New book reveals human cost of climate change

Newswise: A new book, Overheated: The Human Cost of Climate Change, predicts a grim future for billions of people in this century. It is a factual account of a staggering human toll, based on hard data. Author Andrew Guzman, an authority on international law and economics, is a professor and associate dean at UC Berkeley School of Law.

Guzman has studied intractable economic problems, such as poverty, recessions, and trade wars. But, in recent years, one problem loomed larger than all the rest: climate change. It became impossible to fathom the economic impact of state actions without including global warming in the equation.

“Climate change is the most important problem facing the international community in the 21st century,” Guzman said. “It’s a problem that no country alone can solve, but a solution is imperative.”

Countless books exist on the scientific aspects of climate change, but not one on why people should care, said Guzman. So he decided to write for a popular audience, to engage them, to capture their imaginations in a way that would communicate the depth of the problem.

Guzman adopted the predictions of scientists who expect a minimum warming of two degrees Celcius. But even such a modest calculation will mean unprecedented migrations, flooding, famine, and war. It will decimate infrastructures we take for granted, crippling roadways, sewers, and irrigation systems. Social services we rely on (sanitation, transportation, heath care) will cease working normally, and humans will find themselves competing for ever more scarce resources.

“Climate change is going to damage the very foundations upon which we’ve built our civilization. I don’t think people understand how pervasive this problem is,” Guzman said.....