Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Intense floods in Algeria’s Sahara in 2024 exposed how modern desert cities shed water instead of storing it. Redesigning infrastructure to hold rain, not rush it away, could help turn arid regions into resilient, living landscapes.
In the first instalment of a new series on thinking about the future, Nate Hagens argues that most debates about what lies ahead are shaped by a single competing narrative. He introduces “scenario thinking” as a way to hold multiple possible futures at once, and explores why this is psychologically and culturally difficult in practice.
There is no better time than now to transform advancements in resilience science and practice into widespread action. Such action can create resilient and sustainable economies, societies, and ecosystems in a post-COVID-19 and increasingly unpredictable world.
To proactively prepare for the climate crisis, gaining insight into the parallels, differences and relationships between COVID-19 and climate change can help us to further build long-term resilience.
There is a need to explore what might happen after the limits to economic growth are reached, and whether humanity will face a manageable contraction or a variety of catastrophic collapses. In this chapter, I want to look at some of the conceptual thinking about these issues as they relate to the beginning of the 21st century.
All species are embedded in complex networks of interactions where they are directly and indirectly dependent on each other. A food web is a good example of such networks. The simultaneous loss of such large numbers of plants and animals could have cascading impacts on the ways species interact – and hence the ability of ecosystems to bounce back and properly function following high-severity wildfires.
Resilience and the ability to survive will depend on our ability to embrace reality and begin now to prepare for the changes that are coming.
A regenerative human culture is healthy, resilient and adaptable; it cares for the planet and it cares for life in the awareness that this is the most effective way to create a thriving future for all of humanity.
Reliance on physical, structural measures has dominated public policies and permeated public perception while traditional mitigation knowledge and strategies have declined.
On a simplistic level, efficiency is maximum (or optimal) output with minimum waste.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to the “Resilience Group,” an informal gathering of environmentalists, activists, and interested others that meet regularly at the home of Wes Jackson, in Salina, KS. My short remarks gave rise to a robust and enlightening discussion, or so I thought.
American towns and cities face a series of economic, environmental, and social justice challenges that hit the most disadvantaged communities especially hard.
