Design for a Green Future

Americans are living through the early days of the climate crisis: Hurricane Maria and the acceleration of the Puerto Rican diaspora; Hurricanes Sandy and Harvey and the drowning of America's coastal cities; this spring's record flooding in the heartland and its devastating effects on farming communities and Indian Country; the wildfires in Paradise and last year's second Big Burn out west; and this summer's roiling heat, no longer just a "wave" but now part of the planet's big, long sweat. The conspiratorial neglect of climate change by Republicans and its trivialization by Democrats at the federal level has left the nation in a perpetual state of triage—trying to recover from these disasters with limited funds and authority while an endless queue of worsening floods, storms, droughts, and wildfires approach. The climate crisis is here, and the country's political leadership has no plan to address it.