initially a low-cost export variant for parts of the north american market; the ruggedization of the design turned out remarkably adaptable and reliable
October 23, 2025 at 1:42 PM
initially a low-cost export variant for parts of the north american market; the ruggedization of the design turned out remarkably adaptable and reliable
I strongly believe that the refusal to acknowledge that the prospects for an orderly transition are now zero — and that people have an emergency need to build ruggedization into their own lives and communities — feeds the right-wing crisis-fortress movement.
April 17, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I strongly believe that the refusal to acknowledge that the prospects for an orderly transition are now zero — and that people have an emergency need to build ruggedization into their own lives and communities — feeds the right-wing crisis-fortress movement.
Climate brittleness is not an individual failure.
But many families have to rely on their own resources, relationships and ingenuity to find relative safety and household ruggedization.
There are better and worse ways of doing that.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/why-do-i-n...
But many families have to rely on their own resources, relationships and ingenuity to find relative safety and household ruggedization.
There are better and worse ways of doing that.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/why-do-i-n...
Why do I need my own climate strategy?
Part five in my series on the fundamentals of personal climate ruggedization.
alexsteffen.substack.com
September 16, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Climate brittleness is not an individual failure.
But many families have to rely on their own resources, relationships and ingenuity to find relative safety and household ruggedization.
There are better and worse ways of doing that.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/why-do-i-n...
But many families have to rely on their own resources, relationships and ingenuity to find relative safety and household ruggedization.
There are better and worse ways of doing that.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/why-do-i-n...
I'm slowly moving all my classes and personal consultations — including my personal climate strategy basics class, my crash course in personal ruggedization and my new advanced climate foresight course — over to Thinkific.
So far, it's a huge improvement.
alexsteffen.thinkific.com
So far, it's a huge improvement.
alexsteffen.thinkific.com
July 17, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I'm slowly moving all my classes and personal consultations — including my personal climate strategy basics class, my crash course in personal ruggedization and my new advanced climate foresight course — over to Thinkific.
So far, it's a huge improvement.
alexsteffen.thinkific.com
So far, it's a huge improvement.
alexsteffen.thinkific.com
Spinlaunch have a video on a satellite that'll handle 10,000g's
https://t.co/OvHNS5Q0jR
https://t.co/OvHNS5Q0jR
Introducing The World's First Ruggedized Satellite
Think satellites are too fragile to survive high-g environments? Think again. We’re excited to unveil our latest ruggedization milestone: spinning a Portland...
www.youtube.com
December 6, 2024 at 9:10 PM
Spinlaunch have a video on a satellite that'll handle 10,000g's
https://t.co/OvHNS5Q0jR
https://t.co/OvHNS5Q0jR
Pretending that rescuing the *wealth* of every climate-exposed household is *even possible* is destructive.
It can't work & it'll result in many more people losing out than would've been the case with climate response that maximized ruggedization of *public* systems.
calmatters.org/economy/2025...
It can't work & it'll result in many more people losing out than would've been the case with climate response that maximized ruggedization of *public* systems.
calmatters.org/economy/2025...
LA fires could drastically drive up insurance premiums — and test California’s new market rules
California’s plan to fix the insurance crisis had barely rolled out when the LA fires began. Can the market recover and stabilize?
calmatters.org
March 2, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Pretending that rescuing the *wealth* of every climate-exposed household is *even possible* is destructive.
It can't work & it'll result in many more people losing out than would've been the case with climate response that maximized ruggedization of *public* systems.
calmatters.org/economy/2025...
It can't work & it'll result in many more people losing out than would've been the case with climate response that maximized ruggedization of *public* systems.
calmatters.org/economy/2025...
Last three hours until registration closes for my personal climate strategy class, A Crash Course in Personal Ruggedization.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
You Need a Strategy for the Climate Crisis
You can now sign up for my personal ruggedization intensive.
alexsteffen.substack.com
March 10, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Last three hours until registration closes for my personal climate strategy class, A Crash Course in Personal Ruggedization.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
Hit me that we've now been talking about bold climate action as the duty of "this generation" for three generations.
We've missed the chance at an orderly transition, and live now in an era of urgent harm reduction, irreversible discontinuity and massive ruggedization.
The slogans remain the same.
We've missed the chance at an orderly transition, and live now in an era of urgent harm reduction, irreversible discontinuity and massive ruggedization.
The slogans remain the same.
March 30, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Hit me that we've now been talking about bold climate action as the duty of "this generation" for three generations.
We've missed the chance at an orderly transition, and live now in an era of urgent harm reduction, irreversible discontinuity and massive ruggedization.
The slogans remain the same.
We've missed the chance at an orderly transition, and live now in an era of urgent harm reduction, irreversible discontinuity and massive ruggedization.
The slogans remain the same.
We already faced an unprecedented crisis: our need to simultaneously cut fossil fuels, invest massively in climate ruggedization with new defenses, housing and infrastructure, provide disaster relief and support the relocation of millions of traumatized Americans.
Ha ha oww.
Those scumbags are destroying our national science and sense-making capacities wholesale, even as the planetary crisis grinds into deeper and more dangerous dynamics.
This endangers every American and undermines the well-being of people all around the world... there's no trade off here.
Those scumbags are destroying our national science and sense-making capacities wholesale, even as the planetary crisis grinds into deeper and more dangerous dynamics.
This endangers every American and undermines the well-being of people all around the world... there's no trade off here.
NOAA Cuts Leave Wind Chimes As Sole Predictor Of Approaching Hurricanes
February 28, 2025 at 10:04 PM
We already faced an unprecedented crisis: our need to simultaneously cut fossil fuels, invest massively in climate ruggedization with new defenses, housing and infrastructure, provide disaster relief and support the relocation of millions of traumatized Americans.
Decades ago, in Seattle, I often crossed paths with futurist Alex Steffen. I still read his Substack.
If only we'd we'd acted decades ago to limit excessive overconsumption we wouldn't need his ruggedization tools for climate chaos.
But now we do.
“The real first responders are your neighbors.”
If only we'd we'd acted decades ago to limit excessive overconsumption we wouldn't need his ruggedization tools for climate chaos.
But now we do.
“The real first responders are your neighbors.”
Hey! Our personal climate strategy work is in the New York Times today!
Here's a gift link.
Would sure appreciate your help spreading the word!
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/n...
Here's a gift link.
Would sure appreciate your help spreading the word!
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/n...
Fearing Chaos of Climate Change, Some Seek Answers in Virtual Classroom
www.nytimes.com
March 21, 2026 at 9:18 AM
Decades ago, in Seattle, I often crossed paths with futurist Alex Steffen. I still read his Substack.
If only we'd we'd acted decades ago to limit excessive overconsumption we wouldn't need his ruggedization tools for climate chaos.
But now we do.
“The real first responders are your neighbors.”
If only we'd we'd acted decades ago to limit excessive overconsumption we wouldn't need his ruggedization tools for climate chaos.
But now we do.
“The real first responders are your neighbors.”
Savvy personal ruggedization is not about fear, hoarding, bugging out or bunkering down.
Instead, we focus on smart decisions about where we choose to live to reduce risk, the systems we embed ourselves in, and the ways we work with others to improve our odds.
Instead, we focus on smart decisions about where we choose to live to reduce risk, the systems we embed ourselves in, and the ways we work with others to improve our odds.
April 17, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Savvy personal ruggedization is not about fear, hoarding, bugging out or bunkering down.
Instead, we focus on smart decisions about where we choose to live to reduce risk, the systems we embed ourselves in, and the ways we work with others to improve our odds.
Instead, we focus on smart decisions about where we choose to live to reduce risk, the systems we embed ourselves in, and the ways we work with others to improve our odds.
My next Crash Course in Personal Ruggedization begins in three weeks!
If you're serious about building a personal climate strategy, this intensive class may be for you.
Check it out.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
If you're serious about building a personal climate strategy, this intensive class may be for you.
Check it out.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
You Need a Strategy for the Climate Crisis
My personal ruggedization intensive launches three weeks from today.
alexsteffen.substack.com
February 18, 2025 at 8:48 PM
My next Crash Course in Personal Ruggedization begins in three weeks!
If you're serious about building a personal climate strategy, this intensive class may be for you.
Check it out.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
If you're serious about building a personal climate strategy, this intensive class may be for you.
Check it out.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/you-need-a...
NEW podcast series explaining the fundamentals of personal climate strategies, by answering some of the questions I get asked most often.
If my workshop is the graduate seminar, this is office hours.
It's not paywalled; feel free to share it.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/do-i-even-...
If my workshop is the graduate seminar, this is office hours.
It's not paywalled; feel free to share it.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/do-i-even-...
The keys to a personal climate strategy
Part one of my free series on the fundamentals of personal ruggedization.
alexsteffen.substack.com
September 10, 2026 at 9:22 PM
NEW podcast series explaining the fundamentals of personal climate strategies, by answering some of the questions I get asked most often.
If my workshop is the graduate seminar, this is office hours.
It's not paywalled; feel free to share it.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/do-i-even-...
If my workshop is the graduate seminar, this is office hours.
It's not paywalled; feel free to share it.
alexsteffen.substack.com/p/do-i-even-...
i believe the most accurate description for what happened inbetween is ”ruggedization”
June 3, 2025 at 9:56 PM
i believe the most accurate description for what happened inbetween is ”ruggedization”
Triage and managed retreat, supported mass-relocation, and unprecedented investments in ruggedization to protect what still can be protected will be needed now at scale, even if we experience a climate emissions breakthrough.
November 12, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Triage and managed retreat, supported mass-relocation, and unprecedented investments in ruggedization to protect what still can be protected will be needed now at scale, even if we experience a climate emissions breakthrough.
A lot of people are feeling a new urgency around developing personal strategies for life in an unmanaged climate crisis.
If climate chaos makes life feels untenable where you are, this introduction to personal ruggedization might be for you.
open.substack.com/pub/alexstef...
If climate chaos makes life feels untenable where you are, this introduction to personal ruggedization might be for you.
open.substack.com/pub/alexstef...
What are the Basics of Building a Personal Climate Strategy?
I can show you. New class January 30th.
open.substack.com
January 20, 2025 at 11:29 PM
A lot of people are feeling a new urgency around developing personal strategies for life in an unmanaged climate crisis.
If climate chaos makes life feels untenable where you are, this introduction to personal ruggedization might be for you.
open.substack.com/pub/alexstef...
If climate chaos makes life feels untenable where you are, this introduction to personal ruggedization might be for you.
open.substack.com/pub/alexstef...
IOW, folks who can't acknowledge the reality of global heating and need to limit it fast cannot, as a rule, grasp the scale of the risks we now face.
So they also can't reckon with the need to invest in ruggedization on massive scales or triage tough choices about what we can't save or rebuild.
2/
So they also can't reckon with the need to invest in ruggedization on massive scales or triage tough choices about what we can't save or rebuild.
2/
June 21, 2026 at 10:53 PM
IOW, folks who can't acknowledge the reality of global heating and need to limit it fast cannot, as a rule, grasp the scale of the risks we now face.
So they also can't reckon with the need to invest in ruggedization on massive scales or triage tough choices about what we can't save or rebuild.
2/
So they also can't reckon with the need to invest in ruggedization on massive scales or triage tough choices about what we can't save or rebuild.
2/
Personal ruggedization isn't about buying guns, bugging out or bunkering down. Instead, it’s about making smart decisions about where we choose to live, the systems we embed ourselves in, and the ways we work with others to improve our odds of a good future.
March 21, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Personal ruggedization isn't about buying guns, bugging out or bunkering down. Instead, it’s about making smart decisions about where we choose to live, the systems we embed ourselves in, and the ways we work with others to improve our odds of a good future.
Making transportation cycling a normal part of your life is a component of your ruggedization journey. alexsteffen.substack.com/p/no-one-wan...
No one wants it to be true.
The failures of our leaders have left each of us responsible for finding our own way through climate chaos and discontinuity.
alexsteffen.substack.com
May 18, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Making transportation cycling a normal part of your life is a component of your ruggedization journey. alexsteffen.substack.com/p/no-one-wan...
(Also, while this crisis may be the end of certain ways of life in certain places, it's not the end of the world.
There are realistic steps we can take—including relocation, household ruggedization and community action—to improve our odds.
I talk about those elsewhere.)
(4/)
There are realistic steps we can take—including relocation, household ruggedization and community action—to improve our odds.
I talk about those elsewhere.)
(4/)
November 14, 2024 at 5:28 AM
(Also, while this crisis may be the end of certain ways of life in certain places, it's not the end of the world.
There are realistic steps we can take—including relocation, household ruggedization and community action—to improve our odds.
I talk about those elsewhere.)
(4/)
There are realistic steps we can take—including relocation, household ruggedization and community action—to improve our odds.
I talk about those elsewhere.)
(4/)
This administration is *already* making the planetary crisis worse, leaving Americans more brittle and economically unprepared for climate discontinuities—and undermining future capacities to do basic science, accelerate innovation and scale up climate ruggedization responses.
Accelerating impacts and steepening costs are quickly adding the brittleness "find out" to the climate denial/predatory delay "fuck around."
We don't have an analog for the scale of potential loss here, other than major wars, which don't have much explanatory power in our situation.
We don't have an analog for the scale of potential loss here, other than major wars, which don't have much explanatory power in our situation.
Worth remembering: we don't know how to confidently price the magnitude of damage at the nexus of "slow action severely worsens the current planetary crisis" and "nations do little to ready their governance and ruggedize their systems."
March 25, 2025 at 9:12 PM
This administration is *already* making the planetary crisis worse, leaving Americans more brittle and economically unprepared for climate discontinuities—and undermining future capacities to do basic science, accelerate innovation and scale up climate ruggedization responses.
Whatever happened to like
drop tests
Or realistic use cases for ruggedization
Deck flex and plastic wear and tear is some really shallow stuff
drop tests
Or realistic use cases for ruggedization
Deck flex and plastic wear and tear is some really shallow stuff
July 25, 2023 at 4:55 AM
Whatever happened to like
drop tests
Or realistic use cases for ruggedization
Deck flex and plastic wear and tear is some really shallow stuff
drop tests
Or realistic use cases for ruggedization
Deck flex and plastic wear and tear is some really shallow stuff
This claim — that since climate havens don't exist, we're all in the same boat — has mainstreamed.
It undermines the futures of places that are, actually, relatively safe and where ruggedization can work, while merely delaying the collapse of the overvaluation bubble of brittle assets.
It undermines the futures of places that are, actually, relatively safe and where ruggedization can work, while merely delaying the collapse of the overvaluation bubble of brittle assets.
April 19, 2025 at 8:25 PM
This claim — that since climate havens don't exist, we're all in the same boat — has mainstreamed.
It undermines the futures of places that are, actually, relatively safe and where ruggedization can work, while merely delaying the collapse of the overvaluation bubble of brittle assets.
It undermines the futures of places that are, actually, relatively safe and where ruggedization can work, while merely delaying the collapse of the overvaluation bubble of brittle assets.
Predatory delay on climate and sustainability usually comes from those who want to keep dirty profits flowing.
PD on risk and ruggedization is mostly coming from those who want to block discussion of losses in value on the assets they own.
We often still treat the latter as if it were harmless.
PD on risk and ruggedization is mostly coming from those who want to block discussion of losses in value on the assets they own.
We often still treat the latter as if it were harmless.
June 24, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Predatory delay on climate and sustainability usually comes from those who want to keep dirty profits flowing.
PD on risk and ruggedization is mostly coming from those who want to block discussion of losses in value on the assets they own.
We often still treat the latter as if it were harmless.
PD on risk and ruggedization is mostly coming from those who want to block discussion of losses in value on the assets they own.
We often still treat the latter as if it were harmless.
Whoa. Whoa. Holy...YES, HELLO!
@philipthalis.bsky.social @sustainabletall.bsky.social
@katewagner.bsky.social @ournewhomecoach.bsky.social
(I'm no expert, but this seems freaking wonderful!).
#housing
www.larchlab.com/contact/
Ha! "ruggedization" 💸 @alexsteffen.bsky.social
@philipthalis.bsky.social @sustainabletall.bsky.social
@katewagner.bsky.social @ournewhomecoach.bsky.social
(I'm no expert, but this seems freaking wonderful!).
#housing
www.larchlab.com/contact/
Ha! "ruggedization" 💸 @alexsteffen.bsky.social
contact - larch lab
Mike is one of North America’s foremost voices for building decarbonization, sustainable urbanism and climate ruggedization. His clarity of vision, scope of ambition and deep expertise combine to make...
www.larchlab.com
December 3, 2024 at 2:43 AM
Whoa. Whoa. Holy...YES, HELLO!
@philipthalis.bsky.social @sustainabletall.bsky.social
@katewagner.bsky.social @ournewhomecoach.bsky.social
(I'm no expert, but this seems freaking wonderful!).
#housing
www.larchlab.com/contact/
Ha! "ruggedization" 💸 @alexsteffen.bsky.social
@philipthalis.bsky.social @sustainabletall.bsky.social
@katewagner.bsky.social @ournewhomecoach.bsky.social
(I'm no expert, but this seems freaking wonderful!).
#housing
www.larchlab.com/contact/
Ha! "ruggedization" 💸 @alexsteffen.bsky.social