Unspeakable

Some things are hard to say out loud. That the climate catastrophe is no longer a future threat but a present condition. That the institutions we trusted to hold the line are already failing. That in many places in Australia – swept by floods, fires, droughts and heatwaves – what is coming has, in part, arrived.

Unspeakable confronts the silence around these facts. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship and grounded case studies from Australia, the book portrays climate disruption not only as a scientific or technical problem, but as a crisis of meaning, relationship, and moral responsibility. It explores grief, power, and inequality alongside practices of mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and regeneration, with particular attention to how communities respond when institutions falter.

It asks what it means to live within climate collapse, and how forms of civic life, care, and collective agency emerge amid profound systemic disruption.

This is a timely and important book. It has been clear to thoughtful people for decades that we are not living sustainably. The systems we rely on could collapse. Facing that reality does not demand despair or justify fatalistic inaction. The Chinese translation of our word ‘crisis’ consists of two characters which mean ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity’. The impending crisis must be a catalyst for rethinking the way we live, work and play. This book suggests broad approaches which will help us to navigate the troubled times ahead. It will help you be part of the change we all need.

–Ian Lowe AO, Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society