Sure, we might be able to go on a war footing to drastically lower carbon emissions. Perhaps we could even endure severe austerity and a radical transformation of our lifestyles mandated and overseen by vastly more powerful governments. Some say it’s the only alternative to more extreme weather, mayhem, and death around the world. But we could also just say forget it, stop fighting it, and accept that climate change is past the point of no return. We could move farther away from the beach in Los Angeles, raise the seawalls around Manhattan and San Francisco, wear stronger sunblock, and turn up the air conditioning. Does fighting off global warming still merit extraordinary efforts, or are we—despite the warnings of scientists and environmentalists—better off looking for ways to live with a new normal now, while we still have time? New York Times environmental writer Andrew Revkin and UCLA climate scientist Alex Hall visit Zócalo to discuss a topic that is only getting hotter and hotter as time goes by: living with climate change.

This event is produced in partnership with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and with Environmental Humanities at UCLA.

Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio.