sustainability – Between Hell and High Water

Fighting Adaptation to Reality

By Mike Koetting August 18, 2026

My last post argued that since serious environmental mitigation was politically implausible (at least for the time being), we needed to step up our efforts to adapt to changing environmental conditions. I am not talking about projections of what might happen. I am talking about responding to realities that are facing us here and now.

This post expands on that theme. I start with a few micro-case studies that illustrate some of the challenges. Then I try to place that in a larger focus.

Fifty Years of Environmental Avoidance

By Mike Koetting August 4, 2026

I recently ran across an article contending that the 1972 Limits to Growth projections about environmental threats were on track. That reminded me that when these were first published, my friend Rick Casey, then at the National Catholic Reporter, commissioned me to write a review. Although long since moved on, he was able to track down the review for me.

Turns out, it held up fairly well. But, before that….

AI’s Practical Concerns-Part Two

By Mike Koetting August 19, 2025

Today’s blog is the second of two posts about AI. It’s not about whether AI is good or bad for society. That’s a worthwhile discussion and I expect it to remain a hot topic for the foreseeable future. These posts, however, are based on the observable reality that, like it or not, it’s coming.

These posts focus on some practical questions about its arrival. Part One looked at some of the economic impacts; today’s post considers environmental issues and questions of security and reliability.

Posturing of Republican States a Planetary Threat

By Mike Koetting April 22,2024

My last post used property insurance to illustrate how climate change is already intruding on our day-to-day lives. When I started that post, I had the vague idea that this might be causing some softening of attitudes, even in Red states. Talk about misbegotten hopes!

Rather, the impact of these states pretending environmental threats are not man-made has a greater rippling effect than I anticipated.