What are the Basics of Building a Personal Climate Strategy?
I can show you. New class January 30th.
My next live Ruggedize Your Life: The Basics class (an concentrated introductory course for planning a personal climate strategy) will be held on Thursday, January 30th, from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Pacific Time. If you already know you want to take the class, here is the link to save your spot:
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you don’t have a strategy for managing the impacts of climate chaos and discontinuity in your own life, you probably haven’t really got a plan for the future at all.
Humanity’s failure to act on climate means that each of us now has the responsibility of finding our own paths through a vast crisis. Because we failed to come together as a society and face these realities together, we’re now all forced to face them alone. No one wants this to be true, but it is.
The planetary crisis is here, now, and much fiercer than we hoped. Our assumptions about climate politics, action and response must now all be re-thought.
That crisis is the context in which every major life decision you make will play out, for the rest of your life.
We still need to do everything we can to limit global heating and ecological collapse. Yet even as we limit the extent of further destruction, we now know we’ll be living through an unprecedented upheaval in every natural system around us, and that those upheavals will impact every aspect of our daily lives.
The crisis is here, our society is still almost completely unready, and no one else will protect your future for you.
But you can learn to take sensible steps to reduce the risks you face, grow resilient against impacts, and build future you want in a more secure way. You can ruggedize your life. I can help you.
I have decades of experience writing and advising on climate foresight and strategy. My approach to building a personal climate strategy — to readying ourselves for a discontinuous future — centers on what I call personal ruggedization. I’ve researched and written extensively in the field, have consulted with leading scientists and experts, and have had hundreds of conversations with people who are developing their plans to navigate through the climate crisis. I’ve learned some things.
A few times a year, I teach what I’ve learned in an intensive seminar, A Crash Course in Personal Ruggedization.1
The Crash Course delivers a set of comprehensive classes, includes readings and discussion sessions, and aims to give participants a strong foundation for making smart choices in discontinuous times. It’s been very well-received. It offers a lot of value, and is priced accordingly. (It will be offered next in February.)
The Crash Course, though, is a serious commitment. A bunch of you have asked if I could offer an introductory class that delivers a quick overview of the most important considerations in personal climate strategies, but requires less of a commitment of time and money.
That’s what lead me to create this one-session, two-hour class.
Ruggedize Your Life: the Basics walks you through the top-level concerns and strategies for choosing a solid place to build a new life, ready for hard futures.
I’ve done four Basics classes so far, with over 250 great participants, and the response has been extraordinary.
Given how many more people have since said they’re interested, I’m offering another class, on Thursday, January 30th, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, Pacific time.
The class will be held on Zoom, with a recording sent out the week after for those who cannot attend live.
It quickly covers:
Making good long-term decisions for an unstable future. Why every personal climate strategy will be unique — there’s no one formula for everyone. Why there are also no sure-fire solutions, but we can mae better choices and improve our odds.
How bad might the planetary crisis get? Why is location so critical to good outcomes in the coming decades? Why does timing matter so much?
Brief explanations of key concepts: Discontinuity. Brittleness. Relative safety. Ruggedization. The coming climate-housing crisis.
The three general criteria that best measure the strengths and weaknesses of places you might move. An example of how to use these tools. An overview of U.S. regions’ pros and cons.
A few useful tips for pursuing personal ruggedization on a budget, and planning for a chaotic future with kids.
Afterwards, all participants receive a follow-up email with the class recording.
Ruggedize Your Life: The Basics
Thursday, January 30th.
11:00 am to 1:00 pm, Pacific Time
Class size is limited.
- I have a new podcast, When We Are, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast and other podcast platforms around the world. Please check it out, rate, review, follow and share these episodes. Thank you!
- My next full Crash Course on Personal Ruggedization will be in February, details to come.
- Stay connected on social: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky
- I have a new piece in Mother Jones, Trump Won’t Confront the Climate Crisis. He’ll Feast Off It.
- Check out my books: Worldchanging and Carbon Zero
- View my TED Global talks on sustainability and cities.
- I’ve spoken with the media hundreds of times. Recently, I was featured in a NY Times Magazine piece, "This Isn't the California I Married." My writing was the jumping-off point for an episode of This American Life titled Unprepared for What Has Already Happened, as well as the podcasts Without; The Big Story; Everybody In the Pool and 99% Invisible’s Not Built for This series.