A recent essay published at openDemocracy questioned the science background of the Deep Adaptation agenda and movement. As we have been working for more than five years on the likely possibility of a global collapse, this came as a surprise to us, given the increasing number of leading scientists and scientific publications addressing this topic.
In this article we argue that the science behind the possibility of a global collapse is robust, and show how this idea should be taken seriously. This perspective has already transformed debate and preparations in the French-speaking world (including the general public) and beyond. It is important that English-speakers are not dissuaded from engaging in such important discussions. Given the claims of critics about mental health and motivation for activism, we will also explore the psychological impacts. This ranges from the "fear of fear" induced for some by our climate predicament, to the liberating and transformative changes it has enabled for many others.
If you have read either the original Deep Adaptation paper or recent critiques of it, then we encourage you to read on. Unfortunately, the matter is not going to disappear just because some organisations would prefer it to.
