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 today It’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.
