Over the Seawall

“A triumph. Over the Seawall is the climate book we need now.” – Cynthia Barnett, journalist and author of The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans

“A scathing tour of where human hubris has led us, from a clear-eyed chronicler.” – Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us and Countdown

“Miller’s sensitive writing and striking metaphors lay bare the Western development machine’s arrogance, greed, and stubborn insistence on making the same mistakes again and again.” – Erica Gies, author of Water Always Wins

In March 2011, people in a coastal Japanese city stood atop a seawall watching the approach of the tsunami that would kill them. They believed—tragically—that the huge concrete barrier would save them. Instead they perished, betrayed by the very thing built to protect them. Erratic weather, blistering drought, rising seas, and ecosystem collapse now affect every inch of the globe. Increasingly, we no longer look to stop climate change, choosing instead to adapt to it.

Never have so many undertaken such a widespread, hurried attempt to remake the world. Predictably, our hubris has led to unintended—and sometimes disastrous—consequences. Academics call it maladaptation; in simple terms, it’s about solutions that backfire. Over the Seawall tells us the stories behind these unintended consequences and about the fixes that can do more harm than good. From seawalls in coastal Japan, to the reengineered waters in the Ganges River Delta, to the artificial ribbon of water supporting both farms and urban centers in parched Arizona, Stephen Robert Miller traces the histories of engineering marvels that were once deemed too smart and too big to fail. In each he takes us into the land and culture, seeking out locals and experts to better understand how complicated, grandiose schemes led instead to failure, and to find answers to the technologic holes we’ve dug ourselves into.

Over the Seawall urges us to take a hard look at the fortifications we build and how they’ve fared in the past. It embraces humanity’s penchant for problem-solving, but argues that if we are to adapt successfully to climate change, we must recognize that working with nature is not surrender but the only way to assure a secure future.

PRESS

Can Seawalls Save Us? – The New Yorker

 “…the journalist Stephen Robert Miller, tells a story of double-edged engineering in Bangladesh, where the flow of water and sediment creates a rich and ever-changing agricultural zone. The region ‘is not so much a world pestered by water as one defined by it,’” Miller writes.”

3 Must-Read Books to Kick Off the New Year – Sierra Magazine

“Those histories, and how they intersect with the ways in which we are or are not preparing sufficiently enough for a changing climate, are the focus of this expertly researched investigation that is equal parts road trip and cautionary tale. .. Through his scrupulous eye toward colonial development, we learn how corruption, or sometimes just plain ignorance, led to infrastructure goofs that make no sense, such as growing thirsty cotton crops in a dry environment like Arizona.”

Designing Climate Adaptations for People, Not Profit – Atmos Magazine

“Over the Seawall is a book about highly technical events and projects, but I rarely found myself confused or bored. That’s part of Miller’s allure. … Over the Seawall serves as a call to action—a reminder that government officials and private investors aren’t the only ones who carry the torch and light fires. … Though the book touches on many topics—policy, activism, climate denial, and public health—it’s ultimately about human history. It paints a terrifying portrait of what we can expect for the future should we as a public allow our leaders to forget past mistakes.”

OTSW Reviewed in Publishers Weekly

Miller, by his own admission, “shies from championing solutions,” but the picture that emerges from his thorough reporting illuminates the hidden dangers in apparently easy solutions to climate problems. The result is a thought-provoking exploration of the “unintended consequences” of climate policy.

The handwriting of the greats, and solutions that make things worse: Books in brief – Nature

Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

Sea change: Longmont author grapples with the flaws in our climate crisis strategy – Boulder Weekly

Miller acknowledges that a book like this can be pretty heavy on the doom and gloom, especially when he points out the solutions that people have engineered aren’t actually going to save us. “But my whole point is that it’s our tendency to fall for simple solutions that keeps putting us in these predicaments,” he says.

Seeing the storm ahead – Land and Climate Review

Whatever compromises are necessary, it is still important to ask whether protective infrastructure is actually a means of adaptation or an attempt to avoid it. Adaptation should be sustainable, permanent if necessary: infrastructure projects weaken over time, and cost more than money.

“A critical, important, downright informative read about climate change” – Dayton Daily News

Colorado housing prices moved Stephen Robert Miller to reconsider the desert — and climate dangers – Colorado Sun

INTERVIEWS

Climate Adaptation is Backfiring – Science, Quickly from Scientific American, Nov. 2023

The choices we make in how we adapt to climate change can sometimes come back to bite us.

From Arizona to Japan to Bangladesh, author offers lessons from water management mistakes – The Arizona Republic

Through character-driven true tales, Miller raises important questions about humans’ track record of using infrastructure to try to bend the rules of nature, and how we might be wise to move forward in ways better aligned with its flow.

Over the Seawall on America Adapts podcast

Stephen talks with climate change adaptation expert Doug Parsons about climate solutions and the risk of maladaptation on one of the best podcasts in the field.

The delusion of controlling nature – The Point, WCAI/NPR

As extreme weather becomes more common, humans are turning to engineering and technology to outwit nature. Unfortunately there are many unintended consequences of these strategies. On The Point, we talk with Stephen Robert Miller about some examples of these failures- from seawalls in coastal Japan to the reengineered waters in the Ganges River Delta. We discuss why working with nature is our best path forward.

Humans are hard-wired to adapt. But adapting to climate change can be a thorny pursuit, KUNC, Nov. 8, 2023

Longmont author and journalist Stephen Robert Miller is fascinated by climate disaster stories. He says they’re often teachable moments.

What happens when climate adaptation goes wrong? Land and Climate Review, Nov. 2023

Maladaptation in the time of water crisis, The Climate Water Project podcast, April 2024

Stephen Talks with Francesca Rheannon of the Writer’s Voice, Feb. 2024

Live on the Air with KGNU, Boulder, Colorado, Oct. 24 2023

One of the key things that makes us human is our ability to problem-solve.  But often our engineered fixes backfire and even make the problem we’re trying to solve much worse. How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews journalist Stephen Robert Miller about how this applies to massive seawalls, re-engineered rivers, grandiose canals (such as the Central Arizona Project) and other technological fixes that have unintended consequences. 

Interview with the New Books Network, Oct. 2023

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.

EVENTS