by Indy Johar in Dark Matter… Furthermore, it is also becoming increasingly apparent that as we shift away from our current material economy — a system that has generated abundance for some segments of society and scarcity for others — we are entering an era marked by greater scarcity. This transition could potentially lead us towards a novel concept of abundance. However, this journey is not without its challenges. As we begin to encounter the limitations inherent in our economies, particularly the rise of net-zero-sum scenarios, the risk of conflict and war further escalates.
Chartbook 262 crisis tribes – on Europe now
By Adam Tooze in Chartbook…Revisiting the politics of trauma in Europe’s election year
Disinformation poses an unprecedented threat in 2024 — and the U.S. is less ready than ever
by Brandy Zadrozny in NBC News…The U.S. presidential election comes at a time of ideal circumstances for disinformation and the people who spread it.
Western US seeing extreme weather ‘unprecedented’ in 500 years
by Robyn White in Newsweek…These hot temperatures have increased the soil moisture, which in turn has contributed to the severity and frequency of drought. The researchers have linked the notable increase in drought to human activities.
Has the “Polycrisis” overwhelmed us?
by Mark Leonard in Project Syndicate…Today’s global crises are not only competing for policymakers’ finite attention; they are increasingly feeding one another in unpredictable ways. Add the uncertainty around this year’s high-stakes elections in the United States and elsewhere, and you have a recipe for a Davos meeting defined by angst and paralysis.
The 100-Year extinction panic is back, right on schedule
by Tyler Austin Harper in The New York Times…Climate anxiety, of the sort expressed by that student, is driving new fields in psychology, experimental therapies and debates about what a recent New Yorker article called “the morality of having kids in a burning, drowning world.” Our public health infrastructure groans under the weight of a lingering pandemic while we are told to expect worse contagions to come. The near coup at OpenAI, which resulted at least in part from a dispute about whether artificial intelligence could soon threaten humanity with extinction, is only the latest example of our ballooning angst about technology overtaking us.
Rising to the occasion: Practical hope in a global polycrisis
In the New School at Commonweal video, Host Michael Lerner joins Commonweal board member Katherine Fulton in conversation with Graham Leicester, who has pioneered new ways to navigate and even thrive in this complex era.
Friction is growing
by Bill McKibben in Resilience.org…The past decade of global natural catastrophes has been the costliest ever. Warmer temperatures have made storms worse and contributed to droughts that have elevated wildfire risk. Too many new homes were built in areas at risk of fire.
The world being on fire is swelling ‘catastrophe bonds’ to a record $45 billion—and it’s a key hedge fund strategy
by SHERYL TIAN TONG LEE et al, in Fortune….“I can’t tell you if there’s going to be a hurricane or earthquake this year, obviously,” said Hagood of Nephila Capital. “But what I can tell you is spreads are near historical highs in the sector. So broadly speaking, we believe the market is being well paid for the risk.”
In “The Ministry for the Future,” new ideas from ancient wisdom
By Forrest Brown in The Long Now Foundation….When we are bound in a system of reciprocity, not return on investment, we will be closer to being the kind of ancestors future people need.
More in this tag
Jul
06
2023
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...
Apr
18
2025
Systemic risk and the polycrisis
by Florian U. Jehn in Existential Crunch…We now know that global systemic risk is the potential for disruption on a global scale, which is then realized because a...
Apr
15
2025
It’s time for a new approach to the current context
by Phil Buchanan in CEP…Just in the past weeks I’ve heard leaders at philanthropic funders say things like ‘we’re trying to be small right now,’ ‘the lawyers are...
Apr
14
2025
Building trust for resilient societies: The global listening project amplifies local voices
by Heidi Larson in Myriad USA…Larson would like the GLP to play a role in a new approach to preparedness and resilience. “I hope that policymakers and programs...
Apr
11
2025
The future is in our roots
from blog by Nnimmo Bassey…When one part of an ecosystem is destroyed, it impacts or destroys all the other parts. This means, nothing exists in isolation of...
Apr
10
2025
The verbs of resilience
by Andrew Zolli…I’ll be referring to resilience in the “property of systems and people” context noted above, to describe the (mostly) beneficial ability to...
Apr
09
2025
Google confirms Gmail upgrade—3 billion users must now decide
by Zak Doffman in Forbes…In the last year we have seen one Gmail/Workspace AI upgrade after another. This won’t stop. And so it will become ever more important...
Apr
09
2025
The last drops of Mexico City
by Rodrigo Cervantes and Jérôme Sessini on longlead.com…Every day, for most of her life, Norma, a 68-year-old woman from the outskirts of Mexico City, has...
Apr
08
2025
A Logic For The Future
from the Long Now Foundation…Stephen Heintz and Kim Stanley Robinson will discuss our polycrisis, and the swift and holistic reform of global governance...
Apr
07
2025
We’ve failed to stop climate change — this is what we need to do next
by Ben Spencer in The Sunday Times…While we can still limit warming by cutting emissions, we now face having to adapt to more extreme weather
Apr
04
2025
For many of us, it doesn’t cost much to improve someone’s life, and we can do much more of it
by Hannah Ritchie in Our World in Data…Most countries spend less than 1% of their national income on foreign aid; even small increases could make a big...