What if the crisis is already here and the damage is already done? Do we still stand a chance? History shows: yes! Time and time again, people have faced catastrophes and still found ways to deal with them. Often surprisingly creative ways.
Historian Annette Kehnel tells the stories of such moments: of Dutch engineers who powered the Netherlands' Golden Age with wind energy, of the reforestation of the ailing Elbe forests through major investments by a Hamburg merchant, of London's sewage crisis, or of how a universally ratified environmental agreement to protect the ozone layer was successfully implemented.
Her examples show that under extreme pressure, societies can rethink and find solutions we still benefit from today. New growth can emerge from ruin. Not on its own, but through people who take action. In the spirit of the motto: «Never let a good crisis go to waste!»
