The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future

Over the past decades, the term "Anthropocene" has climbed into the popular imagination - a name given to the geologic era we live in now, one defined by human intervention in the life of the planet. But however sanguine you might be about the proposition that we have ravaged the natural world, which we surely have, it is another thing entirely to consider the possibility that we have only provoked it, engineering first in ignorance and then in denial a climate system that will now go to war with us for many centuries, perhaps until it destroys us. In the meantime, it will remake us, transforming every aspect of the way we live-the planet no longer nurturing a dream of abundance, but a living nightmare.

J. Paul Neeley

J. Paul is a London based designer and researcher with expertise in Speculative Design, Service Design, Design Research, and Strategy.

All author's posts
Gemma Jones

Interdisciplinary cultural researcher and strategist specialising in semiotics and futures thinking

All author's posts

December 17, 2020

**SUNDAY TIMES AND THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

'If you read just one work of non-fiction this year, it should probably be this ... what this book forces you to face is more important than any other subject' David Sexton, Evening Standard

It is worse, much worse, than you think.

The slowness of climate change is a fairy tale, perhaps as pernicious as the one that says it isn't happening at all, and if your anxiety about it is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today.

Over the past decades, the term "Anthropocene" has climbed into the popular imagination - a name given to the geologic era we live in now, one defined by human intervention in the life of the planet. But however sanguine you might be about the proposition that we have ravaged the natural world, which we surely have, it is another thing entirely to consider the possibility that we have only provoked it, engineering first in ignorance and then in denial a climate system that will now go to war with us for many centuries, perhaps until it destroys us. In the meantime, it will remake us, transforming every aspect of the way we live-the planet no longer nurturing a dream of abundance, but a living nightmare.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uninhabitable-Earth-Story-Future/dp/0241355214/ref=as_li_ss_il?crid=3MUZE4R5IX3XA&keywords=the+uninhabitable+earth+a+story+of+the+future+by+david+wallace-wells&qid=1557849556&s=gateway&sprefix=the+unin,aps,929&sr=8-1-fkmrnull&linkCode=li3&tag=nneeleyworld01-21&linkId=ee9bb0e286edebf6bcc6f99b03a31d65&language=en_GB

Featured Courses
Further Reading
Beyond Academia: Why Professional Speculative Design Training Outpaces Traditional University Programs
The field of speculative design has moved from experimental academic studios to boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies, government policy labs, and innovation centers worldwide. As organizations increasingly recognize the strategic value of futures thinking, a critical question emerges: where can professionals gain the skills to apply these methods effectively in real-world contexts?While several prestigious universities now offer speculative design programs, the landscape of professional education reveals a significant gap between academic theory and applied practice. For professionals seeking to master speculative design methodologies and create organizational impact, understanding this distinction is essential.
February 4, 2026
Navigating Tomorrow: How Design Strategy Consultancies Shape Future-Focused Innovation
In an era of accelerating technological change and mounting uncertainty, organizations face a critical challenge: how do you prepare for futures that don't yet exist? Enter the world of speculative design, critical design, and futures thinking—disciplines that help companies move beyond incremental improvements to envision and design for multiple possible tomorrows.
February 2, 2026