Alex Steffen
@alexsteffen.bsky.social
I write, speak & teach about the planetary crisis, personal climate strategies & the future.
Courses: https://alexsteffen.thinkific.com/
Podcast/newsletter: https://alexsteffen.substack.com/
Consultation: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/21f79c52
Courses: https://alexsteffen.thinkific.com/
Podcast/newsletter: https://alexsteffen.substack.com/
Consultation: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/21f79c52
Pinned
Alex Steffen
@alexsteffen.bsky.social
· Jan 11
Welcome to WHEN WE ARE
A new, informal podcast for subscribers of The Snap Forward!
alexsteffen.substack.com
I've begun a new, informal podcast called When We Are about what it's like to live and work in the midst of climate chaos and unprecedented discontinuity.
Available on your podcast feed, or through my Substack.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
Available on your podcast feed, or through my Substack.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
2025 climate chaos
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1988 James Hansen testifies before Congress, warning of danger—the culmination of decades of science and environmentalism.
We've known all this was coming for a long, long time.
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1988 James Hansen testifies before Congress, warning of danger—the culmination of decades of science and environmentalism.
We've known all this was coming for a long, long time.
November 25, 2025 at 6:03 AM
2025 climate chaos
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1988 James Hansen testifies before Congress, warning of danger—the culmination of decades of science and environmentalism.
We've known all this was coming for a long, long time.
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1988 James Hansen testifies before Congress, warning of danger—the culmination of decades of science and environmentalism.
We've known all this was coming for a long, long time.
R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff.
Your music was one of the soundtracks of childhood.
"Well, they're
Putting up resistance
But I know that my faith
Will lead me on..."
Your music was one of the soundtracks of childhood.
"Well, they're
Putting up resistance
But I know that my faith
Will lead me on..."
November 24, 2025 at 6:44 PM
R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff.
Your music was one of the soundtracks of childhood.
"Well, they're
Putting up resistance
But I know that my faith
Will lead me on..."
Your music was one of the soundtracks of childhood.
"Well, they're
Putting up resistance
But I know that my faith
Will lead me on..."
Reposted by Alex Steffen
The price fossil fuel forces on everyone else.
November 24, 2025 at 3:58 PM
The price fossil fuel forces on everyone else.
I wondered about the nano banana hype, so I asked it to illustrate Gary Snyder's "For the children" for me, in the manner of R. Crumb.
A few seconds later, it spat this out.
🤯 and 😵
A few seconds later, it spat this out.
🤯 and 😵
November 24, 2025 at 3:56 AM
I wondered about the nano banana hype, so I asked it to illustrate Gary Snyder's "For the children" for me, in the manner of R. Crumb.
A few seconds later, it spat this out.
🤯 and 😵
A few seconds later, it spat this out.
🤯 and 😵
Reposted by Alex Steffen
Criminals increasingly concerned about being held accountable for crimes
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
November 23, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Criminals increasingly concerned about being held accountable for crimes
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
www.rawstory.com/doge-employe...
What is today's best example of soft denialist rhetoric?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today that the fight against climate change was not against the fuels that cause it — only the pollution they emit.
Von der Leyen says EU is not fighting fossil fuels, only emissions
The comment could undermine European countries’ push at COP30 to move away from coal, oil and gas.
www.politico.eu
November 22, 2025 at 6:56 AM
What is today's best example of soft denialist rhetoric?
Reposted by Alex Steffen
The statement "climate adaptation is indistinguishable from efforts to improve human welfare" is the sign that someone does not understand the magnitude of the planetary crisis we face — or how human systems actually work within the context of the climate and biosphere.
Now #TheAtlantic (www.yahoo.com/news/article...) is platforming #BjornLomborg-style soft climate denial ("it's too late", "we should just adapt") in its defense of @billgates.bsky.social widely-criticized (see www.theguardian.com/environment/...) & misguided (thebulletin.org/2025/10/you-...) memo:
November 12, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The statement "climate adaptation is indistinguishable from efforts to improve human welfare" is the sign that someone does not understand the magnitude of the planetary crisis we face — or how human systems actually work within the context of the climate and biosphere.
Just realized that in January it'll be 20 years since we premiered the Worldchanging Book — and the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Worldchanging site passed by a couple years ago.
Time just rockets on...
Time just rockets on...
November 22, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Just realized that in January it'll be 20 years since we premiered the Worldchanging Book — and the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Worldchanging site passed by a couple years ago.
Time just rockets on...
Time just rockets on...
Reposted by Alex Steffen
Just a reminder to Antonio Guterres: "Consensus" does not mean "unanimity". A meaningful agreement will not result from #COP30 as long as a handful of bad petrostate actors can blog any real progress. Adopt a reasonable (66% or 75%) standard for reaching "consensus".
November 21, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Just a reminder to Antonio Guterres: "Consensus" does not mean "unanimity". A meaningful agreement will not result from #COP30 as long as a handful of bad petrostate actors can blog any real progress. Adopt a reasonable (66% or 75%) standard for reaching "consensus".
This Atlantic piece significantly underestimates the magnitude of discontinuity around us.
It treats as futures to be avoided realities that are already unfolding now.
I suspect largely because it absolutely sucks to acknowledge we lost the Orderly Transition.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
It treats as futures to be avoided realities that are already unfolding now.
I suspect largely because it absolutely sucks to acknowledge we lost the Orderly Transition.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
What Climate Change Will Do to America by Mid-Century
Many places may become uninhabitable. Many people may be on their own.
www.theatlantic.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:44 AM
This Atlantic piece significantly underestimates the magnitude of discontinuity around us.
It treats as futures to be avoided realities that are already unfolding now.
I suspect largely because it absolutely sucks to acknowledge we lost the Orderly Transition.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
It treats as futures to be avoided realities that are already unfolding now.
I suspect largely because it absolutely sucks to acknowledge we lost the Orderly Transition.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Alex Steffen
Everything so stupid but I have faith it can get stupider
November 14, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Everything so stupid but I have faith it can get stupider
An amazing show waiting to happen: the power struggles and shifting romances of a highly-paid elite security agency of poets, artists and dancers who keep AI safe from metaphorical and metaphysical attack vectors.
"LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion" @cstross.bsky.social
"LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion" @cstross.bsky.social
Hire poets as red teamers challenge: impossible
November 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM
An amazing show waiting to happen: the power struggles and shifting romances of a highly-paid elite security agency of poets, artists and dancers who keep AI safe from metaphorical and metaphysical attack vectors.
"LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion" @cstross.bsky.social
"LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion" @cstross.bsky.social
COP 30 venue catching fire and burning for hours seems a little on the nose for our current climate moment.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
People evacuated after fire breaks out at Cop30 venue – video
Social media footage shows people running away from smoke and flames after a fire broke out at a Cop30 venue in Belem, Brazil, on Thursday
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:22 PM
COP 30 venue catching fire and burning for hours seems a little on the nose for our current climate moment.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Alex Steffen
Members of congress releasing a video message to members of the United States military telling them "you must refuse illegal orders" might be the most extraordinary thing I've ever seen.
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
Don’t give up the ship.
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
Don’t give up the ship.
November 19, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Members of congress releasing a video message to members of the United States military telling them "you must refuse illegal orders" might be the most extraordinary thing I've ever seen.
Unless you believe AI will grant the ability to edit the laws of physics*, the planetary crisis is still going to be a far bigger driver of change in human society over the next ten years.
Even most smart folks simply don't grasp the scale of discontinuity we've set in motion.
Even most smart folks simply don't grasp the scale of discontinuity we've set in motion.
November 19, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Unless you believe AI will grant the ability to edit the laws of physics*, the planetary crisis is still going to be a far bigger driver of change in human society over the next ten years.
Even most smart folks simply don't grasp the scale of discontinuity we've set in motion.
Even most smart folks simply don't grasp the scale of discontinuity we've set in motion.
Reposted by Alex Steffen
Fortunately, I already figured out the plots of the next several Toy Story films
November 12, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Fortunately, I already figured out the plots of the next several Toy Story films
The statement "climate adaptation is indistinguishable from efforts to improve human welfare" is the sign that someone does not understand the magnitude of the planetary crisis we face — or how human systems actually work within the context of the climate and biosphere.
Now #TheAtlantic (www.yahoo.com/news/article...) is platforming #BjornLomborg-style soft climate denial ("it's too late", "we should just adapt") in its defense of @billgates.bsky.social widely-criticized (see www.theguardian.com/environment/...) & misguided (thebulletin.org/2025/10/you-...) memo:
November 12, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The statement "climate adaptation is indistinguishable from efforts to improve human welfare" is the sign that someone does not understand the magnitude of the planetary crisis we face — or how human systems actually work within the context of the climate and biosphere.
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.”
― Wendell Berry
― Wendell Berry
November 12, 2025 at 8:59 PM
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.”
― Wendell Berry
― Wendell Berry
If you were born after 1976 — which is two thirds of humanity — you've never experienced a colder-than-average year.
That is, a year when the global mean surface temperature was below the 20th-century average (1901-2000 baseline).
That is, a year when the global mean surface temperature was below the 20th-century average (1901-2000 baseline).
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 AM
If you were born after 1976 — which is two thirds of humanity — you've never experienced a colder-than-average year.
That is, a year when the global mean surface temperature was below the 20th-century average (1901-2000 baseline).
That is, a year when the global mean surface temperature was below the 20th-century average (1901-2000 baseline).
Reposted by Alex Steffen
It’s not.
King: So I believe that we are closer tonight to a vote on the ACA tax credits than we were this morning. This agreement tonight is a win for the American people.
November 10, 2025 at 2:48 AM
It’s not.
Reposted by Alex Steffen
So here's where we are, Sunday morning:
Trump is trying to starve hungry kids in order to bully Democrats into abandoning our fight against health care premium increases.
So Trump is starving kids in order to deny families health care.
Dystopian.
Trump is trying to starve hungry kids in order to bully Democrats into abandoning our fight against health care premium increases.
So Trump is starving kids in order to deny families health care.
Dystopian.
November 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
So here's where we are, Sunday morning:
Trump is trying to starve hungry kids in order to bully Democrats into abandoning our fight against health care premium increases.
So Trump is starving kids in order to deny families health care.
Dystopian.
Trump is trying to starve hungry kids in order to bully Democrats into abandoning our fight against health care premium increases.
So Trump is starving kids in order to deny families health care.
Dystopian.
Reposted by Alex Steffen
No health care, no deal.
November 10, 2025 at 1:33 AM
No health care, no deal.
Reposted by Alex Steffen
ICE vehicles waste a whopping 80% of the energy in their fuel. Electric vehicles are propelled by entirely different mechanisms. Energy enters the vehicle as electricity, which directly powers the drivetrain: EVs need not convert one form of energy to another resulting in much higher efficiency.
November 9, 2025 at 9:22 AM
ICE vehicles waste a whopping 80% of the energy in their fuel. Electric vehicles are propelled by entirely different mechanisms. Energy enters the vehicle as electricity, which directly powers the drivetrain: EVs need not convert one form of energy to another resulting in much higher efficiency.
In case you were wondering what happened to the Last Decade, we did not win quickly.
We can't give up the fight, but winning the fight no longer means winning an orderly transition to an equitably sustainable society.
That future is no longer available.
We can't give up the fight, but winning the fight no longer means winning an orderly transition to an equitably sustainable society.
That future is no longer available.
"The curve we’ve been forced onto bends so steeply that the pace of victory is part of victory itself. Winning slowly is basically the same thing as losing outright." https://twitter.com/AlexSteffen/status/1014968723684249600
November 7, 2025 at 6:20 PM
In case you were wondering what happened to the Last Decade, we did not win quickly.
We can't give up the fight, but winning the fight no longer means winning an orderly transition to an equitably sustainable society.
That future is no longer available.
We can't give up the fight, but winning the fight no longer means winning an orderly transition to an equitably sustainable society.
That future is no longer available.
"The environmental group gave up its singular focus on climate change for a broader agenda. The ensuing internal strife left it weakened..."
Good try at a complex story that includes mismanagement, mission drift & divisive org politics during broad cultural changes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Good try at a complex story that includes mismanagement, mission drift & divisive org politics during broad cultural changes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart.
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:12 PM
"The environmental group gave up its singular focus on climate change for a broader agenda. The ensuing internal strife left it weakened..."
Good try at a complex story that includes mismanagement, mission drift & divisive org politics during broad cultural changes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Good try at a complex story that includes mismanagement, mission drift & divisive org politics during broad cultural changes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...