The Seventh Plague

NOTES FROM THE SCIENTIFIC RECORD

Things are heating up of late — not just in regard to global temperatures but also in regard to the debate about climate change. In the last few years, the question has evolved from Is climate change real? to What is causing it and can anything be done about it? Even many former skeptics now recognize that something is happening to our planet, what with glaciers melting worldwide, Greenland’s ice pack vanishing at a breakneck pace, and oceans steadily warming. Even the weather is growing more extreme, from persistent droughts to massive flooding. As reported in February 2016, Alaska experienced its second-warmest winter on record, with temperatures more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit above average, and in May of that same year, satellite measurements of the arctic ice cap revealed that it had dwindled to the lowest level ever recorded.

But the more frightening question — and one explored in this novel — is Where are we headed next? The answer is a surprising one, little talked about, but based on concrete evidence and science — and most shocking of all, it’s happened before. So whether skeptic or believer, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. It’s time to learn the staggering truth about the future of our planet.