Navigating the Polycrisis
By Michael J. Albert…A much-needed work of global futures studies, Navigating the Polycrisis brings the rigor of the natural and social sciences together with speculative imagination in order to illuminate and shape our global future.
Permacrisis
By Gordon Brown, et al in Permacrisis….The longer a problem goes unresolved, the worse it will get; that’s what happens in a permacrisis – and that’s why we must act now.
The 2023 state of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory
by William J Ripple in BioScience…..Rather than focusing only on carbon reduction and climate change, addressing the underlying issue of ecological overshoot will give us our best shot at surviving these challenges in the long run. This is our moment to make a profound difference for all life on Earth, and we must embrace it with unwavering courage and determination to create a legacy of change that will stand the test of time.
For a Coming Extinction
BY W. S. MERWIN Gray whaleNow that we are sending you to The EndThat great godTell himThat we who follow you invented forgivenessAnd forgive nothing I write as though you could understandAnd I could say itOne must always pretend somethingAmong the...
Climate extremes call for resilience and adaptation, not just repair
by Jorn Birkmann in Nature…..Through international research and local collaborations, the Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning at the University of Stuttgart is changing the way the world prepares for a future of extremes.
I study climate change. The data is telling us something new.
by Zeke Hausfather in The New York Times…Staggering. Unnerving. Mind-boggling. Absolutely gobsmackingly bananas.
Extreme weather leading to food and water shock
from Lloyd’s futureset and Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies…Without collaboration, protection and risk mitigation, the potential impacts of extreme and systemic weather events could prove devastating to the global economy. Our ‘Extreme weather leading to food and water shortage’ scenario uses modelling and analysis to expose the potential cost of a weather and food event unfolding over the next five years, at three different levels of severity. The analysis is based on the historic impacts of climate events and uses plausible projections to demonstrate economic and insurance impacts over the next five years..
Overshooting earth’s boundaries: an interview with Bill Rees
by Rachel Donald in World Sensorium Conservancy….Our impact on the planet cannot be understated. We have thrust Earth into a new geological period, destroyed the majority of the world’s wildlife, razed her forests, and rendered innumerable species extinct. We are expert consumers with no limits to our appetite, it seems. Unless the climate becomes so unstable our own systems break down. This, of course, is what we’re already seeing.
Weaving solidarity and hope: stories of regeneration and resilience
From Global tapestries of alternatives…..we learn that art is an important mode of everyday
resistance that can offer healing possibilities from the trauma of war, occupation
and destruction. It gives a sense of hope in most dire situations, the possibility
of creation and building collective solidarity
Rivers and water systems as weapons and casualties of the Russia‐Ukraine war
By Peter Gleick in Earth’s Future……Among the consequences of the conflict have been both direct and indirect effects on civilian populations, agriculture, military operations, water supplies and quality, and natural ecosystems. An historical review shows that such attacks have occurred in the past, but the extent and severity of the current violence appear unprecedented, raising important questions of international law and how international legal and scientific communities should respond.
Beneath the polycrisis is the singular dilemma of humanity called capitalism: the thirty-seventh newsletter (2023)
by Vijay in Tricontinental….Dilemmas of humanity abound. There is little need to look at statistical data to know that we are in a spiral of crises, from the environmental and climate crisis to the crises of poverty and hunger.
The blue dollar economy
Dollarization of the Argentine economy, which appeared an eccentric wish only a few months ago, now dominates media headlines and dinner table discussions and has become a subject of academic research.
The tragedy on the financial horizon is closer than you think
In September 2015, then Bank of England Governor Mark Carney gave a landmark speech on the “Tragedy of the Horizon.” The concept was simple: climate change creates tremendous risk for financial markets, but these mounting risks are ignored by...
Spaces for Growth: Learning our Way out of a Crisis
By Graham Leicester and Maureen O'Hara In normal times we tend to go about our lives oblivious to the structures, institutions, processes and shared values that shape our behaviours. In powerful times like ours, deep structures of love, power and...
Why 2% is the most dangerous number no one is talking about
We’ve had a summer from hell, with July 2023 temporarily claiming the title of hottest month on record. But while the klaxons of Earth’s climate system have riveted nearly everyone’s attention, something else is silently happening to us and other...
Finding the trickle
Idah Murithi shares a captivating tale of a young girl’s journey to restore a river and educate her community about the power of collective action in safeguarding natural resources. This is one of the five winning stories from the Resilience Perspectives storytelling contest.