Last Week in Collapse: January 1-6, 2024
2024 has begun. It will be a year to remember—but one that most of us would rather forget. Sickness, War, and Ecological Devastation lie ahead.
Last 6 Days in Collapse: January 1-6, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, astounding, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 106th newsletter, and it covers 6 days instead of the usual 7. Subsequent weeks will return to the 7-day style. You can find the December 24-31, 2023 edition here on Reddit if you missed it last week. You can also see/bookmark the entire 2023 Index here if you want to locate any posts concerning 2023. Thank you for subscribing to the Substack.
The American Great Lakes region ended the year with far less ice coverage than ever before. Much of North America—except the northeast—is far below average snowfall for the season. A mysteriously hot city in eastern Croatia has become Europe’s deadliest heat city per capita.
Planet Earth has about 60,000 different tree species, and they are essential to our health and survival. A study in Nature Communications claims that 17,000 of them are endangered by our quickly-changing climate (drought); deforestation & the expansion of croplands also threaten many other species. After a December readjustment of trees on the IUCN Red List, over 40,000 tree species have been assessed. A full Global Tree Assessment is still being developed. Brazil’s deforestation rate halved in 2023 compared to 2022—but their total tree coverage still shrank by an area slightly larger than Trinidad. In Canada, deforestation of boreal forests continues, endangering caribou, oxygen production, and the region’s biodiversity.
A study in Nature Ecology & Evolution says that 88% of the African raptor bird species studied are experiencing population decline, particularly in West Africa. 69% of them are endangered species now. Elsewhere, in one of the most remote regions of Alaska, a polar bear died from H5N1, avian influenza. Bird flu is also spreading across Antarctica as scientists predicted. Snow crabs, which suffered a massive heat-starvation dieoff event last year, are not recovering this season. So it goes. The forecast for mass extinctions is worse than expected.
Sicily is being blasted by Drought. Sweden & Finland saw a strong cold snap that broke decades-long records in some places with -40 °C (-40 °F) temperatures. As Siberia’s permafrost warms, the ecology is adapting—or dying out.
Europe’s air has dried considerably over the last century, and it’s still going to get worse. This is increasing wildfire risks. Tunisia, long-suffering from droughts, is expected to import wheat this year far in excess of previous records. Morocco also must adapt to drought ahead. Record January temps in Cyprus and Türkiye.
Azerbaijan had already been announced as the COP29 host; now it’s been announced that a 26-year employee of the oil industry will be the president of the conference. Oil & gas account for about 48% of Azerbaijan’s GDP. Wake me up when the COP conferences get serious; it will be a long hibernation.
The historically flood-prone British city, Tewksbury, was flooded again. American/Canadian salmon are not being replenished as fast as they’re dying. The Republic of the Congo declared a state of emergency over landslides and flooding. Rice farming in sub-Saharan Africa was determined to account for a growing amount of methane emissions. Global sea surface temperatures started the year at a record January high.
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The UN is warning of a decreased global economic growth rate this year—2.4%, down from last year’s 2.7%. The full report, World Economic Situation and Prospects is 196 pages, and worth a glance. Overall, it’s rather optimistic.
“Underlying price pressures are still elevated in many countries. A further escalation of conflicts in the Middle East poses the risk of disrupting energy markets and renewing inflationary pressures worldwide….Europe faces a challenging economic outlook amid still elevated inflation and high interest rates. In the European Union, GDP is projected to expand by 1.2 per cent in 2024, up from 0.5 per cent in 2023…..The economies of East Asia are projected to experience a moderate slowdown, with growth declining from 4.9 per cent in 2023 to 4.6 per cent in 2024. In most economies, private consumption growth is expected to remain firm….Monetary tightening (including QT) by major developed country central banks will have significant spillover effects on developing countries….The COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions have underscored the importance of domestic resilience…” -selections from the executive summary
A growing number of Americans, pushed into poverty, are living out of their cars. This is fueling demand in cities and towns for “safe parking lots,” a designated area where people can live more safely in their automobiles.
China is reintroducing tariffs on coal. The world’s largest offshore oil field is expanding production in the Persian Gulf. A Libyan oil field was temporarily shut down last week due to protests.
Roughly 2,000 petrol stations ran dry in northwest India because of a truckers association strike. Sri Lanka’s economy is sagging, as is Bangladesh’s, and Cuba’s.
Good news: scientists have created a very promising antibiotic that kills some superbugs. It’s called Zosurabalpin. Time will tell if/how bacteria will adapt to this. You can read the full study in Nature if you want, but it’s not easy to comprehend.
Italy, particularly Rome, is suffering from healthcare Collapse, as 1,100+ people are waiting to be admitted to hospitals in the Eternal City. In Kenya, malaria risks grow as East Africa warms & floods more.
Despite rising COVID and flu cases in the United States, deaths are not following. The drug hydroxychloroquine, touted by then-President Trump, has been reportedly linked to as many as 17,000 deaths from misuse across several nations in 2020. Long COVID is particularly bad in poorer nations, which lack the awareness, treatment, and expertise to target the multi-faceted disorder. “People are quietly dropping out of society,” said one doctor.
COVID is rising in Gaza, but that’s the least of their problems. Most hospitals are not working, the ones that are operational are overcrowded, and some doctors have allegedly been abducted by IDF forces.
At least 520,000 migrants crossed the Darien Gap last year, figures show. Once a thick, dangerous, and impossibly impassable stretch of jungle, the region has become a highway for migration, alarming countries north of Panama. U.S Republicans are threatening a partial government shutdown over stronger border controls.
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ISIS claimed responsibility for two large explosions in Iran that slew, combined, over 100 people, and injured 280+ more. The blasts occurred at a ceremony honoring Qasem Soleimani, a revered Iranian general assassinated in January 2020.
Ethiopia made a surprise recognition of Somaliland, the first country to do so. In exchange, Ethiopia will receive 50 years of sea access at the Gulf of Aden—raising tensions with Somalia. In Europe, New Year’s night riots broke out in Paris and parts of the Netherlands.
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