Climate Emergency: Lessons from Classic Maya to Contemporary China – Episode 81 – The Oxford Comment



The consequences of climate change are catastrophic. This real and present threat to our planet may seem insurmountable, but there are—and have been—lessons shared on how to mitigate the damage already wrought, and how to prevent future detriment.

On today’s episode, we explore two unique examples of societal adaptation to climate change: one from our past, and one from our present. First, we welcomed Kenneth E. Seligson, the author of The Maya and Climate Change: Human-Environmental Relationships in the Classic Period Lowlands, who shared insights into his work exploring the environmental resilience of the Classic Maya, the environmental challenges they faced and overcame, and the lessons we can learn from them. We then interviewed Scott M. Moore, the author of China’s Next Act: How Sustainability and Technology are Reshaping China’s Rise and the World’s Future, to speak about contemporary China’s meteoric and controversial rise to a global power, its leading role in sustainability and technology, and what this means for institutions around the world.

Please check out Episode 81 of The Oxford Comment and subscribe to The Oxford Comment through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our expert authors:
– Amazon Music: https://oxford.ly/3O8bPBH
– Apple Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/2RuYMPa
– Google Podcasts: https://oxford.ly/38UpF5h
– iHeartRadio: https://oxford.ly/3xBtxaQ
– Spotify: https://oxford.ly/2JLNTTO
– Stitcher: https://oxford.ly/2R0fVNZ
– TuneIn: https://oxford.ly/3jKR0OG
– YouTube: https://oxford.ly/2YY4iMT

The Oxford Comment Crew:
Executive Producer: Steven Filippi
Associate Producers: Meghan Schaffer and Patrick Horton-Wright
Host: Meghan Schaffer

Music: Filaments by Podington Bear is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

© Oxford University Press