January 22nd, 2012 —
An article in the journal Ambio
Ongoing and rapid rapid changes in the physical environment of the marine Arctic will push components of the region’s existing social-ecological systems beyond tipping points and into new regimes. We emphasize the need to understand the Arctic’s role in an increasingly nonlinear world; then we describe emerging evidence on the connectivity of system components from the subarctic seas surrounding northern North America; and finally we propose an approach to allow northern residents to observe, adapt and—if necessary—transform the social-ecological system with which they live.
Read more »
December 12th, 2011 —
There’s really only one label for the pathetic exercise we’ve just witnessed in South Africa: deceit. The whole climate-change negotiation process and the larger political discourse surrounding this horrible problem is a drawn-out and elaborate exercise in lying—to each other, to ourselves, and especially to our children. And the lies are starting to corrupt our civilization from inside out.
Read more »
March 1st, 2011 —
Radio Ecoshock Podcast: “Wicked Problems & Solutions.” Normal approaches to science and policy cannot solve wicked problems, like climate change, energy scarcity, or economic crisis.
Read more »
February 1st, 2011 —
Video: A CIGI Inside the Issues interview with David Welch on climate change. View the interview.
Read more »
January 1st, 2011 —
In January, 2011, I published an article on the limits to economic growth in a collection of comments on “Unconventional Wisdom: Economies Can’t Just Keep on Growing” in Foreign Policy. “Humanity has made great strides over the past 2,000 years, and we often assume that our path, notwithstanding a few bumps along the way, goes ever upward. But we are wrong: Within this century, environmental and resource constraints will likely bring global economic growth to a halt.”
Read more »
December 31st, 2010 —
On December 31, 2010, in “And Now the Weather: Nasty and Brutish,” published in the Toronto Globe and Mail, I report the results of some recent climate research that suggests loss of Arctic sea ice is disrupting the polar vortex, causing north-south jet streams to pull cold air into southern latitudes.
Read more »
August 23rd, 2010 —
On August 23, 2010, in “Disaster at the Top of the World,” an op-ed appearing in The New York Times filed from the icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent in the Arctic, I argue that only a climate crisis will generate real movement on climate policy and that we need to develop plans now to exploit the opportunity provided by this crisis when it occurs.
Read more »
December 21st, 2009 —
Thomas Homer-Dixon argues we still have what it takes to dazzle the world when it comes to adapting to climate change.
Read more »
December 4th, 2009 —
On December 7, 2009, in “Responding to the Skeptics,” published in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria and I offer short refutations of four arguments commonly used to raise doubts about the scientific consensus on climate change.
Read more »
June 8th, 2009 —
A speech to a conference in Essen, Germany. I’m delighted to be here with you this evening, in part because this is my first visit to the Ruhr. This region has an extraordinary history as a crucible of an industrial revolution that was, of course, powered by coal. And coal is a substance that will [...]
Read more »
