Adaptation needs to grow up. To mature it cannot remain a technocratic exercise in flood defences and heatwave plans.
About Resilience
When the Saints Go Marching Out: New Orleans and the Resilience of Cities
By Richard Heinberg I’ve written repeatedly about community resilience over the years; for example, I penned an article in 2017 for Bloomberg on rebuilding for resilience after the devastating wildfires in Sonoma County, California, where I live. In this piece, I want to tackle an even tougher case. The city of New Orleans dramatically…
Sovereignty and Rising Sea Levels: Climate Change Is Reshaping the Meaning of Nationhood
The people of these nations will be among the first to wrestle with the loss of national identity implied by the loss of territory.
The people of these nations will be among the first to wrestle with the loss of national identity implied by the loss of territory.
Feeding the World as if People Mattered: How Small Farms Produce Value Beyond Yields
Strawberries recruited village kids to fix the cracking sidewalk; strawberry jam paid a metalworker to fix her stove;
Strawberries recruited village kids to fix the cracking sidewalk; strawberry jam paid a metalworker to fix her stove;
We’re Measuring Extreme Heat Better Than Ever. The Human Toll Still Goes Underreported
Both are stories about extreme heat, yet the two scenes are not easily understood as part of the same narrative.
Both are stories about extreme heat, yet the two scenes are not easily understood as part of the same narrative.
Better Than To-Go: How Italy Avoided the Coffee Cup Waste Crisis Before It Even Started
Walking through Toronto last autumn, I found the presence of Tim Hortons to be the most striking feature of the urban landscape.
Walking through Toronto last autumn, I found the presence of Tim Hortons to be the most striking feature of the urban landscape.
The Cardinal’s Lesson: What We Fail to Notice, We Rarely Protect
The woods were quiet in the peculiar way that belongs only to early spring. The great chorus of summer had not yet arrived.
The woods were quiet in the peculiar way that belongs only to early spring. The great chorus of summer had not yet arrived.
What Adam Smith’s the Wealth of Nations Can Teach Us About Today’s Failed Energy Transitions
In a capitalist system, it is hardly surprising that the same profit motive that spurs investment in low‑carbon energy also drives continued investment in fossil fuels.
In a capitalist system, it is hardly surprising that the same profit motive that spurs investment in low‑carbon energy also drives continued investment in fossil fuels.
How Environmental Destruction Is Built Into Corporate Design
How do decent people live with the catastrophic results of their collective labor?
How do decent people live with the catastrophic results of their collective labor?
The 2026 Energy Crisis and Our Wile E. Coyote Moment
Pop culture has long memorialized the Warner Brothers cartoon gag in which Wile E. Coyote, lured by his nemesis, the Roadrunner, races off a cliff.
Pop culture has long memorialized the Warner Brothers cartoon gag in which Wile E. Coyote, lured by his nemesis, the Roadrunner, races off a cliff.
Plastic Waste Is Reshaping Flood Protection in Cities
Flood risk is typically assessed through rainfall, sea level, and storm intensity.
Flood risk is typically assessed through rainfall, sea level, and storm intensity.
On Natural Capital: The Value of the World Around Us by Partha Dasgupta – Review
This is not a polemic reliant on reductionism and grandiosity.
This is not a polemic reliant on reductionism and grandiosity.
There’s No Single Path Through Collapse. It Spans Multiple Systems and Perspectives
Modern civilization has undergone unsustainable growth, and its core tenets rest on a shaky foundation of misguided premises: infinite resources, domination of nature, hubris, the cargo cult of tech and the domination and control of people.
Modern civilization has undergone unsustainable growth, and its core tenets rest on a shaky foundation of misguided premises: infinite resources, domination of nature, hubris, the cargo cult of tech and the domination and control of people.
Without Pluralism Within the Climate Movement, We Risk Handing the Future to the Far Right
This is why, despite our differing views on climate politics, the two of us share a growing concern about the direction of the climate movement.
This is why, despite our differing views on climate politics, the two of us share a growing concern about the direction of the climate movement.
Truth, Lies, and Loyalty in the Age of Trumpism
Trump lies at a pace that’s puzzling. What conceivable purpose could this behavior serve?
Trump lies at a pace that’s puzzling. What conceivable purpose could this behavior serve?
Climate Cracks Are Spreading — and Even the System Knows It Can’t Hold
Scientists have been warning us about the growing risks of climate change, natural disasters, and potentially catastrophic events with increasing urgency since the 1960s, but we have collectively failed to convert.
Scientists have been warning us about the growing risks of climate change, natural disasters, and potentially catastrophic events with increasing urgency since the 1960s, but we have collectively failed to convert.