans absorb significant amounts of CO₂. Second, oceans act as a coolant, significantly cooling the earth’s temperatures. Third, oceans act as “transport belts” – the ocean streams significantly impact local climate around the world. The Gulf Stream, for instance, contributes to the maintenance of a relatively warm climate in Norway, transporting warm water far up north.

But oceans are no longer able to absorb as much CO₂ as before. They are “saturated”, ocean acidification! And the increasingly warmer climates also warm up the oceans. One result is that more violent storms develop. When air comes in contact with this warm water, storms, excessive rain and floods result.

As alluded to in the introduction, fish populations are migrating north, by hundreds of miles in search of colder water.

Unbreathable Air. The increased temperature levels have also led to higher levels of pollution. The Air Quality Index frequently shoots up to alarmingly high levels, particularly in parts of India and China, but also elsewhere. The added threat from particles of microplastics has also become a worrying reality. Industrial activities contribute to this, including the spewing out of CO₂. Also, when plastics degrade, as parts of industrial activities, they release powerful greenhouse gases.

Plagues. Bacteria tend to grow and mutate more freely during warmer conditions. Formerly what were non-hazardous bugs might suddenly transform into transmitters of contagious diseases. Plagues seem to have become more rampant.

Economic Collapse. The majority of economic historians seem to agree that the major reason why Europe achieved a position of global economic strength was not the industrial revolution as such, but rather the relatively easy access to fossil fuel (coal, oil and gas). But it is the process of burning fossil fuel that contributes to emissions of CO₂. Reducing this means that in all likelihood, there will be a reduction in economic progress. Warmer temperatures do also damage worker productivity.

Climate Conflict. There appears to be a relationship between the number of conflicts, outbursts and even wars on our earth, and the rising temperatures. Heat frays everything. People are becoming more “hostile”. Unbearable heat can increase violent crime rates, anger or swearing on social media, hostility, impatience, stress, and so on. The hotter it gets, emotions flare, i.e., police officers are more likely to fire on intruders, and so on.

Migration. This is the twelfth and final factor that the author discusses. This issue has to do with migration. People are forced to leave when heat has led to significant drops in food production, as we saw with the large streams of refugees, primarily from Africa, moving into Europe.

But there may also be migrations resulting from natural disasters, such as flooding, wildfires, etc. The mental health costs are significant.

Syntheses

The author’s discussion of the 12 factors is quite detailed and should set off considerable “alarm bells” among the majority of readers. But Mr. Wallace-Wells does not stop here. He elaborates further on dysfunctional consequences of climate collapse that we seem to be experiencing. The sense of urgency for taking emissions more seriously, attempting to slow, or even stop, the temperature increases is thus further underscored.

Storytelling

There is an abundance of reports on climate change these days. Are the problems real or simply crying wolf? While Mr. Wallace-Wells states that he is alarmed when it comes to how inaction seems to have led to very severe problems, he also emphasizes that reports should attempt to be balanced, not overly dramatizing things, to avoid panic. This reviewer finds this viewpoint to be particularly valuable.

Crisis Capitalism

The main focus here is on fossil fuel, highlighting again that the burning of various sorts of fossil fuels tend to lead to huge problems when it comes to CO₂ emissions. But who should pay for the curtailing of the use of fossil fuels? Should it be the traditional energy companies (such as Exxon, Shell, Total, …) or should it be a payment scheme which would change the way for generations? Today, one might claim that those among the older generation might have benefited a lot relative to the younger generation. How should they pay for some of this? Should some nations pay more than others? This “who pays” issue seems to be at the center of the discussion at the most recent climate conferences, where many developing countries claim that they should pay less than more developed countries, the latter group having benefitted more from fossil fuel usage in the past.

The Church of Technology

There are high hopes that new technologies may help to ameliorate at least some of the challenges that the climate crisis raises. Here it is important to stress that “new” technologies might be needed urgently. “Winning slowly is losing!” But much of the research efforts seems focused in other areas other than climate control. AI related research and electronic chip development seem to fall into this category. Pharmaceutical research likewise! Where is the research to come up with less CO₂ emitting products? And/or effective ways to capture and store CO₂? Or coming up with “safe” energy sources other than oil, gas or coal? There is some progress being made however, such as the development of a new generation of compact, safer, atomic power entities for CO₂-free electricity generation.

Politics of Consumption

A major current dilemma is that there appears to be little to no benefits for politicians for attempting to cope with CO₂ emissions. Politicians tend to be concerned with short-term issues, such as being able to be re-elected. To develop a green economy, on the other hand, is typically of less interest to many main actors in the political arenas of the world. The time horizon is perhaps too long!

History After Progress

The author claims that “the climate change issue represents perhaps the revenge of time”. It is perhaps more convenient and less painful for most of us to ignore these issues, to pretend that they do not exist. But the clock is running.

Ethics at the End of the World

To make predictions regarding when the “end of the world might be coming” is perhaps not that useful. We might assume that there shall always be ways to adapt! Many of us recall the famous statement by the French King Louis XIV: “after us comes the downfall”. This did not happen. But Mr. Wallace-Wells states, there are reasons to be seriously alarmed! And to take such a stance is perhaps, in the end, an ethical issue.

Conclusions

After having re-read his seminal book, this reviewer is left with six overriding issues:

-       The climate change reality is here; it cannot be ignored.

-       Urgency is called for, a wake-up, but no panic!

-       Brutal honesty is needed; we should be alarmed.

-       But we should retain hope regarding the future, technology; political agreements…

-       Nevertheless, global warming will significantly change our lives!

-       Some of the twelve climate changes discussed in this book are perhaps even more fundamental than others (particularly critical: heat death, hunger, wildfires… versus somewhat less critical: freshwater drain; economic collapse; migration, …).

This book is perhaps even more relevant today than it was when it was written some 6 years ago. It is with a lot of frustration that I have to say this. Relatively little has been done over this six-year period, even though most of us who read this book would be in agreement with the author, this situation is truly serious!

But it is at least not too late to read this book. Please read it now!