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Christian Parenti’s Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence chronicles “the most colossal set of events in human history: the catastrophic convergence of poverty, violence, and climate change.” In other words: beach book! A contributing editor at The Nation, Parenti is talking specifically about the mid-latitude belt of post-colonial regions, from Pakistan to Kenya to Brazil, that have borne the brunt of extreme climate crises. Drought and floods can cause everything from banditry to failed states. But Parenti’s exploration of how, say, a water shortage in equatorial Africa causes nomadic herdsmen to roam far afield—only to be met by a rival tribe that raids their animals and kills their men to protect fertile land—illustrates the domino effect extreme weather can cause anywhere in the world.
Parenti discusses his book at 7 p.m. at Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free.