One morning in Miami Beach, an unexpected guest showed up in a luxury condominium complex’s parking garage: an octopus. The image quickly went viral. But the octopus—and the combination of infrastructure quirks and climate impacts that left it stranded—is more than a funny meme. It’s a potent symbol of the disruptions that a changing climate has already brought to our doorsteps and the ways we will have to adjust.
Engaging and accessible for nonexpert concerned citizens, The Octopus in the Parking Garage empowers readers to face the climate crisis and shows what we can do to adapt and thrive.
I'm a climate law scholar who designed climate-resilience policies in the Obama administration. I teach at Loyola University New Orleans, where I hold an endowed chair, and also at Tulane. Through my work at the Center for Progressive Reform, I work with other scholars to help communities become more resilient and just. I host the podcast "Connect the Dots" too. It's super cool.
podcast
EVENTS
Upcoming
March 11, 2023, 2:00pm
New Orleans Book Festival
(in conversation with Bob Marshall, Jesse Keenan, and Nathaniel Rich)
Times Picayune Stage
A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
NEW ORLEANS, LA
March 15, 2023
American Bar Association, Disaster Resilience Symposium (Stetson Law School, St. Petersburg, FL)
Keynote: "The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience”
March 31, 2023,
Georgia Law Review Symposium
Georgia State University School of Law
ATLANTA, GA
April 12, 2023, 7:00pm
(in conversation with Angie Coiro)
Kepler's Books and Magazines
1010 El Camino Real, #100
MENLO PARK, CA
April 13, 2023, 1:00pm Eastern Daylight Time
Center for Progressive Reform (webinar)
April 19, 2023, 6:00pm
(in conversation with Nathaniel Rich)
Octavia Books
513 Octavia Street
NEW ORLEANS, LA
April 21, 2023, 7:00pm
(in conversation with Alan Jenkins)
Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Avenue
CAMBRIDGE, MA
April 27, 2023, 7:30pm
(in conversation with Antonia Juhasz)
Lost City Books
2467 18th St NW
WASHINGTON, D.C.
May 10, 2023, 7:00pm
Books and Books
265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL
May 18, 2023, 7:00pm
The Writer's Block
519 6th Street, Ste. 100
LAS VEGAS, NV
May 23, 2023
Elliott Bay Book Company
1521 10th Avenue
SEATTLE, WA
June 9, 2023
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (with Moonraker Books)
565 Camano Avenue
LANGLEY, WA
August 2023 (date TBA)
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
more to come!
Recent
January 5, 2023
Center for Progressive Reform (San Diego, CA), "Year in Review"
December 8, 2022
Louisiana Smart Growth Summit (Baton Rouge, LA), "Securing Louisiana's Energy Future: Efficiency, Resiliency, and Affordability"
November 9, 2022
University of Sydney (Sydney, Australia), "A Legal Framework for Resilient Electricity Infrastructure"
November 3, 2022
Stanford Law School, "The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience" (remote)
September 16, 2022
Center for Progressive Reform, 20th Anniversary Roundtables and Reception: A Legacy for Progressive Policy for the Public Good (Washington, D.C.)
August 25, 2022
American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, “Solution or Pollution? Carbon Capture and Storage on Public Lands as a Tool for Decarbonization” (remote)
June 19-21, 2022
Indiana Supreme Court's Graduate Program for Indiana Judges (French Lick, IN), "Upheavals in Climate, Ecology, and Law"
April 12, 2022
Yale Law School, "Climate+: Disaster and Displacement" (remote)
April 7, 2022
Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement (CRIOBE), Mo`orea, French Polynesia, "Climate Resilience and Marine Management"
March 17, 2022
University of California Gump South Pacific Research Station, Mo`orea, French Polynesia, “Climate Resilience and Environmental Protection”
March 10, 2022
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice/Center for Progressive Reform, “The False Promise of Carbon Capture in Louisiana”
Upcoming
March 11, 2023, 2:00pm
New Orleans Book Festival
(in conversation with Bob Marshall, Jesse Keenan, and Nathaniel Rich)
Times Picayune Stage
A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
NEW ORLEANS, LA
March 15, 2023
American Bar Association, Disaster Resilience Symposium (Stetson Law School, St. Petersburg, FL)
Keynote: "The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience”
March 31, 2023,
Georgia Law Review Symposium
Georgia State University School of Law
ATLANTA, GA
April 12, 2023, 7:00pm
(in conversation with Angie Coiro)
Kepler's Books and Magazines
1010 El Camino Real, #100
MENLO PARK, CA
April 13, 2023, 1:00pm Eastern Daylight Time
Center for Progressive Reform (webinar)
April 19, 2023, 6:00pm
(in conversation with Nathaniel Rich)
Octavia Books
513 Octavia Street
NEW ORLEANS, LA
April 21, 2023, 7:00pm
(in conversation with Alan Jenkins)
Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Avenue
CAMBRIDGE, MA
April 27, 2023, 7:30pm
(in conversation with Antonia Juhasz)
Lost City Books
2467 18th St NW
WASHINGTON, D.C.
May 10, 2023, 7:00pm
Books and Books
265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL
May 18, 2023, 7:00pm
The Writer's Block
519 6th Street, Ste. 100
LAS VEGAS, NV
May 23, 2023
Elliott Bay Book Company
1521 10th Avenue
SEATTLE, WA
June 9, 2023
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (with Moonraker Books)
565 Camano Avenue
LANGLEY, WA
August 2023 (date TBA)
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
more to come!
Recent
January 5, 2023
Center for Progressive Reform (San Diego, CA), "Year in Review"
December 8, 2022
Louisiana Smart Growth Summit (Baton Rouge, LA), "Securing Louisiana's Energy Future: Efficiency, Resiliency, and Affordability"
November 9, 2022
University of Sydney (Sydney, Australia), "A Legal Framework for Resilient Electricity Infrastructure"
November 3, 2022
Stanford Law School, "The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience" (remote)
September 16, 2022
Center for Progressive Reform, 20th Anniversary Roundtables and Reception: A Legacy for Progressive Policy for the Public Good (Washington, D.C.)
August 25, 2022
American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, “Solution or Pollution? Carbon Capture and Storage on Public Lands as a Tool for Decarbonization” (remote)
June 19-21, 2022
Indiana Supreme Court's Graduate Program for Indiana Judges (French Lick, IN), "Upheavals in Climate, Ecology, and Law"
April 12, 2022
Yale Law School, "Climate+: Disaster and Displacement" (remote)
April 7, 2022
Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement (CRIOBE), Mo`orea, French Polynesia, "Climate Resilience and Marine Management"
March 17, 2022
University of California Gump South Pacific Research Station, Mo`orea, French Polynesia, “Climate Resilience and Environmental Protection”
March 10, 2022
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice/Center for Progressive Reform, “The False Promise of Carbon Capture in Louisiana”