David Wallace-Wells, a New York Times writer and author of 'The Uninhabitable Earth,' dives into the dire realities of climate change. He discusses unprecedented heatwaves and the lackluster response of governments. However, there’s a silver lining: advancements in solar energy and battery tech are paving the way for a cleaner future. Wallace-Wells emphasizes the urgent need for new construction and infrastructure to adapt, while advocating for innovative solutions that can unite various political views in the fight against climate change.
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insights INSIGHT
Heatwave Causes
Heatwaves are becoming more extreme and frequent due to climate change.
Ocean circulation changes contribute to longer, more intense heat dome events.
insights INSIGHT
Heat's Impact on the Body
Humans are heat engines and must constantly cool off to survive.
Heat hinders cooling, affecting various organs, with varying individual responses.
insights INSIGHT
Dangerous Heat Metrics
Wet bulb temperature, combining heat and humidity, is the key measure of heat danger.
High heat and humidity, especially prolonged, severely limit outdoor activity.
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The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming is a comprehensive and alarming account of the potential impacts of climate change. The book, inspired by Wallace-Wells' 2017 New York Magazine article of the same name, explores various scenarios of Earth's future under different temperature increases. It discusses a wide range of climate-related disasters, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, extinctions, disease outbreaks, fires, droughts, famines, and increased geopolitical conflict. While the book focuses on the dire consequences rather than solutions, it acknowledges that measures such as a carbon tax, changes in agricultural practices, and investments in green energy and carbon capture could mitigate some of the worst effects. The book is praised for its urgent and detailed portrayal of climate change but has also been criticized for its alarmist tone and lack of concrete solutions[1][2][4].
The world is on fire. In southern Europe, wildfires are streaking from Portugal to Greece. In the U.K., airport runways melted as temperatures exceeded 103 degrees for the first time on record. In the U.S. this week, about one in five Americans are living in a place that will be even hotter than the U.K.’s historic mark. And what is our government doing about it? Pretty close to nothing.
But if you look behind these headlines, there’s something very interesting happening. In the past decade, the price of solar electricity has declined by 90 percent. The efficiency of lithium-ion batteries has increased by 90 percent. Per-capita emissions in the U.S. have declined by a quarter since 2005, falling all the way to levels not seen since 1960. These are technological revolutions worth building on. But they will require that Americans get over their allergy to new construction. And build.
Today’s guest is David Wallace-Wells, a writer for The New York Times and the author of the bestseller 'The Uninhabitable Earth.' In this episode, we talk about the future of a hot world, the science of heat, the depressing state of climate policy in Washington, the more hopeful state of climate technology and global adaptation, the end of old-fashioned environmentalism, and the future of a new climate movement.
Plain English with Derek Thompson 
