America and the Climate Crisis
#LIND19 | January – April, 2019
The world is nearing the point-of-no-return for catastrophic and irreversible climate change. Without action, the future will be one of mass forced migration, famine, and economic costs in the trillions of dollars. Many of these effects will be felt within the United States, and yet no other country is as deeply divided on climate change. For America, the climate crisis is as much a domestic political crisis as it is a crisis of planetary sustainability. But voices for climate action in America remain strong and there are signs of progress. American activists and philanthropists are increasingly steering the global conservation about how to solve the crisis. Innovation in renewable energy, geoengineering, and artificial intelligence are thriving and may hold the key. American cities have stepped up to assume the mantle of leadership in reducing greenhouse gases when the federal government has failed. There are signs of both promise and peril for America’s climate future. Can the United States overcome its domestic climate crisis to become a global leader for climate action? Or are the forces of extreme partisanship, climate denialism, and dirty industry too deeply entrenched?
The Phil Lind Initiative 2019 series in Term 2 at UBC explored these questions and more, with visits from some of the foremost intellectuals on the climate crisis including Robert Bullard, Elizabeth Kolbert, John Kasich, Winona LaDuke, and Bill McKibben.
READ MORE ABOUT THE SERIES
GPP 591 Lind Initiative Seminar
Led by Dr. Justin Alger, Lind Fellow, and Professor Taylor Owen with UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and UBC Journalism, this seminar series explored how for the United States, the climate crisis is as much a domestic political crisis as it is a crisis of planetary sustainability.
