Archaeologist Kristina Douglass Highlights Trash as Key to Climate Change Adaptation
Kristina Douglass, an archaeologist and associate professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, emphasizes the importance of studying trash to understand past human adaptation to climate change. Douglass, a 2025 MacArthur Fellow, leads the Ola Be Taloha Lab, which focuses on how past human societies co-evolved with their environments, particularly in Madagascar. Her research suggests that the materials people unconsciously leave behind, such as broken tools and food scraps, provide a democratic view of historical life, offering insights into everyday life rather than just the lives of elites. Douglass argues that this archaeological perspective can inform current strategies to support communities facing climate instability, especially those in vulnerable coastal areas. 
