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Uhhhh....
This here?
This is why we need to get past debating causes of climate change & shift to which cities we can save & what resources we’re willing to spend keeping them.
This here?
This is why we need to get past debating causes of climate change & shift to which cities we can save & what resources we’re willing to spend keeping them.
People who spend less time thinking about disasters are often taken aback when I casually write off cities as toast, but...
🎵 For the times they are a-changin'.🎵
This shit ain’t new, and political posturing does absolutely nothing to change reality.
🎵 For the times they are a-changin'.🎵
This shit ain’t new, and political posturing does absolutely nothing to change reality.
Not every city will be impacted the same by changing sea levels (& what we do impacts local sea level!), or weather patterns, or the increasing rhythm of intensifying catastrophe.
We can make the future less awful, but “normal” is already gone.
We can make the future less awful, but “normal” is already gone.
Climate change mitigation & adaption is inherently bespoke.
We need to have hard conversations about which resources we want to allocate how to “save” which cities. We need to pick where we’ll adapt & defend, and where we’ll abandon.
If we don’t?
Disasters will choose for us.
We need to have hard conversations about which resources we want to allocate how to “save” which cities. We need to pick where we’ll adapt & defend, and where we’ll abandon.
If we don’t?
Disasters will choose for us.
I don’t like it.
I’m certainly not cheering for the demise of places we’ve grown to love.
But I’m pragmatic enough to wonder how many storms, how many fires, how long of a drought, how much sinking we’ll take and still rebuild?
When will it be Too Much to recover?
I’m certainly not cheering for the demise of places we’ve grown to love.
But I’m pragmatic enough to wonder how many storms, how many fires, how long of a drought, how much sinking we’ll take and still rebuild?
When will it be Too Much to recover?
If we don’t have these conversations?
If we don’t seriously talk about where we’ll save & where we’ll surrender?
If we don’t adapt?
We’re implicitly agreeing to sacrifice the poor, the stuck, the elderly, the people without resources to flee & start again.
That’s damn harsh.
If we don’t seriously talk about where we’ll save & where we’ll surrender?
If we don’t adapt?
We’re implicitly agreeing to sacrifice the poor, the stuck, the elderly, the people without resources to flee & start again.
That’s damn harsh.
The practice of science is this astonishing tool that not only enables us to predict the future, but gives us the capacity to take actions that generate a better future.
Why not use that tool?
Why not give us the best possible chance of a future we actually want?
Stack the odds.
Why not use that tool?
Why not give us the best possible chance of a future we actually want?
Stack the odds.
Here’s the thing:
I like to win.
I REALLY like to live.
I want a future where humanity gets to not just survive, but to thrive.
We ran out the clock catering to debate on causation. Move on to adaption & mitigation before that time runs out, too.
I like to win.
I REALLY like to live.
I want a future where humanity gets to not just survive, but to thrive.
We ran out the clock catering to debate on causation. Move on to adaption & mitigation before that time runs out, too.
You want a real, pragmatic look at the future of where you call home?
One not limited by under-funded science budgets, growth-oriented city plans, & self-soothing softening?
Look at insurance zoning. It can be a nightmare to get the maps & reports, but you’ll get it straight.
One not limited by under-funded science budgets, growth-oriented city plans, & self-soothing softening?
Look at insurance zoning. It can be a nightmare to get the maps & reports, but you’ll get it straight.
We’re in a horrible, pointless standoff where the longer we argue about the rules, the more we all lose.
I play to win, for me & as many people as I can drag with me.
Please.
Please can we make real choices instead of ignoring that our future ghost towns are already dying?
I play to win, for me & as many people as I can drag with me.
Please.
Please can we make real choices instead of ignoring that our future ghost towns are already dying?
Q: But Jakarta made it worse with over-pumping enhancing subsidence!
A: Yes, and?
Not everything true is relevant.
EVERY city has unique extra context; that’s why mitigation & adaption is bespoke. That’s literally the entire point.
A: Yes, and?
Not everything true is relevant.
EVERY city has unique extra context; that’s why mitigation & adaption is bespoke. That’s literally the entire point.
Places that are sinking so local sea level rise is faster include, but are not limited to:
- deltas of flood-controlled rivers
- dredged ports
- anywhere not covered by ice 15,000yo
- anywhere that plucked mangroves, paved swamps, or bulldozed dunes
- places that built seawalls
- deltas of flood-controlled rivers
- dredged ports
- anywhere not covered by ice 15,000yo
- anywhere that plucked mangroves, paved swamps, or bulldozed dunes
- places that built seawalls
Literally every place on this planet is fucked from a disaster perspective. “Safe” isn’t a thing.
But we can make choices on how we build, how we grow, how we adapt, mitigate, respond.
We’re smart enough to predict how we’ll get hit, and brace so we don’t go down. That’s on us.
But we can make choices on how we build, how we grow, how we adapt, mitigate, respond.
We’re smart enough to predict how we’ll get hit, and brace so we don’t go down. That’s on us.
