Introduction: Climate change—Where are we now?
Things seem to have gone to extremes. But not all is doom and gloom.
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
November 2023
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
November 2023
Photo of 2008 Gap fire by David McNew/Getty Images
Cover design by Thomas Gaulkin
Introduction: Climate change—Where are we now?
Things seem to have gone to extremes. But not all is doom and gloom.
“Like writing the biography of a ghost”—Interview with Jeff Goodell, author of The Heat Will Kill You First
Extreme heat is an invisible threat that is easily overlooked. But what it does to living things is very real.
Book excerpt—Catastrophic climate change: Lessons from the dinosaurs
Do the dinosaurs, victims of a famous 66-million-year-old mass extinction event, have a message for us?
Where climate journalism is now: Interview with Emily Atkin, the fire behind the Heated climate newsletter
Emily Atkin quit her full-time job and formed her own newsletter. She details the problems with current climate coverage, and gives her own prescription for making it better.
Charging ahead: Steven Chu, Nobel Prize-winner and former Energy Secretary, on today’s battery research—and more
Chu talks about why the solid-state battery is the holy grail of researchers, the roles of rare earths, the quirks of auto industry economics—and why the full charge of a car battery only needs to be long enough to go about 200 miles: “You don’t really need anything more than that; the goal is simply to make the battery last longer than the human bladder.”
Laying the groundwork for long-duration energy storage
Technologies that can hold large amounts of electricity and distribute it over hours, days, and even seasons will play a critical role in the clean energy transition. But creating an environment where these nascent technologies can develop and thrive will require changes in how the grid is planned and built.
Redefining the wildfire problem and scaling solutions to meet the challenge
By redefining the wildfire problem as a home ignition problem, communities can survive even extreme fires and can safely reintroduce fire to the land.
Climate anxiety is not a mental health problem. But we should still treat it as one.
"Climate anxiety" refers to pervasive worry and apprehension about climate change—which is a normal and healthy response to climate change, and one that can motivate climate action. It should, therefore, not be treated with pills or otherwise medicalized. But that doesn't mean it should be ignored.
Conditional restraint: Why the India-Pakistan Kargil War is not a case of nuclear deterrence
In the 1999 Kargil War, India defended its territory from a Pakistani incursion but chose not to expand the war with counter-attacks onto Pakistan soil. But in a future conflict India may be encouraged to take especially risky and escalatory wartime actions, posing a test for nuclear deterrence.
Nuclear weapons sharing, 2023
This Nuclear Notebook issue examines the current state of global nuclear sharing arrangements, which include non-nuclear countries that possess nuclear-capable delivery systems for employment of a nuclear-armed state's nuclear weapons.
“Like writing the biography of a ghost”—Interview with Jeff Goodell, author of The Heat Will Kill You First
Extreme heat is an invisible threat that is easily overlooked. But what it does to living things is very real.
Book excerpt—Catastrophic climate change: Lessons from the dinosaurs
Do the dinosaurs, victims of a famous 66-million-year-old mass extinction event, have a message for us?
Where climate journalism is now: Interview with Emily Atkin, the fire behind the Heated climate newsletter
Emily Atkin quit her full-time job and formed her own newsletter. She details the problems with current climate coverage, and gives her own prescription for making it better.
Charging ahead: Steven Chu, Nobel Prize-winner and former Energy Secretary, on today’s battery research—and more
Chu talks about why the solid-state battery is the holy grail of researchers, the roles of rare earths, the quirks of auto industry economics—and why the full charge of a car battery only needs to be long enough to go about 200 miles: “You don’t really need anything more than that; the goal is simply to make the battery last longer than the human bladder.”
Laying the groundwork for long-duration energy storage
Technologies that can hold large amounts of electricity and distribute it over hours, days, and even seasons will play a critical role in the clean energy transition. But creating an environment where these nascent technologies can develop and thrive will require changes in how the grid is planned and built.
Redefining the wildfire problem and scaling solutions to meet the challenge
By redefining the wildfire problem as a home ignition problem, communities can survive even extreme fires and can safely reintroduce fire to the land.
Climate anxiety is not a mental health problem. But we should still treat it as one.
"Climate anxiety" refers to pervasive worry and apprehension about climate change—which is a normal and healthy response to climate change, and one that can motivate climate action. It should, therefore, not be treated with pills or otherwise medicalized. But that doesn't mean it should be ignored.
Conditional restraint: Why the India-Pakistan Kargil War is not a case of nuclear deterrence
In the 1999 Kargil War, India defended its territory from a Pakistani incursion but chose not to expand the war with counter-attacks onto Pakistan soil. But in a future conflict India may be encouraged to take especially risky and escalatory wartime actions, posing a test for nuclear deterrence.
Nuclear weapons sharing, 2023
This Nuclear Notebook issue examines the current state of global nuclear sharing arrangements, which include non-nuclear countries that possess nuclear-capable delivery systems for employment of a nuclear-armed state's nuclear weapons.
Photo of 2008 Gap fire by David McNew/Getty Images
Cover design by Thomas Gaulkin
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