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Climate emergency: lessons from Classic Maya to contemporary China [podcast]

Climate emergency: lessons from Classic Maya to contemporary China [podcast]

The consequences of climate change are catastrophic; floods, fires, droughts, rising sea levels, reduced biodiversity, and resource scarcity are but a few of the effects of failing to act. With the warmest decade on record behind us, and rising emissions before us, not to mention present conversations on how to best manage climate refugees, it is unsurprising that climate change is now a leading concern among institutions, and individuals, around the world. This real and present threat to our planet may seem insurmountable, but there are—and have been—lessons shared on how to mitigate the damage already wrought, and how to prevent future detriment.

On today’s episode, we explore two unique examples of societal adaptation to climate change: one from our past, and one from our present. First, we welcomed Kenneth E. Seligson, the author of The Maya and Climate Change: Human-Environmental Relationships in the Classic Period Lowlands, who shared insights into his work exploring the environmental resilience of the Classic Maya, the environmental challenges they faced and overcame, and the lessons we can learn from them. We then interviewed Scott M. Moore, the author of China’s Next Act: How Sustainability and Technology are Reshaping China’s Rise and the World’s Future, to speak about contemporary China’s meteoric and controversial rise to a global power, its leading role in sustainability and technology, and what this means for institutions around the world.

Check out Episode 81 of The Oxford Comment and subscribe to The Oxford Comment podcast through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our expert authors.

You can read the introduction from Scott M. Moore’s book, China’s Next Act: How Sustainability and Technology are Reshaping China’s Rise and the World’s Future, which provides an accessible overview of a broad range of emerging issues that have reshaped China’s relationship with the world, including climate change, public health, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology.

In ‘Shifting the Focus’ from Kenneth E. Seligson’s The Maya and Climate Change: Human-Environmental Relationships in the Classic Period Lowlands, Seligson introduces conservation and sustainability practices of the Classic Maya including forestry, agriculture, water management, burnt lime production, and stone processing.

New in paperback, read the introductory chapter of Sustainable Materialism: Environmental Movements and the Politics of Everyday Life, by David Schlosberg and Luke Craven, which proposes the construction of different practices, institutions, systems for meeting some of our basic material needs—food, energy, and clothing—in more just and sustainable ways.

Also new in paperback, read the introduction to Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption, by Alice C. Hill and Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, which analyses key developments and anticipated challenges in the emerging field of climate resilience, drawn from the authors’ unique network of national and international leaders in the private, public, and NGO sectors.

Read the following Open Access articles from our leading journals:

Featured image: “A morning shot in the jungle of Palenque of the Maya Temple of the Inscriptons and Temple of the Red Queen,” Danny van Dijk, CC0 via Unsplash

Recent Comments

  1. Stephen Kamugasa

    This is an excellent podcast episode. I really enjoyed it. Thank you!

    Kenneth E. Seligson’s key lessons resonated with me – particularly the one about the willingness to adapt, plus the importance of gathering knowledge and its application in tackling climate change.

    I also resonated with Scott M. Moore’s thesis with respect to China’s credibility vis-à-vis her putative leadership in dealing with climate change.

    Ideas discussed in this podcast episode are some of the issues I touched upon in my podcast conversation with Sir Jonathon Porritt. In that podcast episode, we reviewed his recent book, Hope in Hell: A decade to confront the climate emergency. You may kindly look it up by visiting, https://thekamugasachallenge.com/climate-change/

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