ABSTRACT
The grim reality of global warming has provoked the spilling of much ink on how best to adapt to it over the next several years and how to mitigate it over the long run. As Thompson et al. (2006:1) observe, adaptation is a “rather vague term, broadly defined as a process of modifying something to fit a new condition.” While it is inescapable that over the short run human societies must try to adapt to global warming (or suffer the consequences), the more crucial issue is that of mitigation—that is, transcending global warming in order to ensure the survival of humanity as well as maintaining biodiversity. Indeed, a mere focus on adaptation poses the danger of political complacency, fatalism, and even cynicism.
