

San Francisco
Bruce Cain: Under Fire and Under Water in the American West
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Extreme weather in the wake of climate change, causing wildfires, drought and flooding, threatens to turn the American West into a region hostile to human habitation—a “Great American Desert” as early U.S. explorers once mislabeled it. Bruce Cain suggests that the unique complex of politics, technology and logistics that once won the West must be rethought and reconfigured to win it anew in the face of these accelerating threats.
These challenges are complicated by the region’s history, the deliberate fractiousness of the American political system, and the idiosyncrasies of human behavior. Cain analyzes how, in spite of coastal flooding and spreading wildfires, people continue to move into, and even rebuild in, risky areas, how local communities are slow to take protective measures, and how individual beliefs, past adaptation practices and infrastructure, and complex governing arrangements across jurisdictions combine to flout real progress. Driving this analysis is Cain’s conviction that understanding the habits and politics that lead to procrastination and obstruction is critical to finding solutions and making necessary adaptations to the changing climate.
In his new book Under Fire and Under Water, Cain offers a detailed look at the rising stakes and urgency of the various interconnected issues. Join us in-person to hear Cain lay out the rethinking and reengineering that will allow people to live sustainably in the American West—even under the conditions caused by future global warming.
MLF Organizer
George Hammond
Notes
This program is in-person only.
If you have symptoms of illness (coughing, fever, etc.), we ask that you either stay home or wear a mask. Our front desk has complimentary masks for members and guests who would like one.
The Commonwealth Club of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming.
A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.
This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.
Photo courtesy the speaker.
All ticket sales are final and nonrefundable.
Wed, Nov 29 / 5:30 PM PST
The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero
Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States
Speakers

Bruce Cain
Professor of Political Science, Stanford University; Director, Bill Lane Center for the American West; Author, Under Fire and Under Water: Wildfire, Flooding, and the Fight for Climate Resilience in the American West

In Conversation with George Hammond
Author, Conversations With Socrates
Format
5 p.m. doors open & check-in
5:30–6:30 p.m program
(all times PDT)
COST
In-person:
$10 members
$20 nonmembers
$40 members with a book
$50 nonmembers with a book