We are living in Decade Zero, the tipping point after which irreparable changes delivered “in the language of fires, floods, storms, and droughts” will wreck havoc on the earth, according to acclaimed journalist Naomi Klein, whose new book This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate calls for regulation of the corporate powers that pollute and critiques the shortcomings of market-based solutions. These global issues find focus in Richard Misrach’s and Kate Orff’s collaborative publicationPetrochemical America, a photographic and graphic investigation of the cultural, physical, and economic ecologies of a contaminated, 150-mile stretch of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans known as “Cancer Alley.”

What can designers do? Klein and Orff are joined by Laura Kurgan for a conversation on the practical and political challenges of planning for climate change, and how to build a more equitable world in the process.

Seating is limited. Due to the popularity of this event, priority seating will be given to current students and faculty with Columbia University IDs. The event will be livestreamed at livestream.com/gsapp