There is no longer any question of preventing climate change. Some 98 percent of working climate scientists agree that the atmosphere is already warming in response to human greenhouse-gas emissions, and the most recent research suggests that we are on a path toward what were once considered "worst case" scenarios.

That chipper sentiment marks the beginning of my new piece for Popular Science. It's an introduction/scene-setter for their recent issue, which has a package of pieces focused on climate adaptation in shelter, food, water, and more. Go read the whole thing!

There won't be much new material in it for my 12 loyal readers, especially those who have read my "brutal logic" posts or watched my TEDx talk. It's all that ol' doom-and-gloom, again.

If there's any shift in emphasis, it's just that avoiding serious disruptions is no longer really an option, even if we go gangbusters on mitigation. Adjusting to severe weather, rising sea levels, desertification, and diminished agricultural output is something we will do, period. John Holdren's oft-quoted line is worth quoting yet again:

We basically have three choices: mitigation, adaptation and suffering. We're going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. The more mitigation we do, the less adaptation will be required and the less suffering there will be.