Like every other life form on Earth, humans have been shaped by climate. Adapting to rapid climate change over the past few million years may have even honed our big, smart brains. But over the past 10,000 years, Earth’s climate has stayed remarkably stable. During that stable period, we’ve developed cities, farms, written language, monetary systems—all the things we think of as civilization. We all have a stake in climate stability.

For all the benefits fossil fuels bring (and they bring real, important benefits), their use has changed Earth’s climate by trapping heat. Nowhere is the evidence of climate change clearer than in Earth’s frozen regions, from Arctic sea ice retreat to ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica. Keeping the climate we’re used to isn’t necessarily simple or easy, but we’re not doomed to dystopia, and we don’t have to return to the Stone Age. We can undertake smart steps, sometimes individually, sometimes collectively, to pass a stable climate down to future generations.