Our planet is in crisis. But until we call it a crisis, no one will listen | Caleb Redlener, Charlotte Jenkins and Irwin Redlener

We study disaster preparedness, and 'climate change' is far too mild to describe the existential threat we face

When Senator Kamala Harris was asked about climate change during the Democratic debate in June, she did not mince words. "I don't even call it climate change," she said. "It's a climate crisis."

She's right - and we, at Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness, wish more people would call this crisis what it is.