5. Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats, by Gwynne Dyer (Oneworld Publications, 2010)

This is the second book I’ve read over the last month (the other one was Six Degrees, by Mark Lynas) about climate change, and let me tell you, the current environment has accentuated the terrifying visions depicted in these books. I would say it’s been similar to reading a horror novel in an abandoned slaughterhouse.

While I’m reading these apocalyptic visions of how badly planet Earth will be screwed, even if the average global temperature increases just a couple degrees, I’m seeing photos in my Facebook feed of friends sunbathing on the beach in Wisconsin…in February. Climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed by our government like yesterday, but the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, is a climate change denier and a straight up fossil fuel flunky. His goal is to “dismantle” the EPA. From the New York Times:

“Both opponents and supporters of Mr. Pruitt’s say he is well positioned to carry out Mr. Trump’s campaign trail promises to dismantle the agency and slash its ranks of employees. Mr. Trump vowed to ‘get rid’ of the agency ‘in almost every form.’”

Climate Wars was a good companion to Six Degrees. The book has two components: a variety of fiction future scenarios author Gwynne Dyer has created, and chapters analyzing research that might back those scenarios up. It is a story of nations going to war over water and habitable land. There will be drought, famine, and flooding, which will lead to a large amount of “climate refugees.” If you think people are in a frenzy over building walls now, just wait until hundreds of millions of desperate people are heading north to escape unbearable climate change. And in the end, climate change could cause the oceans to die completely and the atmosphere will be filled with hydrogen sulfide. Hey, TGIF, everyone! Be sure to wear a Hawaiian print shirt today!

I really liked the book’s future scenarios, but the info chapters really didn’t grab my attention span. I found myself skimming and skipping over large parts of these chapters because the technical language was over my head. But if you want a look at what the upcoming Water Wars are going to look like, this is an interesting read.

Recommended? Like I said, I enjoyed the scenario chapters, but not the dry research ones.

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The Apocalypse Blog explores the topics of Tea Krulos’s third non-fiction book, which is about doomsday predictions, prepping, and pop culture. It’ll be published in 2018 (if the world survives that long). His first two books, Heroes in the Night (2013) and Monster Hunters (2015) are available from Chicago Review Press here: http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/krulos–tea-contributor-296670.php