A review by nellyyreads
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells

3.0

This is a detailed exposition of the very real problem that is global warming and environmental degradation, but I was left wanting at the end of the book. The main thesis is this - if planet earth heated up by another 2 degrees (and projections are that we might hit up to 6 by the end of this century), we might not survive because of the host of interconnected problems and consequences that arise from global warming. Every facet is explored - overheating, food scarcity, climate refugeeism, plagues/wildfires/heat deaths, unbreathable air, conflict and wars... you name it. Earth is heating up faster than we think it is, clean/alternative energies and decarbonisation are progressing much slower than they promise. Above all, individual efforts are, as we know, a drop in the ocean - we need collective, systemic change on a global scale to effect any improvement at all. I was hoping that the book expounded more on what collectively has been done, or what we can do better, or maybe that’s the point of the book, and I’m naive to think that we’ve made meaningful progress in this area. I wasn’t sure if it warranted only 3 stars - I had hoped for a more positive conclusion to the book and didn’t get it, but perhaps that was the ultimate message that the author wanted to leave me with.