Autumn Talks: Bill McGuire

BILL McGUIRE: The Fate of the World. A History and Future of the Climate Crisis (presentation attached)

Bill’s talk to Friends of the Cam on 3rd November 2026, illustrated by the attached slides, stressed just how close we are to climate cataclysm. Our output of greenhouse gases over a minuscule amount of time, geologically speaking, has caused global heating at an unprecedented speed. By the 2030s, Bill anticipates that we could be experiencing a Pliocene environment, when mammals roamed the Arctic. This appears to be the best case scenario. If we fail to rein in greenhouse gas emissions then we may soon after be experiencing Miocene conditions, when ppm of carbon were 400-600, and sea levels were 50 meters higher than present. In the map Bill presents of the British Isles, the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation is, by then, well and truly sunk.

Since planning from the top down has clearly brought us to this perilous situation, the best way to cope with it is from the bottom up: local organising for local plans and local control. Discussion explored ways in which we can do this through the vibrant network of environmental action groups in the region. We agreed that being environmentally and politically active is one way to keep our spirits up. This is illustrated beautifully in Zack Polanski’s interview with Greta Thunberg on Bold Politics.

Bill’s book is currently available in hardback, audio book and e-book. It will be published in paperback in March 2027. Meanwhile, you can listen to Bill being interviewed about the book by Aaron Bastani of Novarra Media here.