Humans and our institutions are ill prepared for the multiple timescales of climate change. More than half of the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels will remain there for a thousand years, and roughly 20% will be there for tens of thousands of years. Even if carbon dioxide emissions ceased today, the climate would continue to warm for hundreds to thousands of years as oceans slowly warm and ice melts. And it will take at least a century to decarbonize our economy, even with ideal political and economic conditions given the scale of infrastructure required. Taking these timescales into account, attention to what has been called “climate adaptation” is essential. This adaptation will also drive profound changes in ecosystems and in social systems. This talk is part of the Survival symposium, a series of talks focusing on evolution and the challenges of building a better, safer and more survivable future. Watch more of the Survival symposium: http://bit.ly/2iKfYRi Subscribe to The Leakey Foundation channel: http://bit.ly/2iDR5GO Survival was presented by The Leakey Foundation in partnership with Harvard University's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, NOVA, NOVA Labs, SMASH, and WGBH. About the speaker: Daniel Schrag is the Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology, professor of environmental science and engineering at Harvard University, and director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment. He also directs the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Daniel’s interests include climate change, energy technology, and energy policy. He has studied climate change over the broadest range of Earth’s history, including how climate change and the chemical evolution of the atmosphere influenced the evolution of life in the past, and what steps might be taken to prepare for impacts of climate change in the future. Daniel was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2000. He served on President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), contributing to many reports, including energy technology and national energy policy, agricultural preparedness, climate change and STEM education.