By Laurie Mazur, originally published by Resilience.org

In these tumultuous times, “resilience” has become something of a buzzword. It is the subject of scholarly books and self-help podcasts; of government programs and many, many conferences. But what does resilience mean, exactly? And can it help us survive and thrive in the era of climate change?

A decade ago, Island Press set out to answer those questions. As a nonprofit environmental publisher, Island Press has long worked to explore — and share — the best thinking on how to protect the planet and its people. So, we partnered with a diverse group of thinkers to publish articles and op-eds that envision a truly resilient future. In the pages of our new (and free!) ebook Resilience Matters: Ten Years of Transformative Thinking, you’ll find a sampling of that work.

The authors whose work is collected here include activists, academics, planners, and public officials. Each of their writings is a miniature time capsule, capturing real-time takes on the upheavals of the last decade: hurricanes and wildfires, political shifts, the global pandemic. Their articles and op-eds originally appeared in a wide array of outlets — local and national newspapers, as well as in more-specialized publications. And while their perspectives and subjects differ, their writings share several themes in common.

First, they show that resilience is not about “bouncing back” to the disastrous status quo. Today, the destabilized climate poses unparalleled risks to human health, safety, and economic well-being. And in a world of rising inequality, those risks are not equally shared: low-income communities and people of color are hit first and worst by climate change impacts. So, “bouncing back” to a status quo that increases greenhouse gases and widens inequality will only magnify human suffering.

That dark possibility is not our only option. Indeed, the need for resilience could spark positive transformations on many fronts. That’s because true resilience calls us to rethink the design of our communities and the systems that meet human needs, while rectifying the inequities that leave too many people vulnerable to disaster. This is what resilience means to us.

The good news is that these transformations are already under way. In “Flood Survivors Find Common Ground in a Divided Nation,” you will meet a conservative, home-schooling mother from Virginia who joined forces with flood victims across the U.S. through an organization called Higher Ground. Together, they are working to stop development in floodplains, promote water-absorbing “green infrastructure,” and organize home buyouts in areas that flood repeatedly.

In “Energy Democracy: People Power for a Cleaner Planet,” you can read about One Voice, an activist group in Mississippi that is fighting for cheaper, cleaner energy by restoring democratic control to the state’s rural electric cooperatives. And “Finding Climate Solutions in Communities Instead of Labs” tells the story of a community group, Catalyst Miami, that compelled its city to address extreme heat. When city officials said they lacked data, the group partnered with local universities to place heat and humidity sensors throughout the city. Now Miami has an extreme heat action plan that is saving lives — and serving as a national model.

The coming years will certainly test our collective resilience. Last year was the hottest in recorded history, and climate change is taking an ever-greater toll on our health, our economy, and the places we call home. These metastasizing impacts are now met with official denial and the rollback of climate initiatives. But even in these polarized times, people are rising to the great environmental and moral challenges before us. In the pages of Resilience Matters, they show us how to build a greener, fairer future together.

Visit islandpress.org/resilience to download your free copy today!