Humans are altering the Earth system at every scale, up to and including the global climate. Going forward, how will human ingenuity handle a warming world? We’re all familiar with the doomsday predictions of more droughts, fires, floods and economic disaster, but what are the possibilities for thriving in a changed climate? Our species is innovative and adaptive—rarely more so than when responding to stress and conflict. Join Future Tense to consider the question before us in these Anthropocene days: What opportunities does global climate change present for making our societies more equitable, prosperous, and resilient in the long run?

On Thursday, Jan. 15, Future Tense—a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University—will discuss these issues at the New America offices in Washington, D.C. You can find the agenda below. To RSVP, click here.

On the evening of Jan. 14, Future Tense will host a screening of the documentary Merchants of Doubt in Washington. Merchants of Doubt looks at the shadowy world of well-paid pseudo-experts who undermine established science at the behest of the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and fossil fuel industries. For more information on the screening, click here.

Agenda for How Will Human Ingenuity Handle a Warming Planet?

12:15 p.m.: Futures of Climate Change

Brad Allenby
President’s professor of sustainable engineering, Lincoln professor of engineering and ethics, Arizona State University

12:35 p.m.: The Climate Business Boom
Mckenzie Funk
Author, Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming

12:50 p.m.: The Energy Question

Alex Trembath
Senior analyst, the Breakthrough Institute

Lisa Margonelli
Author, Oil on the Brain: Petroleum’s Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank

Utibe Effiong
Research scientist, Risk Science Center, University of Michigan School of Public Health*

Moderator:
Kartikeya Singh
CIERP doctoral research fellow, Tufts University

1:35 p.m.: Navigating New Frontiers

Rear Admiral Jonathan White
Director, space and maritime domain awareness, & oceanographer, navigator, U.S. Navy

Sharon E. Burke
Senior adviser, New America
Former assistant secretary of defense for operational energy plans and programs, Department of Defense

2:05 p.m.: Tomorrow’s Thriving Cities

Elizabeth Yee
Vice president, strategic partnerships and solutions, 100 Resilient Cities

Nikhil da Victoria Lobo
Head, global partnerships, Americas, Swiss Re Financial Services Corp.

Moderator:
Mckenzie Funk
Author, Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming

2:50 p.m.: Building More Equitable and Prosperous Societies

Nikki Silvestri
Food systems & climate solutions advocate
Former executive director, Green for All

Rimjhim Aggarwal
Senior sustainability scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University

Todd Moss
Chief operating officer & senior fellow, Center for Global Development

Moderator:
Dan Sarewitz
Co-founder & co-director, Consortium for Science, Policy, & Outcomes, Arizona State University

*Update, Jan. 5, 2015: This post was updated to include a new addition to the 12:50 panel.