MuseLetter #382 / January 2025 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version Are We Too Smart for Our Own Good? Evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr (1904-2005)—who, I’m told, was a very smart person—concluded, late in life, that high intelligence may be a lethal mutation. In this article, we’ll explore some reasons for this startling and paradoxical […]

MuseLetter #381 / December 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version Dear reader, Thank you for your interest in, and support for my ongoing explorations of topics related to the survival of nature and humanity. I hope you take time this holiday season to enjoy our amazingly beautiful world, and to connect with people […]

MuseLetter #380 / November 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version Envisioning a Livable Future Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to the UK government, recently wrote that, “On our present path, civilization as we know it will disappear.” More than a century’s worth of sustainability research has documented how humanity is undermining […]

MuseLetter #379 / October 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version Beyond Growth: A Journey through the Landscape of Sustainable Economics Growth is a story of success—until it isn’t. In most people’s minds, “growth” is inevitably associated with biological development: food crops and babies grow. In those instances, growth is understood to be good—though […]

MuseLetter #378 / September 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version Us vs. them: Understanding the roots of political polarization and what you can do about it July 13, 2024, Butler, PA: Former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump survives an assassination attempt at an election rally; the gunman and a bystander are killed, with […]

MuseLetter #377 / August 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version Humanity’s transition from relying overwhelmingly on fossil fuels to instead using alternative low-carbon energy sources is sometimes said to be unstoppable and exponential. A boosterish attitude on the part of many renewable energy advocates is understandable: overcoming people’s climate despair and sowing confidence […]

MuseLetter #376 / July 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version Restoring Nature Is Our Only Climate Solution Climate change is a huge, complicated problem. Therefore, many people have an understandable tendency to mentally simplify it by focusing on just one cause (carbon emissions) and just one solution (alternative energy). Sustainability scholar Jan Konietzko […]

MuseLetter #375 / June 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version This is Part 1 of an exploration of the current state of the climate crisis. Part 1: The Predicament People have widely varying beliefs about climate change. A surprising number still think that it’s a hoax, or that it’s a trivial problem. At […]

MuseLetter #374 / May 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version This month's Museletter begins with an invitation to join Post Carbon Institute's new programme Resilience+ to explore ways of navigating the polycrisis. That is followed by my first essay for Resilience+ looking at the effect of these crises on mental health. In addition, […]

MuseLetter #373 / April 2023 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version The first piece in this month's Museletter 'How to Build a Climate Bomb' is an essay on the perils of geoengineering. That is followed by a short essay I wrote to mark Earth Day. How to Build a Climate Bomb A major effort […]

MuseLetter #372 / March 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version The March Museletter is made up of three essays. The first shines a light on the existential risks posed by Artificial Intelligence. Next up is a piece giving my take on the decision by world geologists not to recognise the current geological epoch […]

MuseLetter #371 / February 2024 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version February's Museletter kicks off with "I hear voices", a thought piece that takes the form of a self-therapy session on responses to the existential crises facing the world. The second essay, "Is World Population Peaking Now?", is an interview with scientist and population […]