COVID-19, monkeypox, bird flu, SARS, HIV, AIDS, Ebola; we are living in the Age of Pandemics – one that we have created. As the climate crisis reaches a fever pitch and ecological destruction continues unabated, we are just beginning to reckon with the effects of environmental collapse on our global health.
Fevered Planet exposes how the way we treat nature – through exploitation, profiteering and destruction – is leading to the emergence of deadly new infectious diseases that spread faster and further than ever. Drawing on the latest scientific research and decades of reporting from more than 100 countries, former Guardian environment editor John Vidal takes us into deep, disappearing forests in Gabon and the Congo, valleys scorched by wildfire near Lake Tahoe and our densest, polluted cities to show how closely human, animal and plant diseases are now intertwined with planetary destruction.
From fossil fuel use raising the global temperature to increased logging polluting our landscapes, Fevered Planet exposes the perils of reckless environmental destruction – not just to our planet but to ourselves. As Vidal expertly argues, unless we transform our relationship with the rest of the natural world, the pandemics we are facing today will just be the tip of the iceberg.
John Vidal was born and brought up in West Africa. One of the world's most experienced environment journalists, he has worked for over 30 years on the frontlines of the global war against nature. As environment editor of the Guardian, he has reported on the climate crisis, disease and ecological change from more than 100 countries, during which time he has been attacked by loggers and farmers, imprisoned by whalers and sued by oil and chemical companies. Vidal has won many national and international awards for his writing and filmmaking. He is the author of one previous book and has contributed chapters to books on war, famine and conservation.