Julia Adaney Thomas argues that climate collapse has fundamentally shifted the focus of historical inquiry from a quest for liberty to the challenge of ensuring survival with ecological decency. Thomas advocates for a new historical materialism that recognizes humanity’s biological and geophysical limitations while politicizing these constraints to reimagine sustainable social and political systems, simultaneously warning against right-wing exploitation of environmental determinism. This approach involves revisiting archives with fresh questions about power distribution, class, gender, and spatial inequalities to uncover alternative pathways for sustainable existence. Ultimately, history must analyze modern power structures to resist destructive systems and foster equitable, ecologically viable futures.