The Uninhabitable Earth
May 2020
Overall verdict: ★ ★ ★
To buy this book, click here.
Why this book?
This book may not be for everyone… it’s certainly not an optimistic read and it certainly won’t fill you with hope for the future… however it may inspire you to take action against climate change and you may (as per the blurb) find it an ‘impassioned call to action’. I saw this book being read by others on Twitter and thought I would give it a go- all in the name of balanced reading choices! Whilst I’m glad I read it- I’m not sure ‘enjoyed’ is the right word…
For teachers:
Whilst I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book for students (I think there are ample other books that students can read about global challenges without evoking such a strong sense of consternation), it is still an interesting read and has furthered my knowledge of climate change. In particular, I was intrigued by the discussion of elements of climate change often left out in the mainstream media such as the return of long-forgotten diseases with the melting of the permafrost.
Below are a series of paraphrased quotes or ideas from the book that I took to use in our Year 7 scheme of work that considers whether or not the people of the Maldives will be the first climate refugees. We use these quotes in a discussion lesson and (predictably) they are controversial and divisive- powerful conservation starters. They are ordered below in terms of how controversial I think they are (helping students to build up the critical nature of their arguments):
“We have responded to scientists’ warning about climate change as though they are simply crying wolf.”
“Climate devastation is everywhere you look and yet nowhere in focus."
“With the increase in carbon dioxide levels that humans have caused, we should no longer call natural disasters ‘natural’"
“The focus on plastic pollution is acting as a climate red herring; it is distracting us from the bigger problem of climate change.”
“Technology will take care of everything. If the Earth goes, we’ll just live in spaceships. We’ll have 3D printers to print our food.”
To buy this book, click here.