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8 - Adaptation

from Section II - Responses to Climate Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2022

Wake Smith
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

If the incentives to undertake drastic mitigation remain inordinately weak, those in favor of transformational adaptation to climate change will prove very strong, so humanity will spend vast sums of effort and money in this arena. These will range from the personal (buy another air conditioner) to the national (strengthen emergency response capabilities). Agricultural and food systems will need to transform to remain productive in a warmer world. More human intervention including “assisted evolution” will be required to protect natural systems that may increasingly struggle to protect themselves. Cities will need to become more resilient to resist and rapidly recover from the stresses that a changed climate will bring. Infrastructure to hold back rising seas such as the mighty Dutch Delta Works will become common all over the globe. However, over the longer run, humanity will need to surrender lesser value portions of coastline to the waves and execute a broad and painful retreat.

Type
Chapter
Information
Pandora's Toolbox
The Hopes and Hazards of Climate Intervention
, pp. 114 - 129
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Adaptation
  • Wake Smith, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Pandora's Toolbox
  • Online publication: 24 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009008877.008
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  • Adaptation
  • Wake Smith, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Pandora's Toolbox
  • Online publication: 24 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009008877.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Adaptation
  • Wake Smith, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Pandora's Toolbox
  • Online publication: 24 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009008877.008
Available formats
×