The author discusses his recently published book "Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World," with Allison Carruth. Book signing to follow.
From the Publisher:
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.
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.
R. Jisung Park is assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he holds appointments in the School of Social Policy and Practice and the Wharton School of Business. An environmental and labor economist, he has been investigating and writing about the economics of climate change for more than a decade. He has advised organizations that range from the World Bank to the New York City Departments of Education and Health.
Allison Carruth is Professor of American studies at the High Meadows Environmental Institute and the director of a Princeton lab focused on environmental media and storytelling. Her current research examines how narratives about contemporary environmental challenges take shape across the arts and sciences and effect different frameworks for action. The author of "Global Appetites: American Power and the Literature of Food" and co-author of "Literature and Food Studies," she also is an expert in the field of food studies.
Presented in partnership with Labyrinth Books and co-sponsored by the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University and Princeton University Press.
