The Fires Ahead

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming By David Wallace Wells Tim Duggan Books 320 pages, S$28.50

LET'S FACE IT: We're all part of the problem when it comes to global warming. Our carbon footprint is likely to be appalling compared to someone who doesn't live in a city. And we continue to engage in activities that generate unnecessary waste of natural resources, energy and manpower. And if all the exhortations from environmentalists to take immediate steps to change our consumption patterns have not sunk in, then perhaps it's time to pick up this book.

David Wallace-Wells' The Uninhabitable Earth (2019) depicts a worst-case scenario of the not-too-distant future if we carry on at this rate. A journalist for New York magazine and The Guardian, Wallace-Wells has stirred controversy for his bestselling book variously described as ''extreme'' and ''alarmist''. At the same time, he's also attracted praise for his partly ''realistic'' assessment from the same academic and scientific establishments.