"As an avid reader, I am always on the lookout for great books. My interest in the socioeconomic dynamics of climate change brought me to the event of economics scholar R. Jisung Park, who was in Pakhuis de Zwijger this March. His book Slow Burn, rooted in his experiences in California, explores how we can address heat-related harm now. One story stuck with me: after a massive wildfire, university staff casually had lunch outdoors, despite the lingering smoke. Research later confirmed Park’s unease—far more people die from smoke exposure than from the fires themselves. Here in the Netherlands all safety regions have raised their alertness level concerning fire risk to ‘extra alert’. To me, the images of nature ablaze act as a visceral reminder of climate change. Enormous resources are pulled together to fight the fire at hand, but when all is said and done, we move on. To speed up change, we need to pay attention to the slow burning, cumulative effects of rising temperatures. As Park shows, even kids and students already feel the impact—struggling to focus during exams on hot days. For people my age, this isn’t a future problem. Every step matters." - Wogene Kramer, Programmes Intern