R. Jisung Park: Slow Burn

From the wildfires raging in Los Angeles to sea levels rising rapidly on Pacific islands, the destruction of mangroves and rainforests, and melting glaciers. It is easy to be overwhelmed by climate change, especially when it is framed as an ongoing crisis of enormous proportions: a looming global disaster. In Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World, economist R. Jisung Park urges us to focus not on doom-ridden hypothetical scenarios, but on the tangible impacts of climate change unfolding right now, in our daily lives.

Using innovative data and cutting-edge economic research, Park highlights how the typical conversation around climate change misses its most pressing costs. What happens to those breathing in the smoke from distant wildfires? How do natural disasters disrupt education when schools and infrastructure are destroyed? Climate change, he says, is an ongoing process—a “silent accumulation of a thousand tiny conflagrations” affecting health, productivity and social mobility. Climate change exacerbates inequality: while wealthier households and corporations can often adapt, disadvantaged communities are far more vulnerable.

This lens offers a hopeful takeaway: by quantifying impacts and understanding them locally, we can make a compelling case for aggressive action to reduce emissions and develop practical strategies to mitigate harm. Park reminds us that tackling the challenges of climate change begins with addressing its effects where they matter most—in our communities, here and now.