Slow burn : the hidden costs of a warming world
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Thinking about climate change, many of us picture the catastrophic effects that the science has shown are sure to come if we don't act, and we often hear that global temperatures are rising at increasing and alarming rates. While those trends of rising temperatures will certainly bring about catastrophe if allowed to continue, they are also already having devastating effects right now. This book will focus on the economic implications of heat events happening now, and the warming that is already certain to come over the next 20 to 30 years. The book will focus on the hidden inequalities that have for long lain in plain sight: the way a heat wave, for instance, may barely be noticed by most office workers but pose potentially life-threatening risks for landscapers and construction crews, even within the same zip code. Economist Jisung Park argues that what's missing in the debate on climate change are answers to more practical questions: what climate change means for us and for our children, for the opportunities and livelihoods of our neighbors and friends, not 100 years from now, but right now. In his research, Park has quantified effects such as how when you take an exam on a 90 degree day in a building without working air conditioning, you will likely perform 10% to 15% worse than you would have on a day in the 60s; how if your job involves working outdoors, you're 5% to 10% more likely to experience a serious injury at work if the temperature is above 95 degrees; how the returns on your retirement fund can fluctuate quarter to quarter depending on the number of heat waves in China or the temperature in lower Manhattan; and how trends in criminal activity and policing behavior in your neighborhood worsen on a hot day. The book will argue that our collective discourse around climate change appears to be leaving out a crucial if seemingly commonplace factor: the subtle yet pervasive effects of heat on everyday people doing everyday things. It will paint a picture of climate change as "the silent accumulation of a thousand tiny burns, and an amplifier of underlying inequality; less an impending cardiac arrest for civilization but more a chronic and gradually intensifying inflammation for society's have-nots.""--,Provided by publisher.

"How the subtle but significant consequences of a hotter planet have already begun-from lower test scores to higher crime rates-and how we might tackle them todayIt's hard not to feel anxious about the problem of climate change, especially if we think of it as an impending planetary catastrophe. In Slow Burn, R. Jisung Park encourages us to view climate change through a different lens: one that focuses less on the possibility of mass climate extinction in a theoretical future, and more on the everyday implications of climate change here and now.Drawing on a wealth of new data and cutting-edge economics, Park shows how climate change headlines often miss some of the most important costs. When wildfires blaze, what happens to people downwind of the smoke? When natural disasters destroy buildings and bridges, what happens to educational outcomes? Park explains how climate change operates as the silent accumulation of a thousand tiny conflagrations: imperceptibly elevated health risks spread across billions of people; pennies off the dollar of productivity; fewer opportunities for upward mobility.By investigating how the physical phenomenon of climate change interacts with social and economic institutions, Park illustrates how climate change already affects everyone, and may act as an amplifier of inequality. Wealthier households and corporations may adapt quickly, but, without targeted interventions, less advantaged communities may not.Viewing climate change as a slow and unequal burn comes with an important silver lining. It puts dollars and cents behind the case for aggressive emissions cuts and helps identify concrete steps that can be taken to better manage its adverse effects. We can begin to overcome our climate anxiety, Park shows us, when we begin to tackle these problems locally"--,Provided by publisher.