Civilisation & survival1
The World Doesn’t End Everywhere at Once
Climate disruption can tear societies apart unevenly. Food, water, migration and political choices explain why survival somewhere is a miserable definition of success.
Perspective on a changing planet
Climate change comes down to one chart.
Opinionated, evidence-backed essays on climate, civilisation and the future we are making.
Atmospheric CO₂Mauna Loa · 1958 →
The starting point
The curve keeps climbing.
Climate change poses an unprecedented challenge, with future generations facing a world starkly different from our own. Rising temperatures, sea levels, and extreme weather events will force massive population shifts, for which no nation is adequately prepared. As our grandchildren grapple with these changes, they'll view our current inaction with the same disdain we reserve for historical atrocities like the Atlantic slave trade. This crisis demands immediate and effective action, which should not be left to short-term elected political leaders who seem more focused on inflating defense budgets than addressing existential threats. A better, more sustainable approach must be found to ensure long-term solutions.
— Tom, neutral.org
The collection
Ideas for an uncertain future.
Science & uncertainty2
The Problem With Scientific Caution
Scientific uncertainty is a reason to examine dangerous possibilities. We have become remarkably good at using it as permission to carry on.
History & responsibility3
The Generations That Knew
Future generations will inherit both a changing climate and the records showing how much we understood. Our excuses may age badly.
Climate & civilisation4
Who Put Politicians in Charge of the fixing climate change?
Election winners inherit a problem measured in centuries. What if we gave exceptional people the resources to prepare, invent and deliver — without handing them unchecked power?
Climate & civilisation5
2300 AD: School History Class on climate change
In an imagined classroom in the year 2300, children examine the years 1850–2050 and ask the questions their ancestors might have preferred not to hear.
Climate & civilisation6
350: The Year We Took the Carbon Back
In 2100 the Keeling Curve reaches 350 ppm. An imagined broadcast tells how humanity gave AI seventy years to take carbon dioxide back out of the sky—and what that victory cost.
A point of view
Evidence matters. So does what we do with it.
These essays take a position. They ask what a warming planet means for water, food, institutions and the people who come after us. The sources are there to follow. The arguments are there to challenge.
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