Adapt or become extinct

We know about climate change, a lack of information is not the problem. But in times like these, issues such as the economy, migration, war, peace and security take precedence over climate protection, as surveys on voting behavior show. The only problem is that all these issues are directly linked to climate change.

“In times like these …” – is chiseled into the entrance to our Stone Age cave. There are always problems that take priority and whose solution creates new problems if they do not take environmental and climate protection into account. In the history of mankind, civilizations that were unable to preserve their habitat have collapsed time and again. It is the same with climate change, only this time on a global scale. So when we are told that we must adapt to climate change, are we imagining bare survival in a dystopian world? In which we no longer have a choice?

 

Watch out, this trailer will whet your appetite for a whole comic album! For now, there is only the non-fiction comic “Traffic Turnaround – How does it work?” (© Felix Pestemer 2025)

 

“Adapt or become extinct” is a non-fiction comic project that deals with various topics on climate change, with climate protection itself as the number one adaptation measure. It starts with the online comic “Transport transition – how does it work?”. The choice of topic for this first chapter is no coincidence, as it deals with the German key industry par excellence. And Germany is currently a good example of how a web of economic constraints, fears about the future and a questionable kind of cultural identity are standing in the way of the necessary ecological and economic transformations. How can mobility be guaranteed in the future and emissions reduced at the same time? How can we find a path that does not leave us with a guilty conscience towards future generations? I put these and other much more specific questions to transport ecologist Udo Becker. With his help, I have tried to illustrate in this comic how a traffic turnaround can actually work. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Felix Pestemer

“Verkehrswende – Wie geht das?” was created in collaboration with transport ecologist Prof. Dr. Udo Becker from TU Dresden, the Stiftung Weiterdenken foundation and the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s regional offices in Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz and Sachsen-Anhalt. This non-fiction comic has been developed as information material and for the field of education for sustainable development. It is available to download free of charge.