climate change

Ted Schuur has spent the better part of his career making the connection between climate change and wildfires that are burning an increasing amount of land in Alaska and in sub-Arctic and Arctic forests around the world. So the Northern Arizona University scientist wasn’t all that surprised this summer to find his field stations in the interior of Alaska surrounded by fires on three sides. At the time, the state was well on track to recording its second-worst fire season ever.

What does it mean to conserve is an era of ever growing rates of cultural, social, and ecological change? One dictionary definition of conservation I found defined it as the act of preserving, guarding, or protecting. But what does one guard or protect when gone is the certainty that even a particular habitat, species, park or preserve will remain viable in the relatively near future (next 100 or so years). What does that mean for how we conceive of conservation?

The Island Press Urban Resilience Project, supported by the Kresge Foundation, is working to promote a holistic understanding of resilience that is grounded in equity and sustainability. The president of the most powerful nation in the world, the leader of a major world religion, and one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals agree: Climate change is a major threat to human health, and immediate action is critical.