This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Batchelor.

It is 1770.

We're with Captain off the coast of what will become Australia.

The captain records in his log he sees a smoking cape.

This moment in history is a way of talking about a phenomena that is worldwide

and that challenges civilization in the northern hemisphere, Greece, Spain, Italy, in the southern hemisphere, especially Australia,

but Argentina and Chile, wildfires, they're called in California, bushfires, they're called

in Australia.

A new book that is an old book, a book that is necessary now and was necessary when it was written

a dozen years ago, a future in flames. Daniel Claude is the author. Daniel is very generous

to come back after I interviewed her about her wonderful new book, koalas, and in the course of that

conversation, we talked about the horror of a wildfire

to a koala, because koalas cling to their source of energy, which is a eucalyptus tree. And

eucalyptus in a fire are very dangerous. Danielle, I congratulate you for having anticipated

the fate of the planet a dozen years ago,

because we're now in a situation where wildfires, we're told, are going to become routine,

not rare. And perhaps every year there'll be damage to the environment, to the economy, and of course, to people

and wildlife.

I begin with the Captain Cook reference because we need to understand that wildfires

are not, or bushfires are not a product of civilization.

They were always there.

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