Are these the end times?
by Richard Heinberg in Resilience.org…Although we made great steps in understanding the structural factors driving “end times” in our societies, our theories, models, and data can be greatly improved. Such understanding, in my opinion, is key for developing effective reforms and policies that can take us on a better course out of this crisis. Beyond making science better we need a broad public discussion of its implications, and of what needs to be done. Ordinary citizens can help by educating themselves on these issues, by participating in the discussion of possible remedies, and ultimately by putting pressure on our ruling elites to act in ways that benefit the people broadly, rather than (as they’ve been acting over the past few decades) in their own narrow and shortsighted personal interest.
Extreme heat is deadlier than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined
by Terri Adams-Fuller in Scientific American….When dangerous heat waves hit cities, better risk communication could save lives
Top 40 impacts of climate change
by Eliot Jacobson in Climatecasino.net….I am not suggesting that this is a list of problems that will be “solved” by addressing climate change. It’s too late for that. The events in this list will happen with ever increasing severity the deeper we get into the climate crisis.
With our food systems on the verge of collapse, it’s the plutocrats v life on Earth
by George Monbiot in The Guardian…Climate breakdown and crop losses threaten our survival, but the ultra-rich find ever more creative ways to maintain the status quo.
The many, many positive possibilities of generative AI
by Peter Leyden in The Great Progression…The positive counter-narrative that eventually will supersede the gloom & doom stories that are currently clouding the take off of this amazing new technology
The struggle for environmental justice in Africa
by Nnimmo Bassey at resilience.org….Today, Africa is facing multiple ecological challenges. All of these have resulted from the actions of entities that have seen the continent as a sacrificial zone.
The transformative power of intersectionality
by Rana Zincir Celal…..The concept of intersectionality recognizes the multidimensionality of inequality and the interconnection of different forms
of discrimination. It analyzes the role, function and impact of
power structures on discrimination and privilege. An intersectional perspective can be used to draw attention to existing
systems of oppression in society and to challenge, break
through and change them. Intersectionality thus holds the
potential for promoting social justice, solidarity and fairness.
The Superorganism V. The Doughnut
by Nate Hagens in The Great Simplification…..Increasingly, these shortfalls in both ecological and social well-being of the current economic system are becoming more recognized by the general populace. In this conversation, Kate and I discuss a framework for bringing the human system in line with the biosphere while meeting the needs of everyone.
Global polycrisis: The causal mechanisms of crisis entanglement
by Dr. Michael Lawrence at The Cascade Institute….. In this framework, a global crisis arises when one or more fast-moving trigger events combines with slow-moving stresses to push a global system out of its established equilibrium and into a volatile and harmful state of disequilibrium. We then identify three causal pathways—common stresses, domino effects, and inter-systemic feedbacks—that can connect multiple global systems to produce synchronized crises.
Earlier collapse of Anthropocene ecosystems driven by multiple faster and noisier drivers
by Simonn Willcock in Nature…..Accelerating stress levels, increasing frequencies of extreme events and strengthening intersystem connections suggest that conventional modelling approaches based on incremental changes in a single stress may provide poor estimates of the impact of climate and human activities on ecosystems.
Humans aren’t mentally ready for an AI-saturated ‘post-truth world’
by Thor Bensen in Wired.com….The AI era promises a flood of disinformation, deepfakes, and hallucinated “facts.” Psychologists are only beginning to grapple with the implications.
The government must say what it knows about covid’s origins
by Zeynep Tufekci in The New York Times….The American public, however, only rarely heard refreshing honesty from their officials or even their scientists — and this tight-lipped, denialist approach appears to have only strengthened belief that the pandemic arose from carelessness during research or even, in less reality-based accounts, something deliberate.
Welcome to the “End Times”: Peter Turchin saw this coming — and says we can still prevent collapse
by Paul Rosenberg in Salon…..Peter Turchin predicted major instability in the 2020s. Unless we address inequality, he says, it will get worse
Why it seems everything we knew about the global economy is no longer true
by Patricia Cohen in The New York Times…While the world’s eyes were on the pandemic, China and the war in Ukraine, the paths to prosperity and shared interests have grown murkier.
Love in the time of the polycrisis: 21new signs of emergence
by Susan Grelock Yusem in Commonweal.org…..As we live through extremes, like social turmoil, extreme weather, pandemic, and economic instability, we also hold complex emotional experiences: hope and despondency, courage and fear, joy and grief.
Polycrisis, unraveling, simplification, or collapse: coming soon to a planet near you?
by Richard Heinberg in Resilience.org…If humanity descends into blame and desperate efforts to maintain a status quo that by its very nature cannot persist, the future looks dark indeed.